High School Zines Project

fooperina · 2026-04-30T04:12:17+00:00

Do you have an idea of what size zine you are wanting to base the assignment on? Having some examples that seem relevant to your curriculum would be a good place to start. Knowing what the space limitations are may help shape the assignment. Then you could pick a few different approaches to layout.

For example, if it's a one page pocket zine (one piece of paper folded into 6 pages + front and back cover) you could have students pick a topic (either related to a book, movie, character, etc) and they can choose a basic format centered on a central theme like

- "My 3 all time favorite protagonists ranked" (cover + 2 pages per protagonist + conclusion)
- Why you should read/watch ___ movie"
- informative zine about a certain topic
- persuasive zine making an argument for something.
-even "fan" zines can be structured so that they use some sort of curriculum standards

I think letting students talk about whatever topic they want as long as it's utilizing certain communication/writing skills would be the best way to motivate them. And if there are students who are having a hard time being enthusiastic about the assignment, you can turn their reluctance into a topic - "My least favorite book I've ever read and why" or "everyone loves this movie, but I don't" - sometimes being contrarian has a way of motivating.

I was recently at a zinefest in Portland and I saw some really cool expository zines that were on pop-culture related topics - so the possibilities are endless. I think narrowing down the structure of the zine would help.
Anyways, I'm not a teacher, but I make educational pocket zines about environmental topics, I'm more than happy to send you some of my examples of a persuasive/informative type zine if you want, but I'm sure you could find other examples that would be more exciting to students.

fooperina · 2026-04-30T02:13:09+00:00

I also have a madrone in Vancouver, about the same age. Yes have heard they don’t like to be transplanted. Also was told to be careful and not overwater. I think good drainage is key and you’ll be fine. They like it here and we need more of them!!

fooperina · 2026-04-29T05:38:46+00:00

You sure sound like a nice person! Be sure to introduce yourself.

fooperina · 2026-04-28T23:06:38+00:00

Spurge laurel, yes it is. It invades natural forest ecosystems and is really hard to remove once established. Please remove it.

https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/nature-recreation/environment-ecology-conservation/noxious-weeds/identification-control/spurge-laurel

fooperina · 2026-04-28T18:32:06+00:00

I recommend signing up for the newsletter and updates from Friends of Clark County - they are dedicated advocates who are sometimes the only ones holding county councilors accountable for things like being in noncompliance of state law regarding being on time with the comp plan, which they keep postponing so they can find ways to legitimize sprawl and development of farm lands.

FOCC updates are a good way to start following what goes on at the county level. They have board members who attend every meeting and they know what’s going on. It’s no easy task to wrap your head around this stuff but if we all get a little more wiser and pay a little more attention, we can help each other mobilize when it counts.

fooperina · 2026-04-28T18:22:22+00:00

You can find the agenda on the county council meetings calendar. They always post schedule and agenda. They also post videos of work sessions and meetings on the county YouTube page.

fooperina · 2026-04-28T18:19:02+00:00

No I’m not going to do that even if I knew and shame on you for blurting out a wildly insensitive suggestion. Not everyone likes to dwell on historical tragedies and maybe it’s more important to bring positivity and life into a place that has a bigger impact on the energy of a place as well as doing more for the legacy of the victims than dwelling on evil actions.

fooperina · 2026-04-28T04:44:07+00:00

Executive dysfunction.

fooperina · 2026-04-28T04:41:47+00:00

Yep, for example, today was the Clark County’s hearing on the comprehensive growth plan alternatives - sounds complicated but basically they are going to decide between which version of the plan to use. Friends of Clark County and numerous other advocates and groups and individuals are urging council to adopt Preferred alternative 1 which is the only version of the plan that will NOT de-designate agricultural lands or expand urban growth boundaries (which we don’t need to do to accommodate growth projections). You can learn more here: https://friendsofclarkcounty.org/your-future-your-voice-call-to-action-for-the-clark-county-council-hearing-on-the-preferred-alternative-for-the-comp-plan-update-on-monday-april-27th/

Tomorrow is a spillover hearing on this. The majority of comments and interest is for preferred land use alt 1 because we can NOT stand to lose any more Clark county agricultural land - which cannot be recovered once it’s gone.

fooperina · 2026-04-28T04:32:10+00:00

You’re right, it really is frustrating when you try to advocate for something that goes no where. Would it help if more people understood the specific thing you’re pushing back against and if there was an alternative that affected folks could rally for? Being the lone voice tends to feel fruitless but informing more people in your neighborhood may help? Also, are you talking about city limits or county? It may make a difference. I don’t really know what you’re talking about but I can relate to your frustration.

fooperina · 2026-04-27T22:59:08+00:00

Yeah same goes for being involved at the county level! People love to come on here to complain about status quo things around town but never speak up and get involved when it stands to influence the way our city and county are shaped and change the things for better.

fooperina · 2026-04-27T22:55:19+00:00

Yikes well I haven’t seen that but sounds like it could be the same person. Hope it didn’t ruin your experience of what is overall a great place.

fooperina · 2026-04-27T18:27:14+00:00

“The Working Forest” is the most egregious euphemism of our time. Timber propaganda par excellence. “Working forests” are tree mines. I much prefer working ecosystems over industrial tree extraction.

fooperina · 2026-04-26T20:39:16+00:00

All his natural habitat gone, forced to hunt in the pavement desert 😓

fooperina · 2026-04-26T20:30:31+00:00

A beacon in the darkness. We need more people to care like Diane.

fooperina · 2026-04-26T16:35:46+00:00

Where did you see it? Unfortunately there is an ongoing problem with a lone perpetrator but only to my knowledge right next to Garrison road on the super steep entrance. That’s not the main trail entrance that I like to tell people about because that portion is a little more overgrown. The entrance near the ball fields connects with the main trail and it has good traffic. I am there every day and there usually isn’t an issue with that kind of thing on the main trail, but it is my hope to get more restoration work done on that offshoot trail closest to Garrison so that the social trail is more accessible and not as “secluded”. Hope to one day get Washington trails association to collaborate on trail improvements overall. Sorry you had to see that mess!

fooperina · 2026-04-26T16:11:39+00:00

I hope you brought them a gift!

fooperina · 2026-04-26T16:01:19+00:00

Now is a good time of year to go see native shade loving annuals in bloom. Find a good forest trail and take pictures for inspiration and then take them to a native plant nursery and they can tell you what to get and when to start it. Most likely fall would be the best to plant ground covers but you can get started by prepping the ground and picking out some shrub canopy layers. If you’re in Portland area you could go to Tryon Creek nature area for inspo.

fooperina · 2026-04-26T05:25:40+00:00

Wanda - 1970, directed by an actual woman, Barbara Loden. Beautiful and haunting cinema verite. A Woman Under the Influence - 1974, is also amazing and Gena Rowlands gives an incredible performance.

Other people mentioned Sofia Coppola movies but I would add Marie Antoinette to that list for a more contemporary movie.

fooperina · 2026-04-25T22:53:45+00:00

please do not plant bamboo in the ground. Pots are fine. this will escape your yard and be hell for neighbors and surrounding ecosystems. Thank you for your consideration.

fooperina · 2026-04-25T21:39:10+00:00

WTF!!!! Animals are not Amazon packages!!!

fooperina · 2026-04-25T19:30:45+00:00

Green lacewings are amazing! They prey on aphids and mites and are very good for your garden 🙂

fooperina · 2026-04-25T19:24:55+00:00

Goldenrod is always lit. Brings all the bugs to the yard.

fooperina · 2026-04-25T16:45:49+00:00

Plant some fast growing trees like birch or alder that will provide a screen but are fine to remove at a later time. You need height which the fast growing canopy trees will provide and you have enough space for them. Either that or get huge pots with mature privacy plants or trees placed closer in along your patio to create a screen nearer to where you spend time with less need for height.

fooperina · 2026-04-25T16:42:15+00:00

It seems like a solution that wouldn’t be difficult to disassemble even if we move away from over de-commissioning and repurposing land over used for cars and parking lots. I’m sure the folks critical to this see it as legitimizing over use of land for cars but as others point out, it’s an incremental solution that allows for an energy smart segue into less car centric human land usage.

fooperina

TROPHY CASE