Department of English, Foreign Languages, Journalism

Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism Department

Dr. Jane Frick, English Professor, and Prairie Lands Writing Project Director

Spring - 2003

2-3:20 p.m. TTH - JGM 106

Email: frick@missouriwestern.edu

Faculty Web Page: www2.mwsc.edu/eflj/faculty/frick.html

Office: SS/C 201 (Prairie Lands Writing Project)

271-4315 (MWSC); 232-3695 (home)

Office Hours: TTH 9:30-10:30 & 1-2; W 1-3

Other Times By Appointment

 

Course Syllabus for ENG 36501 Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools and ENG 36601 Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools

 

Class closed Web site at  http://miranda.cailab.mwsc.edu:8080/~eng465

Catalog Descriptions

ENG 365 Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools (3). Instruction in applying current research on the composing process to the teaching of writing in secondary schools and an examination of problems issues related to teaching writing in grades 7 - 12.

 

ENG 366 Teaching Writing in the Disciplines (3). Instruction in applying current research on writing instruction and using writing to learn in subjects other than English.

NOTE: Because of small enrollments, ENG 366 meets with ENG 365. Students in both classes will have the same reading/writing assignments through February 13, when Writing Project # 1, will be completed. Separate assignment sheets for Writing Project # 2 (multi-genre research paper) and Writing Project # 3 (teaching unit) will be provided for students in ENG 365 and in ENG 366.

Course Description

This annual offering is designed for Missouri Western students considering a teaching career and/or substitute teachers who want to turn their classrooms into vibrant and transforming learning communities for themselves and their students. As teachers, how can we make writing and the evaluation of writing an exhilarating and joyous learning experience for our students as well as for ourselves? How can we also prepare our students to demonstrate that they are proficient and/or advanced writers on their Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests? In answering these questions, we will investigate good writing and teaching practices documented by area middle and high school teachers, by the National Writing Project, and by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

 

Basic Assumptions about Writing/Teaching Writing (adopted from the National Writing Project: www.writingproject.org)

 

4 Writing is pivotal to learning, to academic achievement, and to job success

 

4  Writing instruction begins in kindergarten and continues through university

 

4  Effective teachers of writing regularly write themselves

 

4  Writing is fundamental to learning in all subjects

 

Course Objectives

 

(1) To provide training for prospective teachers who will teach writing as a part of their English classes (ENG 365) and for those who will teach writing as a teaching/learning device in other content areas (ENG 366) in middle or secondary schools.

 

(2) To build one's own writing fluency by writing and responding to others' writing.

 

(3) To develop a philosophy of teaching writing which can be applied in middle and secondary schools.

 

(4) To join the professional community of teachers who write and to begin the process of developing a professional teaching portfolio which includes pieces demonstrating writing competence as well as the ability to teach writing.

 

(5) To understand the process paradigm as it translates to the teaching of writing as well as problems in teaching via that approach in middle and secondary schools.

 

(6) To know how to use computer technology to enhance writing instruction and learning.

 

(7) To develop and implement a philosophy for evaluating student writing (includes peer review, holistic evaluation, analytic evaluation, portfolio assessment, student evaluation, program assessment)

 

(8) To develop and/or complete writing assignments which demonstrate that writing can be used as a tool for learning and critical inquiry and that writing proficiency is integral for acceptable testing performance (i.e. MAP).

 

Required Text and Memberships

 

Burke, Jim. The English Teacher's Companion: A Complete Guide to Classroom, Curriculum, and the Profession. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1999.

 

One-year student membership ($20) in The National Council of Teachers of English (www.ncte.org/)

 

One-semester membership ($3) in the Missouri Western Student Affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English (www.missouriwestern.edu/orgs/sncte/)

 

Class listserv: You will be joined to eng365@list.mwsc.edu

 

Course Grade

 

Points will be awarded for all projects. At the end of the semester, I will divide your points by the number of possible points and award grades on the basis of the following percentages:

90-99% Course Grade A

80-89% Course Grade B

70-79% Course Grade C

60-69% Course Grade D

Below 60% Course Grade F

 

I anticipate the following number of possible points for the semester:

 

Up to 500 possible points for in-class workshops and out-of-class journaling/reflection, which will be allocated in 5 - 50 points per activity (includes completing four writings on Prairie Voices Online (www.missouriwestern.edu/prairielands/html/history.html). No make-ups or late work will be accepted for these activities after their due dates.

 

150 possible points for Project # 1. (A "text" related to writing/teaching writing (letter, poem, essay, editorial, short story or another genre of your own choosing) which you have already shared and critiqued in an in-class workshop and which you will publish on our class Web site. Assignment details and scoring rubric will be available by January 23.)

 

350 possible points for Project #2. (A multi-genre research paper focusing on an aspect of teaching writing you wish to explore and/or learn more about. Assignment details and scoring rubric will be available by February 18.)

 

400 possible points for Project # 3. (An integrated teaching unit (lesson plan sequence of approximately four weeks) at the grade level/discipline in which you expect to teach which includes writing components as a major focus). Assignment details and scoring rubric will be available by March 4.

 

500 possible points for Course Portfolio (400) and Final Exam (100). (The course portfolio will contain the three graded copies of the papers completed for Project # 1, # 2, and #3 AND at least three polished writings written as a result of your participation in this course. The final piece in the portfolio, a reflective essay describing how your writing and teaching writing repertoire have changed as a result of completing the three projects, will be written during the final exam session on Thursday May 1.)

 

Attendance Policy:

Come to class. There are no makeup points for missing work completed in class.

 

Due Dates:

Papers and projects are due at the beginning of the hour on the assigned date. Late submissions will be lowered points equivalent to one letter grade per day late.

 

Students with Disabilities:

Any student in this course who has a disability that prevents or hinders the completion of class requirements must notify me immediately so that provisions may be made for any assistance which is needed.

 

Honesty Policy:

It is expected that all students will submit their own work. Plagiarism or cheating on papers or tests is not acceptable. The first instance of plagiarism will result in a grade of 'F.' The second instance will result in an 'F' for the course.

 

 

VERY Tentative Course Plan

 

Detailed assignments, handouts and materials will be available to you for downloading and printing from the O drive: English folder/Frick folder/ENG 365/366 Class Materials folder.  Reading assignments listed below are from Burke, unless otherwise indicated.

 

I. Building Fluency: Practicing a Writing Process Paradigm and Philosophy

 

T 1/14     Course Introductions and joining NCTE/SNCTE (if you haven't already)

                               

Th 1/16: "The Journal: Practice Makes Writers" 95 - 98

                "Modeling: Keeping a Teacher's Journal" 98-99

                "Journal Writing About Reading" 99 - 104

"Going Where the Lightning Is: 15 Ways To Start Writing" Available online at www.ncte.org/notesplus/excerpts/writing.shtml:

               

T 1/21     "The Writing Product: The Process of Working with Words" 75 - 80

               

Th 1/23   "The Writing Process" at www.csuohio.edu/writingcenter/writproc.html

                "Implementing the Writing Process" at www3.sk.sympatico.ca/fiss/newpage1.htm.

 

T 1/28     "Error as an Invitation to Improve" 80-81

                "Teachable Moments During a Writer's Development" 81-82

 

Th 1/30   Writer's Workshop

 

T 2/4       "Sample Unit: Teaching the Paragraph" 82 - 87

                "Teaching Thinking in the English Class" 134 - 155

 

Th 2/6     No Class: Frick at Missouri Association of English Teachers/Missouri Writing Project Network's annual Write to Learn Conference for language arts teachers, K - 16

 

T 2/11     "The Essay" 87 - 94

 

Th 2/13   Project # 1 is due

                "Writing in the Workplace" 109-112

 

II: Exploring Burning Issues: External Standards and Assessment (MAP), Evaluation, Grammar, Research Writing, Plagiarism, Technology

 

Th 2/20   "The Components of an Effective Writing Program" 71 - 73

"Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well" Online brochure available at cela.albany.edu/

               

T 2/25     "Performance Standards for Writing" 73 - 75

 

Th 2/27   Writing and the MAP

 

T 3/4       Writing and the MAP

 

Th 3/6    High School Writing Day

 

3/11 - 3/13 Spring Break (no classes)

 

T 3/18: "Responding to Student Writers" 112-117

                "Measuring Student Progress" 134 - 157

W 3/221 Mid-term Grades submitted

 

Th 3/20   No class: Frick at national, annual College Composition and Communication Conference    

 

T 3/25     "Putting Grammar in Its Place" 62 - 71

                                                               

Th 3/27   "Computers and Writing: The Promise and the Problems" 117

                "Digital Literacy: Technology in the English Class" 191 - 202

 

III. Developing Integrated Writing Lessons/Units

 

T 4/1       "Composing a Curriculum: How to Plan a Unit" 157 - 166

 

Th 4/3 Project # 2 is due - Multi-genre research paper

 

T 4/8       "Integrating English Projects and Exhibitions into the Classroom" 212 - 224

 

Th 4/10   "Organizing Yourself" 288 - 296

 

T 4/15

 

Th 4/17   Project # 3 is due - Teaching Unit

 

T 4/22

 

Th 4/24

 

T 4/29

 

Thursday, May 1:  2-3:50 p.m. in JGM 106 - Final Exam