Your staff may choose to submit layouts and copy electronically, or
you may prefer to do the pasteup yourself. Most yearbook companies
accept digital images. Ask your yearbook representative how you should
submit the images; the company may require that images be in certain
formats or sizes.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The representative’s service is part of
what you’re paying for. One call may save hours of time redoing lay-
outs, may get the book done weeks earlier or may keep the staff within
budget.
YEARBOOKS AND MAGAZINES^411
Your Beat
- Imagine students looking at their yearbooks for the
first time (or recall the scene, if you’ve experienced
it). What will the students say first? What will the
males say? The females? What will the athletes say?
What will the freshmen say? What will the members
of the speech team say? What will the teachers say?
Why will each group say something different? - Ask each member of the class to write down at least
10 things he or she remembers about last year at
your school that should be recorded in the yearbook.
Compare your lists. What things appear on every-
one’s lists? Which appear on only a few lists? Make
a composite list on the board so everyone can see
all the items. (Keep a copy of this list for planning
the ladder.) Why are the lists different? Would other
classes write down the same events you did? Ask
a few teachers if you can use five minutes of their
class time to have students from different age and
interest areas write lists of the top 10 things each
remembers about last year’s book. Compare these
lists to your master list. Add things you have missed. - Brainstorm to come up with a theme for your year-
book. Begin by having each student write down the
name of one music group that represents the whole
school. List the groups on the board, and have each
student explain the reason for his or her choice.
Continue the discussion until you have a consensus
on one group you believe is representative of the
school as a whole. Try the same thing with food,
colors and animals. Now that you have the idea of
choosingone noun from a category best represent-
ing your school, try it with action words and phrases.
Is your school energetic? New and improved? On
a roll? Breaking away from the crowd? Have each
student write three words or phrases that describe
the school. Discuss how each one might fit the year.
Select two or three you think might work. Use them
to complete Item 4.- Design logos to represent the themes you chose in
Item 3. Add colors that go with each theme. Sketch a
cover using the theme, logo and colors you like best. - Divide the class into groups of four or five. Give each
group a ladder, and ask it to plan the yearbook using
the list of contents from Item 2 and one of the themes
chosen in Item 3 (or the theme for this year’s book,
if you have one). Compare ladders. What are the dif-
ferences? Combine the ladders to create one that the
class agrees works best with the theme. (Don’t forget
to allow for advertising and index sections, division
pages, and opening and closing sections.)