1st Place, Feature Writing – Academics
2021-22, Division 2, Yearbook Verbal
By Somer Soderman
Ceniad
East Lansing HS
German teacher Adam Orange hunched over his computer, which was stacked on two books nestled in a nook in his kitchen, and reviewed the ingredients to make traditional German potato pancakes. Grating potatoes and onions, molding and frying the mixture, Orange carefully went through each step as 15 of his students followed along through Zoom.
With frequent appearances of his daughter to blow a kiss to the students, German class was finally feeling like it used to feel.
As winter break approached and the 13th week of virtual learning arrived, Orange noticed that participation had decreased. Students slowly stopped turning their cameras on in Zoom, and the participation in the chat box dwindled. This was something he knew would happen and had been dreading, so he reached out to the students to understand how they were feeling.
“After we got farther into the school year, I started to feel burnt out on the same old routine of going to classes filled with technical difficulties and, unfortunately, little repetitive lessons,” Alexander Arnold (10) said. “Orange always checks in with students and knows that we love to learn about the cultural traditions of Germany. He sensed we could all use something fun we could do together to give a sense of normality, and to keep us interested with the language without all of the cool events we would have gotten to do in a regular year.”
With only meeting two and a half days a week, there hadn’t been time to think about celebrations—something that would’ve given the students something to look forward to. After the students brought that to Orange’s attention, he knew just what to do to help the students, and himself, feel better.
Growing up, Orange used to cook and bake with his German grandmother, which allowed him to establish a good relationship with her. And he wanted to do the same with his students. So with the last two minutes left in his fourth hour, he decided that they would do four winter cooking and baking activities the students could do outside of live lessons.
“Learning to make food with my grandmother was magical and it’s something I wanted to recreate with the kids,” Orange said. “I think I’ve always been called to feed people, outside of teaching. It was a natural fit. I just spontaneously decided that if they want to do something fun, then they should join me in my kitchen.”
For the following four weeks, Orange and his students would gather at 7:30 p.m. to cook or bake a traditional German dish made during the holidays.
“Although we can’t be in person, I think it’s a fun way to get away from virtual learning,” Emma Russold (12) said. “I think we all need a break from the learning aspect of school and need to have some fun. Doing these advent baking activities is a fun way to socialize and feel like a class again. I also think it’s cool that he takes time out of his day to be with students and teach us how to make German meals or cookies.”
As Orange sought to inspire his students to enjoy the German language and culture, he did just that and more, making learning during the pandemic a little less difficult.
“My students normally see me from my shoulders up, so I think this gave them the chance to see me as a human,” Orange said. “I was intrigued that more cameras were on from baking and cooking these past couple of weeks, and parents and siblings were joining. I just kind of thought that this is one of the beauties or silver-linings of this terrible situation of the pandemic. It’s given us the opportunity to be creative and use the resources we have at home. We rolled up our sleeves and we baked and we cooked.”
Y-02. Feature Writing – Academics
single story about an academic department, a subject, a class or an issue that emphasizes academics — but not a personality profile of a teacher. Academics coverage commonly depicts students in a learning situation either in or out of class. Feature coverage emphasizes human-interest angles (who, why and how) over traditional hard news elements (what, when).
Judging Criteria
- Clear, relevant, engaging human-interest angle
- Solid lead that draws reader into story
- The conclusion ties back to the central point of the story and leaves an impression on the reader by using a powerful quote, vivid anecdote or important point that acts as a “kicker.”
- Meaningful student quotes that enrich story and reflect effective interviewing
- Evidence of adequate research
- Story goes beyond simply reviewing what happens in classroom
- Adheres to rules of good journalism including: short paragraphs, effective transitions and use of active voice, freedom from editorial comment, careful editing and proofreading to eliminate mechanical errors, correct use of grammar