Does your staff have a plan on what you will and won't put in the yearbook? If not, it's time to make one - before someone else does. Watch the Jostens J-class on this subject, then follow with this lesson with some key elements and a student activity to get you and your group thinking and planning on this important subject.
Advisers, DON'T make all decisions yourself. That's a recipe for stress and burnout. Instead create or revise a student editorial team - it's their book, let them lead the effort. As Adviser your job is to ADVISE their decision making. Watch the Jostens J-class on this subject, then follow with this lesson with key highlights and a student activity to get your kids thinking and planning.
Do you plan ahead for your photo work on location - or just grab any camera, show up and start snapping? Organization is the big key but it goes a lot farther from than. Plan AHEAD for great photography. Watch the Jostens J-class video on this title filled with great ideas, then follow with this lesson and a student activity to get your students thinking AHEAD on improving their yearbook photo work this year.
Did you know your yearbook has a brand? So does your school - or at least, it SHOULD. Yet most folks have no idea what a brand even is! It's time to change that and really get your yearbook effort recognized. Watch the Jostens J-class video of the same name, then watch this lesson with more notes and a student activity to get you and your staff thinking YOUR brand this year!
It happens to every yearbook staff - someone at school passes away, and you want to do something for that person in the yearbook. But WHAT? Not an IF but a WHEN. How to handle this delicate situation? Watch the interview clip with Jostens CAM Tina Cleavelin on the TYR website, then follow with this lesson with some key tips to help your staff now and years in the future.
Watch an interview with Jostens CAM Tina Cleavelin on how to handle memorial situations in the yearbook. She's lived this as a former yearbook adviser and offers some sage advice on what to do WHEN this happens, not if.
Do It Yourself Marketing is crucial for a yearbook staff's success - and it's actually a lot of FUN to do. Do this all year long and watch your sales rise and interest in your effort explode. Watch the Jostens J-class on DIY Marketing with lots of creative ideas to use, then follow with this lesson with even more insights and a student activity to get your group started to doing your own FUN DIY marketing efforts.
Making the yearbook is only half the total equation of your yearbooking effort. The other half is marketing, your group and your book sale. You can make the greatest book in school history but if no one buys one - you've failed. Watch the Jostens J-class on Marketing 101 with lots of great tools at your disposal, then watch this lesson for more ideas, inspiration and a student activity.
Do your students go out and essentially take the same photos over and over again? No variety? Time to change that! Watch the Jostens J-class on this topic, then follow with this lesson with further ideas and an assignment to get your kids thinking BEFORE their next photo shoot to come back with their best shots.
Do you edit your photos on pages, or just drop them down? Sometimes some simple photo cropping or image fixing on pictures can turn a good page design into a GREAT one. Watch the Jostens J-class on this title showing great examples, then follow with this lesson with more ideas and a student activity to get your kids making those necessary changes.
Time to use social media, to not only inform and entertain your audience but also to gather more information to use on your pages. Watch the Jostens J-class on this topic, then follow with this lesson with more ideas and a student activity to get your staff digging further.
Have some holes on pages? Time to add readable material to those rather dull portrait pages? Then this lesson is for you, adapting page content to add more great coverage to your book. Watch the Jostens J-class lesson on this topic, featuring lots of great examples, then follow with this lesson to get your group working.
What's the best camera you have? The one you have WITH you - and that's usually your own smartphone or mobile device. But how to use that effectively and regularly for your yearbooking effort? Watch the Jostens J-class video by the same name, then follow with this lesson with added thoughts to get your staff doing their BEST work!
Students love to take surveys and polls - so why not use them to increase coverage in your yearbook? Years from now people will LOVE to read this about this school year. Watch the Jostens J-class on this topic, then follow with this lesson to get your group thinking and planning their own survey coverage.
How to tell more stories about more people in the book? Try quick reads, small parts of pages to showcase more people. Statistics, survey or poll results, reactions - quick reads are easy to use on pages and we show you how.
Writing is important for any yearbook. And the easiest form of writing, and the one first noticed on as page, is headlines. NOT titles, what most staffs do - find out the difference and see how easy it is to make your pages a much more interesting read.
Editing and proofreading are so important to create your best yearbook - but do you have a process for editing, or just wing it? Having an organized process is crucial to find those errors on pages which are inevitable. Watch the Jostens J-class on YBA on the Editing Process, then follow with this lesson with more ideas and a student activity to get your group creating or refining your own editing process.
Afraid of writing in the yearbook? No need, it's easy and it's VALUABLE for your storytelling. Pictures don't tell the whole story. Watch the Jostens J-class on YBA on Feature Writing, then follow with this lesson with even more ideas and a student activity to get your student planning their OWN writing.
Font styles are like unique works of art, but do you have plan on specific fonts you're using and where? Not just random usage anywhere? Watch the Jostens J-class video on Typography, then follow with this lesson with highlights and creating your plan for font usage this year. HINT: pare down that list, not EVERY font activated.
Every yearbook is an all color book these days. But how is your group handling their color usage? Watch the Jostens J-class video on Color, then follow with this brief lesson with more notes on why you need a plan for your color usage in your designing.
You're a yearbook journalist - always know the legal issues involved with creating a publication and telling people's stories. And not EVERYTHING should be included in the book. Watch the Jostens J-class video on Legal Issues and Ethics, then follow with this quick lesson and a student activity to get your students considering their coverage this year.
Students have opinions on many issues, and yet most yearbooks never cover those topics and opinions. It's a one of a kind year with one of a kind issues, why not cover them and remember them forever? Watch the Jostens J-class video on Covering Sensitive Topics, then follow with this quick lesson with added ideas and a student activity to get your group thinking.
As you're designing pages, what are current design trends that can help you with your designing? Trends change but it's good to keep up with what's happening. Watch the Jostens J-class video on 2023 Design Trends, then follow with this lesson and a student activity to get kids thinking on ideas to try for this year's book.
Do you know the important terms of yearbook production? LIke, what's a "signature" and why that's important? Do you know how your yearbook is produced? Watch the Jostens J-class Tour of a Yearbook, then follow with this lesson and an activity to examine YOUR signatures and when they can be submitted for production.
Watch the Jostens J-class video in the YBA Digital Classroom on Expanded Captions, then follow with this lesson and a student activity on taking a basic captions and going just a bit farther to really tell more stories in this year's book.
Watch the Jostens J-class on YBA on Basic Captions, then follow with this lesson on the importance of writing in the yearbook and the easiest way to add some writing with photo captions. One simple sentence could add a LOT to your yearbook storytelling.
Don't have experience making good pages? Don't have time to make good pages? Templates are the answer. Watch the Jostens J-class on Designing with Templates, then follow with this lesson with even more basics and a student activity to use one of Yearbook Avenue's best kept secrets to improve your yearbook design instantly!
OK not three minutes, more like 12, but join the Yearbook Mad Scientist for an easy watch and do lesson on how to create caption images. You'll do it right along with the lesson - watch and learn, it's totally MAD!
FIRST watch the Jostens J-class on Social Media 102, then follow with this lesson with even more on using social media to tell even more stories this year. Then a student activity for more thinking and planning on getting started or expanding your effort.
FIRST watch the Jostens J-class on Social Media 101, then follow with this lesson with more basics on why social media usage is important for ANY yearbook staff. Then a student activity to get you thinking and planning on getting started or expanding your effort.
FIRST do the Interviewing 101 Lesson, then follow with this lesson to add even more ideas and inspiration for your students to go out and collect those valuable stories this year. It's what your audience wants! And repeat the fun interviewing activity, this time with different people.
As yearbook journalists, our job is to gather information that we display in the book. That means talking to people and finding out their stories. Watch the Jostens J-class featuring a special speaker, then follow with this lesson and a fun student activity to get your kids gathering stories to be remembered forever.
Every school year is unique, and that includes news, trends and hot topics - and students have opinions on all of them. Your yearbook is the "timestamp" of the year, so why not report how students feel about those issues? Watch this quick lesson tied to the Jostens J-class of the same name to get some ideas and reasons why your yearbook NEEDS this coverage.
The yearbook is the story of people, not the story of a building. And everyone in school has stories to tell. Watch this quick video tied to the Jostens J-class video of the same name to get some ideas and inspiration on why telling stories in your book is the most important thing you're doing.
Here's a quick lesson with more on organizing your book chronologically, as the school year goes - by season, by month, even by week. Why is this a good idea that's growing in popularity? Watch and see, with a student activity to get your kids thinking.
How is your yearbook organized? Traditional or chronological? Either plan is crucial to your success - watch this brief lesson for the basics and then check out your current yearbook plan, with a student activity to get you started
You have a theme - now what? Take a deeper dive into working your theme with this quick lesson and the connected Jostens J-class of the same name on YBA. Find out about branding and a focus statement, the "why" of your new theme. Then get your group working more on developing your new theme in fun and informative ways.
Do you need a theme for a good yearbook. No - but it absolutely adds to the storytelling and FUN for your staff by working a new theme each year. How to get started? Watch this lesson and the mentioned Jostens J-class video of the same name, then get your students thinking and planning on YOUR new theme this year.
Watched the TYR Photo 101 lesson? Then let's move to Photo 102 with even more simple techniques to immediately take better photos with whatever camera you have. Again tied to the Jostens J-class video in the YBA Digital Classroom, this quick hitter lesson goes over many simple ideas to take the best yearbook photos you've ever taken!
Photos are the #1 element of any yearbook - but what kind of photos? Not random shots or kids mugging for the camera - we want GOOD photos that tell stories. And ANYONE can do it with ANY camera in their hands. Tied to a Jostens J-class video in the YBA Digital Classroom, watch this quick review of six things to consider to immediately take better images.
As the new school year begins, make this the first lesson you view with your staff. Show students WHY we do this and the real importance of what they're doing, with an activity at the end to get them thinking.
NEVER let yearbook become a chore, it should always be FUN. Watch this lesson featuring one simple idea to help you get there and STAY there, with an activity at the end for some student brainstorming.
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