Course Syllabus

Welcome

9th Grade World Literature and Composition Students!

Course: Research and the Writing Process 101

 Instructor: Ms. Michelle Guinn

 Email: michelle.guinn@cowetaschools.net

 Office Telephone: (678) 972-9044

 Office Location: East Coweta High School

 Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

 Course Description:

In this course, students will chose a symbol in Night and research its historical importance as well as its importance in the memoir.  This course will allow students to use the writing process to develop a strong, well-written research paper on the student’s chosen symbol and what that symbol represents.  Students will begin this course after reading Night with discussions on symbols already taken place with the class and teacher.  This course with take students through the writing process, research, creating a works cited, and peer review in order to achieve their goals.

 Approaches to Instruction:

This course will be delivered entirely online, but students must have the following pieces of technology to participate:

• Access to a personal computer
• Access to Internet.
• Microsoft Office software (Microsoft Office 2007 or higher)

Although this class will be taught completely online, it is important that the student spends a significant amount of time in the two week span on the course. Suggested times are:

Discussions: 100 minutes

Instruction:   100 minutes

Research:      300-400 minutes

Writing:          300-400 minutes

Revising:         100 minutes

 Course Objectives:

Students will complete following Common Core Standards:

 

1. ELACC9-10RL1:  Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
2. ELACC9-10RL2:  Determine a theme or central idea of text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
3. ELACC9-10W2:  Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
4. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
5. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic
6. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
7. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
8. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
9. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
10. ELACC9-10W6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
11. ELACC9-10L1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
12. ELACC9-10L2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

 Student Resources:

 Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

 

Welcome to GALILEO. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2015, from http://www.galileo.usg.edu/welcome/

 

Wiesel, E., & Wiesel, M. (2006). Night. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

 

 MLA: Website Citation

http://www.usatestprep.com/movies/540/2779/1511

 Plagiarism

http://www.usatestprep.com/movies/540/2779/1339

 Reliable Sources

http://www.usatestprep.com/movies/540/2779/1527

 Researching on the Web

http://www.usatestprep.com/movies/540/2779/1518

 The Writing Process

http://www.usatestprep.com/movies/540/2779/1331

 Thesis

http://www.usatestprep.com/movies/540/2779/196

 Pre-Writing and Outline

http://www.usatestprep.com/movies/540/2779/1526

 Supporting Evidence

http://www.usatestprep.com/movies/540/2779/195

 Researching Tips

http://www.usatestprep.com/movies/540/2779/1519

 Handouts and Websites:

 Full Text of Night

http://www.scslschool.com/Documents/TeacherFiles/ElieWiesel-NightFULLTEXT_3_26_2014_3_23_04_PM.pdf

 

 MLA Style

http://www.usatestprep.com/modules/worksheet/worksheet_view.php?id=2242&testid=540

 

 Ready, Set, Research

http://www.usatestprep.com/modules/worksheet/worksheet_view.php?id=1948&testid=540

 

 Notes

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/night/

 

 Graphic Organizers

http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/GO/GO_pdf/hierarchy_chart.pdf

 

Activities:

*Please note that plagiarism of ANY kind will not be accepted and tolerated in this course. If students are caught plagiarizing, they will receive a zero for the assignment, which could lead to failing the course.

 

Students must participate in this course in order to be successful. It is the students’ responsibility to keep up with the work, follow the calendar, and submit work by the deadlines. Students may check their progress by checking their grades and communicating with the instructor.

 

Discussions (20 points)

Assessment (teacher observations)

Every student is responsible for making an initial post according to the topic posed by the instructor, as well as provides meaningful and thoughtful responses to their peers’ discussions. Every student is required to post to a response to at least two of their peers’ posts.

 

Research (20 points)

Assessment (checklist)

During the writing process, it is the students’ responsibility to research reliable sources on their chosen topic. Using Galileo is HIGHLY recommended. Students will need to fins enough quotes to provide a three-page paper on their symbol.

 

Writing (50 points)

Assessment (Rubric)

The writing process will be the majority of the course. Students will submit a rough draft of their paper, as well as a final draft to be graded by the instructor. The instructor will grade the papers according to the rubric, as well as Georgia’s Common Core Standards previously mentioned.

 

Peer Review (10 points)

Assessment (teacher observations)

Students will be required to submit their work and “grade” the work of their peer. While reading their peer’s work (at least two), students will provide meaningful and accurate feedback in order to help their peer do better. Students will also be required to post their peers’ strengths and weaknesses. Posts that look like “Good” or “No improvements” will not suffice. Everyone can improve in their own writing somehow.

 

Grading Scale:

A= 100-91 Points

B= 90-81 Points

C= 80-71 Points

F= Below 70 Points

Scope and Sequence:

Day	Lesson
Monday	Post initial discussion on symbol Respond to peers’ discussion board
Tuesday	Graphic organizer due
Wednesday	Day 1 for research
Thursday	Day 2 for research
Friday	Begin writing
Monday	Works Cited paper due Continue writing
Tuesday	Rough draft due on discussion post
Wednesday	Discussion post due Conference with teacher due
Thursday	Begin writing final draft
Friday	Final draft due Complete reflection activity

 

Note from the Instructor:

Students, although it is your responsibility to keep up with the assignments and requirements of the course, please communicate with me if you are having problems. The earlier we address a problem, the sooner we can make a solution. I am your advocate, and I will help you in anyway I can. You can communicate to me through phone or email.

 

This course moves very fast, so hold on and enjoy the ride!