1. Welcome to Journalism 1-3
Mr. VanWestervelt

2. Five Things About Mr. VW
Graduated from Towson U (undergraduate) and Goucher College (graduate) with an emphasis on writing, teaching, and publishing;
Has taught at Centennial since 2003; has been teaching grades 5  graduate level since 1987;
Is a Teacher-Consultant with the National Writing Project;
Lives in Towson with his wife and 3 kids; and
Was a columnist for the Towson Times, has written two novels, and has published hundreds of articles on parenting, writing, education, mindfulness, creativity, and publishing.

3. The Focus
3-fold focus to prepare students for a future in media/communications
Communicate Effectively with a target audience
Write, Create, and Design using the latest technology embraced by the communications industry
Produce Publications (online and print) that are relevant for our current community and that serve as archival documents for the school’s history

4. Achieving The Goal Of Our Focus
Building and Producing professional publications from “scratch”
Understanding how to represent, accurately and fairly, the entire population of Centennial
Recognizing our practices using metacognition and formative assessment so that our actions begin to cross over to other educational disciplines, and eventually to our everyday lives in our jobs, our relationships, and our social responsibilities.

5. The Curriculum
Thinking: Creative process, WIIFM, formative assessment, Bloom’s taxonomy
Producing: 4-6 Wingspan newsmagazines and a weekly online newspaper
Engaging: Working with the immediate Centennial community and beyond to build strong partnerships

6. Mr. VW’s Website and Contact Information
(Wingspan)
(School)
(Writing)
( )