Teaching yearbook

If your school is weighing up whether to produce an annual yearbook, try starting with some simple starter questions like the purpose and audience.

When I was asked/told I would be the yearbook adviser over ten years ago, I said what any good new hire would say: “Sure!” I had never been on the yearbook or newspaper staff before, and my degree wasn’t in journalism. I stepped into a situation where the previous adviser had left on bad terms, so the staffers hated me – that is an understatement. So, through much blood, sweet, and tears, I eventually learned everything the hard way and on my own – again, another understatement. Now, I am…

A key technique for creating engaging content is to vary the format. The best school yearbooks are a captivating blend of photography, graphics and text.

Yearbook Distribution Day Tips and Best Practices

You’ve just been assigned the yearbook, or last year didn’t go so well, and you want your first days plans to be solid, effective, and fun! Does this sound like you? I’ve been there. The first week of school is a whirlwind, but in yearbook class, the first week back to school is even more topsy turvy, to say the least. You might have looked through my Tips for New Advisers post or How to Have a Picture-Perfect Start to the Year posts for adviser-facing suggestions, and you feel good-to-go…

When it comes to creating a yearbook, one of the most important steps in planning is the sequence in which the content will appear, and in the yearbook world, we call that the yearbook ladder. The ladder is the page-by-page list of what will be appearing where in your yearbook. Without a ladder to plan your yearbook pages up front, it is likely that areas of content could be missed, pages would be left unplanned/blank, or your book won’t feel cohesive when it’s all said and done. However…

Two years ago, I met a struggling first-year yearbook adviser who invited me into his classroom to give him some tips. The first thing I noticed was that he provided plenty of space to display item…

Learn the rule of thirds, angles, cell phone tips, and depth of field with these five photography lessons for yearbook classes and clubs.

Don't get bogged down by current design trends! These tried-and-true, well-established design principles will ensure great results for your yearbook.

Yearbook in 60 Days (1-15) Creating a yearbook in 60 days is doable. Promise. We’re breaking it down for you in four parts, each with two weeks' worth of tasks and inspiration. Consider this your yearbook easy button.