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Mustang News McEver,
directed by Media Specialist Mrs. Stowe, is produced by our fifth grade
students and broadcasted school-wide every morning. Our news program is
designed to promote communication skills while acclimating students to
current events and making routine daily announcements fun.
 Our fifth grade students at
McEver work the newsroom on a rotating basis, working as a team of two
anchors and two crew members. During the live broadcast the crew runs the
cameras, computer, and mixer and the anchors share the daily news. Staff and
student guests are invited to give book talks, share projects, highlight
school events, and make special announcements.
The morning news
program is a learning experience that helps our students build teamwork,
responsibility, and effective communication and technology skills. It is a
privilege the students look forward to as fifth graders and makes the morning
news a fun part of the day.
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How it works:
Every other week a
new group of four fifth grade students run the news program. On their last
day, the old team train in a new team. After helping start up the computers
in the media center, they head to the news room to prepare for the live morning
news program that begins at 7:45.
Two anchors fill out
the white board with the names, the date, weather (checked daily on
www.weather.com), character counts word of the week, announcements, lunch
choices, patriotic song of the day, school mission, birthdays, and a daily
send-off (i.e. fun friday).
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Two anchors prepare the
equipment. One crew member prepares the camera for recording. The other
crew member turns on opens up the daily Power Point containing an opening
screen and the music and lyrics for the daily patriotic song. Classical
music is played before the annoucements for classes to enjoy before the
announcements start. The mixer is also prepared to switch back and forth
between the computer screen and the camera.
When the clock hits
news time, the tech crew gives the cue and switches over from the computer
to the anchors. Over the closed-circuit the whole school starts the day
with "Mustang News McEver". The news program lasts 5-10 minutes
depending on special features like guest speakers. At the end of the
program they shut down, clean up, and are back to their rooms.
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Why Use
Broadcasting
Technology can be a
wonderful tool for addressing the educational programming needs of all
learners. Exposing students to real-world application of technology provides
insight into career choices. By having students participate in the production
of a daily school newscast, they learn first-hand the importance of
technology and its role in the production of broadcast news. By assuming the
roles of practicing professionals in the field, such as reporter, news
anchor, videographer, and sound technician, students learn how a team of
professionals work together to produce a daily news broadcast.
Essential
Understandings
- Good communication
skills are necessary for success.
- Writers compose
information in various formats to communicate with others.
- The audience must be
considered when successfully choosing expression.
- Expression and
patterns of communication continually evolve.
- The media has the
ability to persuade people by their choice of words and phrases
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