During class registrations, you may have noticed a few differences shown on the course list. There are new classes and changes to the Language Arts curriculum.

“We have two new classes, Broadcast Journalism and Popular Genres in Literature,” English teacher Leslie Irwin said.

Other classes have been adjusted, such as the Research Methods class, which will be changed to College Writing. Even though this class is changing, the basics of the class will remain the same. It will have different assignments that will make up the curriculum than it did before. In addition, classes will receive new assignments according to the APA MLA style.

Every 7 to 10 years, MN re-evaluates their state standards, which lets them remove, or add a class according to its relevance as well as a change to the curriculum.

“I don’t think we removed anything this year, we just had the opportunity to add, so there are other elective opportunities there,” Irwin said.

The curriculum planning was made possible by a committee, consisting of teachers from elementary, middle, and high schools across the district.

The new class, Popular Genres in Literature, will have students read and write about short stories and novels from popular genres of all time. Of course, the class will include essays, journals, class presentations, and other activities as well.

“I think the teacher kind of gets to decide which genres will be taught that semester. I know one is sports fiction, one is detective fiction, but there are many others,” Irwin said.

Some of the other genres that will be covered in the class include action/adventure, fantasy/science fiction, crime, and dystopian adventure.

In the new Broadcast Journalism class, students will now able to create projects in media such as video broadcast, podcasts, websites, and social media. This will also help a student with photography, videography, reporting, and other media skills. The students will begin by brainstorming story ideas then choosing what stories to cover and interview. Interviews would include video cameras, microphones, along with multiple sources to interview. After gathering information for a story, students will be given 1 to 2 weeks to edit and post their stories to MN’s website.

Before taking this class, students have to take the Introduction to Journalism, Photojournalism, and Broadcast Journalism class.

“That’s the pre-rec now instead of Intro. to Photojournalism or Intro. to Journalism. We’ll be teaching the basics of writing a journalistic story, then a little bit of photography and photojournalism. Then, there will be a broadcast component. So students will get a variety of what journalism has to offer all in one course,” journalism teacher Sarah Crotzer said.

In the Broadcast Journalism class, students have 3 to 4 weeks to interview, edit and post their stories online. “I just think that there’s a need for this class because a lot of kids are interested in that subject,” Crotzer said.

The new Broadcast Journalism and Popular Genres in Literature classes will help students improve their writing skills, editing, and meeting deadlines for the years to come.