Emmanuel College Warnambool teacher Catherine Taggart built the Australian Catholics Young Journalist Award into her class planning last year, and had six students receive recognition in the award. Here, she shares her secrets.

The Young Journalist Award appealed to me as a way to give students a sense of purpose in their writing tasks.

I decided to factor the award into my plan for the students’ writing portfolio. We commenced the competition early in the school year. Students were given copies of Australian Catholics to look at. The task was introduced with multiple outcomes: competition entry, a piece of writing to be edited for the writing folio, an opportunity to research a topical issue, and a time to reflect on an inspirational event or person.

During English classes, time was allocated to studying the entry criteria. Students discussed issues they could raise in their writing. Their challenge was to find an inspirational way to write about the issue.

The next step involved researching their chosen issue. Each approached the task differently, some choosing to interview people they knew, some reflecting upon a documentary they had viewed in RE.

The writing involved various deadlines and steps, including reading the article aloud to at least two other people and proofreading it together. The final step was publishing the work, adherening to set formatting guidelines.

My colleagues thought there was a serious problem the day I received word that not only had one of my students won the Junior Section, but five others had taken Highly Commended Awards.The jig around the office was indicative of my joy at the success of the students.

The Young Journalist Award proved a very worthwhile learning experience.

Students gained a sense of great personal achievement and pride not only for themselves, but also for their school.

Click here for details of this year's award, and for resources for teachers and students. 

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