Department
of English, Foreign Languages, Journalism
School
of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Dr.
Jane Frick, English Professor, and
Spring
- 2004
Email:
frick@missouriwestern.edu
Faculty
Web Page: www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/faculty/frick.html
Office:
SS/C 201 (Prairie Lands Writing Project)
271-4315
(MWSC); 232-3695 (home)
Office
Hours: TTH
Other
Times by Appointment
Course
Syllabus for ENG 36501 Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools
Class
closed Web site at http://miranda.cailab.mwsc.edu:8080/~eng465
Catalog
Description
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.
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 and for those who will teach writing as a
teaching/learning device in other content areas 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
Art
Peterson and Amy Bauman. Breakthroughs: Classroom Discoveries About Teaching Writing.
Recommended
Professional Memberships:
One-year
student membership ($20) in The National Council of Teachers of English
(www.ncte.org/) or professional teachers’ association in your primary
discipline:
http://www.nctm.org/ (National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics)
http://www.nsta.org/ (National Science Teachers
Association)
http://www.le.ac.uk/education/centres/ATSS/atss.html (Association for the
Teaching of Social Sciences)
One-semester
membership ($5) 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
(http://www.missouriwestern.edu/prairielands/pvonline.html). No make-ups or late work
will be accepted for these activities after their due
dates.
150
possible points for Project # 1.
(An episodic writing autobiography (at least five
episodes) which you have already shared and critiqued in an in-class workshop
and which you will publish on our class Web site.)
400
possible points for Project # 2.
(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).
350
possible points for Project #3.
(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.)
500
possible points for Course Portfolio and Final Exam
(500).
(The course portfolio will contain your revised Project # 1, # 2, and #3 AND a
reflective essay. The 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.)
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 failing grade, or 0-60% of possible points, on the assignment. The
second instance of plagiarism will result in a failing grade 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.
I.
Building Fluency: Practicing a Writing Process Paradigm and
Philosophy
T 1/20
Course Introductions
Th 1/22
"Improving Student Writing: Challenges and Expectations”
(Handout)
"Episodic Fiction: Another Way to Tell a Story"
73-91
T 1/27
"Learning to Write" (Handout)
Th 1/29
“Let’s Take Another Look at the Fish: The
Writing Process As Discovery” 1-9
"The Writing Process" at
www.csuohio.edu/writingcenter/writproc.html
"Implementing the Writing Process" at
www3.sk.sympatico.ca/fiss/newpage1.htm.
T 2/3
"Kyle’s Surprises: Anecdote as a Strategy to Strengthen Student Writing"
103-115
Th 2/05
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 2/10
“Behind Their Backs: Proximity and Insult in Student Response”
281-292
Writer’s Workshop: Bring complete draft of episodic writing autobiography
to class
Th 2/12
“Revising Revision: How My Students Transformed Writer’s Workshop”
293-311
T 2/17
“Writing to Learn” (Handout)
Th 2/19
Project # 1, an episodic writing
autobiography, is due
"Let’s Take Another Look at the Fish: The
Writing Process As Discovery”" 9 - 10
“Energy Conversion: The Evolution of Experimenters’ Workshop” 311 -
323
II.
Developing Integrated Writing
Lessons/Units
T 2/24
"Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to
Read and Write Well" Online
brochure available at cela.albany.edu/
“Everything I Know About Teaching Language Arts,
I learned at the Office Supply Store” 187-
200
Th 2/26
"Author to Author: How Text Influences Young Writers" 43 –
56
“The Field Trip Within” 173-186
T 3/2
“A Cure for Writer’s Block: Writing for Real Audiences” 116 –
124
“Getting Real: Can a Writing Prompt Be Authentic”
137-145
Th 3/4
High School Writing Day – no
class
T 3/9
“Tensing Up: Moving from Fluency to Flair” 145-158
“Skeletons Out Of the Closet: the Case of the Missing 162 Percent”
209-221
Th 3/11
“Pruning Too Early: The Thorny Issue of Grading Student Writing” 221-
233
“Beyond Rhetoric: A Reflective, Persuasive Final Exam for the Workshop
Classroom” 19 - 29
3/14 - 3/21
Spring Break (no classes)
T 3/23:
"Multi-genre research paper handouts, including “13: Learning What We
Need”
W 3/24
Mid-term Grades submitted
Th 3/25
Possibly, no class: Frick may be at national,
annual College Composition and Communication Conference
“Quoc Tin and Sona:
The Story of a Peer Journal Project” 125 – 136
“I WAS a Journal-Topic Junkie” 243-255
II:
Exploring Burning Issues: External Standards and Assessment (MAP), Grammar,
Research Writing, Plagiarism, Technology, Gender, Race,
Socioeconomics
T 3/30
Project # 2 is due – Thematic
teaching unit
“Standards and Assessments for Writing” (Handout)
Th 4/1
Writing for the MAP – Review 2003 MAP Released items and scoring guide at
http://www.dese.state.mo.us/divimprove/curriculum/releaseditems/index.htm
T 4/6
Writing for the MAP
Th 4/8
“Teacherless Talk: Impressions from Electronic
Literary Conversations” 29 - 43
T 4/13
"Sound and Sense: Grammar, Poetry, and Creative Language" 159 -
173
Th 4/15
"Romance in the Classroom: Inviting Discourse on Gender and Power" 323 -
333
T 4/20
No class: Conference Day (You will conference with me regarding your
multi-genre research paper at a pre-arranged time, on Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, or Friday – 30 minutes)
Th 4/22
No class:
Conference Day (You will conference with me regarding your multi-genre research
paper at a pre-arranged time, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday – 30
minutes)
T 4/27
Project # 3 is due – Multi-genre
research paper
Th 4/29
T 5/04
Final Exam:
Thursday, May 6: