Caption Exercise

Every day, when students enter the yearbook classroom, they expect to find a caption on the board. Students copy it onto their own paper while I take attendance

I read the caption aloud. Then, I ask, "What do we need to do to fix this caption?" Students check that the caption is composed of three or more sentences, all sentences are in correct verb tense, all people have been properly identified, all quotations have been correctly attributed, and all AP style rules have been followed. I always end with brainstorming for additional information that might improve the caption.

After five days of revising poorly written captions, students are given a 10-point quiz. Each student is given a caption to revise. One point is deducted for each mistake he or she makes,

I usually get these captions from college yearbooks because college books tend to have less specific captions than high school books.

Below is an example of a caption quiz.

Caption Quiz -10 points

Name ________________________________

Directions
You are provided a basic caption. Rewrite as a three-sentence caption that follows all rules and provides interesting details.

Senior Jessica Latham and junior Michael Madison present their tickets and enter the concert.

(Provide a list of information from which students are to rewrite the caption.)

— Kara Petersen
kpetersen@hanover.k12.va.us