Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Initial Syllabus

 
Writing 1 Syllabus
Semester 1
Tammy Prichard

Resources:
·         Animal Farm (George Orwell)  (Note:  If you have a copy of this book, the supply fee will be reduced.)
·         A Christmas Carol  (Charles Dickens)  Dover Publications
·         various worksheets and handouts

Objectives:
Literature
            In his book, Animal Farm, George Orwell not only tells an engaging story, but he forces his readers to think critically about government systems, class, status, and hypocrisy.  While we read this book, we’ll discuss the historical context, the implied meanings and themes, and the many literary techniques that have caused this book to become a classic. 

Writing
            The students will write 4 papers for this class.  We’ll focus on developing clear thesis statements, building strong sentences, selecting the best words, understanding organizational techniques, and revising and editing strategies.  For the first two papers, we’ll use a 2-step process (rough draft to final copy) because they will be shorter and less formal.  The final two papers will be longer and will follow a 3-step process (pre-writing to rough draft to final copy).

Grammar
            Many of the students have covered the basics of grammar.  As we write and put our grammar to use, we’ll discover what areas need to be reviewed and worked on.  The class will start with some basics and move into some areas that are more complex. I’ve left open space on the syllabus so that I can focus on specific areas that appear in their writing.


Initial Draft – Subject to change
Week
Literature
Writing
Grammar
1                      
Introduction to Animal Farm

Review basic sentence structures
2                      
Preface & Introduction
Personal History Rough Draft
Coordinating/ Subordinating clauses
3                      
Chapters I & II

Review common errors in rough drafts
4                      
Chapters III & IV
Personal History Final Copy
Compound/ Complex sentences
5                      
Chapters V & VI
Narrative Rough Draft
Run-on sentences
6                      
Chapters VII & VIII

Review common errors in rough drafts
7                      
Chapters IX & X
Narrative Final Copy
Agreement:  S-V
8                      
Character Presentations
History Essay Pre-Write
Agreement:  Noun-pronoun
9                      
Final for Animal Farm
History Essay Rough Draft

10                  
Christmas Carol Introduction

Review common errors in rough drafts
11                  
Stave One
History Essay Final Copy
Misc. punctuation
12                  
Stave Two
Biographical Essay Pre-Write

13                  
Stave Three
Biographical Essay Rough Draft

14                  
Stave Four

Review common errors in rough drafts
15                  
Final Exam
Biographical Essay Final Copy





Writing 1 Syllabus
Semester 2
Tammy Prichard (tamprichard@gmail.com)

Resources:
·         A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court  (Mark Twain)  Dover Publications
·         Great Short Poems (Philip Smith, ed.)  Dover Publications

Objectives:
Literature
            As we read Mark Twain’s classic, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (ACY), we will specifically study the character development, themes, and humorous language of the book.  Not only is this book an entertaining story, it is well-crafted and artful.

Writing
            The students will write 4 papers for this class.  Since Mark Twain was a reporter, it seems fitting to do some journalistic writing.  The first assignment will require some research, while the second one will utilize some persuasion techniques.  The third papers will be an analytical response to our literature.  All of these papers will follow the 3-step process (pre-writing to rough draft to final copy).  The final paper will be a re-write of any of the papers that they’ve written this year.  “There is no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting.” (Louis D. Brandeis)

Grammar
            We will continue to study grammar, paying special attention to building strong, clear, accurate sentences.  Again, the open spaces on the syllabus leave room to work on weak areas.



Initial Draft – Subject to change
Week
Literature
Writing
Grammar
1                      
Introduction to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (ACY)

Sentence construction review
2                      
ACY:  Intro; Ch. 1 – 4
News Story Pre-Write
Correcting weak sentences
3                      
ACY:  Ch. 5 – 9
News Story Rough Draft

4                      
ACY:  Ch. 10 – 14

Review common errors in rough drafts
5                      
ACY:  Ch. 15 – 19
News Story Final Copy

6                      
ACY:  Ch. 20 – 24
Editorial Pre-Write

7                      
ACY:  Ch. 25 – 29
Editorial Rough Draft

8                      
ACY:  Ch. 30 – 34

Review common errors in rough drafts
9                      
ACY:  Ch. 35 – 38; Final PS
Editorial Final Copy

10                  
ACY:  Presentations
Theme & Character Pre-Write

11                  
ACY:  Baseball
Theme & Character Rough Draft

12                  
American Poetry

Review common errors in rough drafts
13                  
American Poetry
Theme & Character Final Copy

14                  
American Poetry &
Poetry Presentations
Re-Write

15                  
Poetry Presentations &
Final Exam
Re-Write


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