Freshman Composition Syllabus

Bob Speirs

9th Composition

rspeirs@spearfish.k12.sd.us

(605) 717-1212 (W)

-Research writing is the focus of Freshman Composition.

-In addition, students will develop daily journals, peer evaluation skills, and present oral reports on outside readings during the course.

Materials/Textbook Information

• 1. Laptop computer

  2. Journal or spiral notebook

Course Requirements/Objectives

The Student will:

• 1. develop critical written evaluation and listening skills

  2. perform in classroom speech demonstrations

  3. evaluate other speakers/writers and provide positive feedback in writing

  4. gain an understanding of terminology/ vocabulary

  5. meet or exceed state speech standards

Student Performance Objectives and Course Requirements

The Student will:

• 1. develop critical listening skills

  2. perform in classroom speech demonstrations

  3. evaluate other speakers and provide positive feedback in writing

  4. gain an understanding of speaking terminology/ vocabulary

Class Procedures and Rules

Sign in and out if you are tardy or leaving classroom.

If absent, have a responsible classmate gather the information pertaining to missed assignments prior to the next class period

Laptop and Internet Procedures

No laptop use unless specifically instructed,

Leave laptops under desks unless otherwise instructed.

No email until last five minutes of class.

First misuse leads to confiscation for remainder of period, second till end of day.

Assessment Plan

Student assessment will be based on:

• 1. speeches

  2. peer evaluations

  3. quizzes and tests

  4. small group work and presentations

  5. To KILL a MOCKINGBIRD

  6. journals

  7. research papers and essays

:- In-class journal entries, ½ page average for an “A”.(Up to 10% of final grade)

• 1. Journal entries are graded as a participation grade and do not need to be made up when you are absent. Each entry must begin with the journal topic and the date.

  2. TWO self-selected novel reports, written and then presented orally.

  3. Novels must be selected and instructor approved during the first two weeks of class. Novels may only be changed with prior instructor approval up to two weeks prior to presentation date. (1st reports are due the 17th or 18th of October). No Movies, No books from middle school reading list without prior approval. (Up to 10% of total grade)

  4. Several short essays (Up to 30 % of total grade)

  5. Two research based article reviews (Up to 20% of total grade)

  6. Two/three short research papers

  7. Comprehensive final. (Up to 15% of total grade)

  8. No incompletes or failed grades will be allowed to stay on grade book without parental approval. All incompletes or failed assignments must be retaken or completed to earn a final course grade.

  9. Your final course score can be increased up to 5% with acceptable extra credit work.

Letter grades for the course are determined by the school wide-grading scale outlined below:

96-100 A

92-95 A-

B+

86-88 B

83-85 B-

79-82 C+

76-78 C

73-75 C-

69-72 D+

65-68 D

60-64 D-

House Keeping:

• 1. Only one person may be gone from the room at a time. Students must ask permission to leave, sign out in the log book, take the hall pass, and sign back in upon returning.

_________________________________________ Date; ____________

Book Report Format and Grade Sheet

Name _____________

Date _____________

Class _____________

Each area is worth 20 points

1. Cover Page List the (author, title, date, class, publisher)

2. Main Characters Describe the main characters

3. Plot Describe the major activities and events of the story

4. Climax Describe the resolution of the conflict and if you agree

5. Style List 2 of the following 3:Simile, metaphor, personification

Speaker scores

Peer Review Form

Each piece of work turned in MUST be accompanied by

3 Peer Review Forms

Author of work _______________________ Peer Reviewer _______________________

Reviewer – After reading the work of your classmate, analyze the piece using the following characteristics of analysis. Circle the number below each characteristic which best describes the piece, in accordance with that particular characteristic. The number 1 represents poor quality of work and would require much revision, while the number 5 represents the highest quality of work and very little if any revision is required. You MUST write comments in the provided space regardless of whether or not the piece was excellently crafted or needs improvement. If you decide the piece needs improvement, you must explain why. If you decide the work is magnificent, you must explain why. You are required to justify the score you circle. If no justification is given, the review will not be considered.

Ideas and Content

Does the piece have a clear purpose? Does the piece make a clear point in which all ideas are relevant?

1 2 3 4 5

Comments:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Organization

Does this piece have a beginning (introduction), middle (body paragraphs) and end (conclusion)? Are transitions smooth? Is the main point of the piece easy to follow and is it carried throughout the piece? Does the organization allow for clear understanding? Are the supporting details relevant?

1 2 3 4 5

Comments:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Voice

Does the author come across as compelling and honest? Is their personality in the piece?

1 2 3 4 5

Comments:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Word Choice

Does the author do a nice job of painting a picture? Have the “to be” verbs been eliminated? Does the writing sound natural? Does the writing have a flair of originality?

1 2 3 4 5

Comments:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sentence Fluency

Do all sentences make sense? Does the author do a good job at combining sentences? Does the author use a variety of sentence styles? Do all sentences have proper noun/verb agreement?

1 2 3 4 5

Comments:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Conventions

In general, how well does the author utilize grammar and punctuation? Does the piece read so that spelling and grammatical errors do not hinder your understanding?

1 2 3 4 5

Comments:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your ideas and honesty.