Ideas for Scholastic Journalism Week Feb. 20-26

By Julianne Coyne, UIL Intern | Wednesday, February 09, 2011 2:54 PM

The Journalism Education Association has designated the week of Feb. 20-26 as Scholastic Journalism Week. During this week, schools from around the nation will look for ways to celebrate their journalism programs and inform the public of the benefits of scholastic journalism.

Here are some ideas for celebrating at your school:

1. Have students research and celebrate famous journalists like Nellie Bly or Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
2. Hold a fake news conference or stage a fake crime for students to report.
3. Have students write letters to the editor of the local paper.
4. Quiz game on journalism trivia.
5. Career day so students can see all of the jobs available in journalism.
6. Tour the local TV/radio station or newspaper office.
7. Look through your school’s old newspapers and yearbooks to find cool things that past staffs have covered.
8. Set up a publication exchange with other schools to get fresh ideas.
9. Visit middle schools in your school district to talk about your school’s journalism program.
10. Have a party so staffs can get to know each other better.

For more ideas and resources to celebrate the week, check out: http://www.jea.org/resources/jweek/index.html