Created August 6, 1999
Revised February 2000
Shelly Morales
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Created August 6, 1999
Revised February 2000
Shelly Morales
Menu
The doors burst open as your red-faced editor flies into the sleepy newsroom of the National Inspirer. "This is the hottest thing since yesterday's temperature! They've discovered a woman on an island off the coast of California!" he huffs as he tosses a folder of information on your desk.
"Wait a minute, Chief,' you counter. "There are probably a whole lot of women living on islands. Why is this so special?"
You don't understand!" he explained. "She's been living there alone for over 20 years! They found her wearing some kind of skirt made out of bird feathers. She's had NO contact with civilization in all this time! I want our whole news team out there covering this. We're going to devote an entire issue to this!"
Your eyes widen as you realize what a story this is. "We'll get right on it!" you yell as you summon the other staffers for a meeting.
"This is the opportunity of a lifetime," the Chief tells the assembled members of your team, which includes the science editor, fashion editor, feature editor, history editor, nutrition editor, and yourself, the managing editor. "We are going to cover all facets of this story, with each of you reporting in your particular specialty. I want reports about what she eats, wears, how she lived, the history of her island, the native habitat there, and all of you will be putting your heads together to write an editorial about the Russians and Aleuts victimizing her people. Each of these needs to be a full length story which we'll then put into our tabloid format using our new Pagemaker software. I want graphs, charts, maps and/or pictures to go along with each story. Right before the paper goes to print, I want a debriefing from all of you about your stories and what you found out. Click on your clipboard to find a detailed job description for each position."
" I want to carefully explain each step to you so that this will be this will be the best issue ever of the National Inspirer," explained the Chief.
"First, each of you will think of at least 10 questions you want to answer in your article. These are questions you may ask in your interview, but should not be the only ones you ask Karana.
"Second, when you interview Karana, keep in mind what your particular specialty is. For instance, the fashion editor may ask about how she made that fantastic skirt of bird feathers and the accessories to go with it; the history editor will find out about the history of her island and her people; the nutrition editor will find out about the food she ate on the island and how she was able to sustain herself on what she could pick, kill, or catch; and so on.
"Next, I want you to research outside sources for the article, and I'll give you a list of resources, both on the Internet and other than the Internet. (See Resources) Your research should complement your interview with Karana and give your reader a really good feel for her life and her background.
"Then, locate or create a picture, chart or other graphic that ties into your story and include it with your article. Next combine the information you get in the interview and from your research into a readable, interesting paper. This will be published together with all the other articles in the newest issue of the paper. Our deadline is in two weeks, so you need to make wise use of your time."
Click HERE to read special notes BEFORE interviewing Karana. This must be read before you do any interviewing.
Resources
Click HERE to visit the resource page
"Remember, " the Chief continued, "we're all in this together. The success of our paper depends on each of you doing the best posssible job individually and cooperatively. Therefore, your evaluation will come from two sources. One is your individual article. To view the rubric for your story, click HERE. The second part of your evaluation will come from yourself and your peers about how well you worked as a group. Click HERE to see the group evaluation. I'm counting on each of you to perform at highest level. Any questions?"
You and your fellow staffers look at each other. "We'll do our very best, " you answer. "I think this will be our best issue ever!"
"In conclusion," the Chief says as he looks at each one, "we should be able to produce a very strong newspaper with everyone working together. I think we'll also have record sales because this is a true human interest story. When you see the final product, you'll have a feeling of accomplishment that's hard to duplicate. Once you finish, ask yourself the following question, ' What have I learned from Karana's life? What will I do differently in my life because of what I learned?'
"If there are no further questions, " he says with a smile, "then let's get started!"
This WebQuest was built during a professional development
experience.
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