Composition
Skills Syllabus
Dear Parents:
Below a reader will find a course description and objectives, supplies,
grading policy, assessment, classroom expectations, and communication with the
teacher. All materials are available at
my main
page. Few handouts will be
given.
Course Description and Objectives:
My students can attain
success in this Composition Skills class.
The student will be studying writing during the semester. We will be studying note taking, research,
and composition. When the semester is
over, the student will be able to effectively write a paper with little to no
difficulty. The Madeline Hunter Process Model of Teaching is used daily. We also work in Gardner’s Theory of
Multiple Intelligences and Bloom’s
Taxonomy.
Supplies:
The student will need the following:
The student will need the following: pens,
pencils, paper, folder, highlighters, binder (to keep all writing in), and
dividers (4).
Please place dividers in binder. Label one per quarter: 1st Quarter
and 2nd Quarter. At the end
of the quarter, the binder should contain all writings a student creates for
that quarter.
Grading Policy:
Grades are calculated on the board approved
grading scale.
93-100 = A; 90-92 = A-; 87-89 = B+; 83-86 = B;
80-82 = B-; 77-79 = C+; 73-76 = C; 70-72 = C-; 67-69 = D+; 63-66 = D; 60 – 62 =
D-; 59 – Below = F.
There is no extra credit.
College Composition Semester Breakdown
I.
First
nine weeks
a.
Grammar
review for the first three weeks.
1.
Parts
of Speech
2.
Number
agreement
3.
Verbals
4.
Direct/Indirect
Objects
5.
Take
grammar pretest
b.
Four to five paragraph essays
1.
Childhood
Experience
2.
Persuasive/Argument
No. 1
3.
Letter
Writing
4.
Job
Application
II.
Second
nine weeks
a.
We
will start a basic research paper
b.
We
will work on making an argument and defending it.
c.
Book
review
d.
Resume
Assessment:
Tests are meant to be an accurate reflection
of the curriculum objectives. Make up
work follows the school policy in the student/parent handbook. A child must show his or her admit slip upon
returning. Once back, the student has
the same number of days missed to make up assignments. Please turn these assignments into the
teacher.
Late work receives a one-letter grade
deduction per day late. All students
need to keep a weekly planner with all assignments written in it, and it will
be checked from time-to-time.
Writings
A multiple-choice pre-test will be given
during the first week of class. Then,
there will be a post-test given to measure mastery of the material
covered. The students will show what
they have learned through tests and writing.
With papers, the students will be given the following material: a
rubric, a due date, and a location on the web site to use as a reference. I will check their paper against the rubric,
so students can earn a better grade. In
between the date the material was given and the due date, students may submit
papers and have them evaluated without a penalty. Once the paper is graded, if students are not
happy with a grade, they may make corrections, and earn half of the lost points
back. Essentially, students choose their
own grade.
Why Do We Do This? Since writing is a process, a key point in
writing is revision. Even great writers
like Harper Lee rewrite
hundreds of times. By doing this,
students are forced to revise, rewrite, and follow the process.
Classroom Expectations and Guidelines:
Upon entering the room
students are to get into an assigned seat, so I may take attendance. If a student is not in his or her seat when
the bell rings, he or she is late. We
will have assigned seats during the first quarter. During the second, third, and fourth
quarters, students may select seats. The
teacher reserves the right to change seats if necessary. At the beginning of class, I will raise my
right hand meaning class is beginning.
In addition, this signal will be used during the class to bring the class
to attention for things like announcements.
When turning in or passing out an assignment, all paper work will be
passed to the side.
Hall passes are available from me. A bathroom pass will be given to a student
once a week (unless there are extenuating circumstances).
All people in the room
are expected to work together to ensure a safe environment. If a student has a question, please raise a
hand; also, if we are working in groups or if another student is presenting a
project, a student is expected to stay on the educational objective. In order to guarantee your child, and all the
students in my classroom, the excellent learning climate they deserve, I am
utilizing the following assertive
discipline plan starting today.
Mr. Marsala’s Classroom Guideline
A student must work to reach the educational
objective for each day.
If a student chooses to
breaks this guideline, the consequences are as follows:
First consequence: Verbal
warning.
Second consequence: A
talk with the teacher and a detention.
Third consequence: A call
home and two detentions.
Fourth consequence:
Parent/teacher conference.
Fifth consequence: An
office referral.
The tardy policy follows
the parent/student handbook.
Computer Lab Procedure:
A student may sit where he or she likes, but I reserve the right to
change seats. Also, a student may listen
to music while typing provided it does not distract from finishing an
assignment; also, he or she must have headphones. A student may not listen to music without
headphones.
Parent/Teacher Communication:
If we work together, the
child will have a better chance at success.
Midterm and quarter notices will be sent and state a child’s
progress. Please feel free to call me at
(440) 933-6290. In addition, I have
established an e-mail address at vmarsa@leeca.org. The phone number and email address shown are
for educational use only by parents/adults.
Student phone calls and/or emails will not receive a response at any
time. As with any email, I can be
reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Papers and Plagiarism: Material may not be copied at
all. If the material is not your work,
it must be attributed to its creator.
Key items to remember
about plagiarism –
You CANNOT use a writer’s exact words without using quotation
marks and the page number where the quote can be found in the text, and a
complete citation in the reference pages.
You CANNOT
simply rephrase another’s words and present the revised version as your own.
You CANNOT
present another’s ideas, no matter how differently it is phrased, as your own.
Disclaimer:
This is not meant to be
all encompassing. As the year
progresses, there may be a need for additional assignments or modifications to
expectations.
Sincerely yours,
Vincent Marsala
Teacher