I said what I said, and yes, I know I just ruffled a few feathers with that headline.😅 As a first year Yearbook adviser last year, I told my staff they were going to make a traditional book, the first in years, and drumroll, my students loved the product they created.
So new adviser, let’s break down some definitions:
Traditional Yearbook Coverage
This is a book divided by sections that will each have a new thematic name.
Sections can include:
- Student Life
- Sports
- Academics
- Arts and Music
- People (Portraits)
Within each section, your Yearbook editors (under your guidance) decide what needs coverage in your school and design your ladder to create thematic spreads or club, academic subject, or sport specific spreads.
Chronological Yearbook Coverage
This is a book where traditional sections are combined by week, month, or season to organize the non-portrait section.
Within each section, now chronologically-organized, spread topics are created for that specific section based on what is happening at your school during that time frame.
Organization can look like:
- Summer —> Back to School, Orientation, Cross Country
- Fall —> Football, Homecoming, Halloween, Thanksgiving
- Winter —> Winter Break Activities, Basketball, Valentine’s Day
- Spring —> Dances, Spring Break, Field Day
Okay, so after defining these terms, you may be thinking, “Wow, chronological coverage sounds like such an organic and easy way to organize a yearbook! We are definitely going with that model.” And that is perfectly fine!
During the pandemic, schools had to use the chronological method in order to meet deadlines and complete their contracts. For younger grades (6-8), the chronological organization method can get students used to adhering to deadlines and reporting, too. If this is the method you want to go with, Jostens and Balfour have created many resources to help you get started.
But what if you are a teacher at a well-established high school with robust traditions, departments, and sports? I want to say my peace on why I don’t think the traditionally organized book is dead and how it can help push your students to be better journalists.
1. When well-planned, a traditionally organized book reads less like a printed-off news stream and forces students to think of each spread thematically.
Theme is king in high school yearbook competitions, and by thinking of your sections and spreads as telling a cohesive, magazine-like story of your year, your staff can drive home how each spread relates to your chosen theme. This thematic spread planning style is known as the umbrella method, but I believe that still fits under the traditional model. Students have to go out and interview many students to write cohesive copy that tells the whole whole, theme specific story of that club or sport. They start thinking more like a feature writer rather than a news reporter alone.
2. Make room for sudden changes, but you can plan your ladder out well in-advance ensuring that no group is left out.
Inclusion and coverage are also critical when creating a Yearbook. As an adviser, you can set up your deadlines so that students are working on pages all over the book for the same deadline. You won’t be completing the sports section by October, but you can strategically plan with your editors when each team will be in season so that you don’t leave anyone out.
One issue with chronological coverage is that your staff may be so excited to cover a smaller event on campus that they forget about a whole team for that Yearbook. While you meet your deadline and shed light on an interesting event, you could be potentially letting down a whole group of students and their parents by running out of room in your seasonal or monthly section.
3. Add to the shelf life of your book.
Your yearbook staffers are the historians of your school. My students love looking at yearbooks from fifteen or twenty years ago. Likewise, students who buy their yearbooks will probably be keeping them forever. Organizing your book by traditional sections allows for better longevity because down the line, people might not remember which month Homecoming 2024 happened in, but they do remember it is a student life event.
My concern with chronological books becoming the new standard is that we lose some of that distinct yearbook genre that make our publications a joy to look through and read and re-read for decades to come.
I may have not convinced you to try to create a traditional book this year, but I hope I helped you think hard over which coverage model is best for your school instead of just going with what is “easiest.”
Check out what resources your Yearbook publication company has on its digital classroom, but here are links to some free resources to help you set up a traditional book if you want to go that route!
Organized Adviser’s Yearbook Planning Blog and Video
Creating a Ladder for Traditional Coverage