TEACHER ASSIGNS PAPER, RUINS LIVES; TORTURE CLAIMS ARISE

Last week in small town Winnetka, Mrs. Zuehl, a heartless Social Studies teacher, assigned a one-page paper to 13 and 14-year old students. Were just kids, an innocent student told a trusted reporter. We dont deserve this. The fact that she assigned this essay on a Friday was especially troubling. Whisperings of students rights violations reverberated throughout the halls, although no one dared question the teacher. She rules her grade book with an iron pen. We know not to cross that, another said. Not only does the teacher expect the paper to be done on time, she says it must be well written and factually correct. The devastated students of Mrs. Zuehls class react to Do you know how much time this will take? A sad looking teen asked. I am on three different Fantasy Football teams and have very little time on Sundays. Im probably going to have to work on Saturday now. Sadly, doing homework on Saturday has become a reality for many students at Washburne Middle School. Kids are committed to so many important extracurriculars sports, theatre, dance, religious education, and social service, to name a few - that they simply dont have the time to shoulder time-intensive assignments like essays and studying for tests. My mom needs help around the house, a brown-haired girl quietly asserted. Im not going to abandon my chores, so I guess I will just lose sleep and write my essay in the deep hours of the night.
their workload.

Students happiness is directly correlated to number of homework assignments; after ten assignments, it is dangerously low.

An anonymous source claims he heard Mrs. Zuehl cackling in her classroom after the students left.

Unless teachers at Washburne stop assigning such mammoth workloads, the future of children in this community is in jeopardy. Is this what you want for your children?

Directions adapted from www.duke.edu/~dzb2/Yellow%20Journalism.pdf

BACKGROUND: You are the much-admired and respected editor of a major national newspaper known for its journalistic integrity and its commitment to telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Unfortunately, pretty soon, youre going to go bankrupt, because the public is apparently starting to find your truthful stories boring and you just havent been selling enough newspapers to stay in the game. Youve come to the realization that if youre going to be able to compete with the big boys, Hearst & Pulitzer, youre going to have to beat them at their own game: yellow journalism. Since you and your staff are such creative individuals, there is no doubt that tomorrows front page is going to blow theirs out of the water. Headline: a sensational main headline that grabs the attention of viewers Feature article: One full feature article, single-spaced (no more than one written page) that corresponds to the above headline. Visuals: Photos, political cartoons, and graphs, include some sort of visual that goes along with your story. Topic: You have several choices about what to write about: 1. You may do a satirical piece, as I have modeled above, in which you sensationalize a very minimal fact or problem (The Onion is a satirical newspaper). 2. You may write about a current event that you feel deserves legitimate criticism, such as a law passed by Congress or the presence of trans fats in foods. 3. You may write about one of the historical events we learned about in our Imperialism Unit: the annexation of Hawaii, the Spanish American War, the purchase of the Philippines, etc. Details: Single-spaced, no longer than one page. Remember that your paper should have facts, but the facts are presented in a biased, sensationalized way. Due: ____________

Directions adapted from www.duke.edu/~dzb2/Yellow%20Journalism.pdf