Syllabus

Instructor: Lindy Johnson Email: mlj34@uga.edu (Please allow 24 hours for a response). Cell: 706-224-3018 (cell phone. Please do not call or text between the hours of 10pm-6am). Office Hours: By appointment Office: 301E Aderhold This course meets on Tuesdays from 12:00-3:00 pm in Aderhold, room 116.
 * LLED 4450: Teaching Writing in Secondary Schools**

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Beach, R. Haertling Thein, A, & Allen, W. (2012). //Teaching to Exceed the English Language Arts 6-12 Common Core State Standards//. New York: Routledge.
 * Required Texts: **

Hicks, T. (2013). //Crafting Digital Writing//. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Smagorinsky, P., [|Johannessen], L.R., [| Kahn] , E. and McCann, T. (2010). //The Dynamics of Writing Instruction: A Structured Process Approach for Middle and High school.// Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

We will also read a wide variety of articles, blogs, and other multimodal compositions. These will be available on the course wiki.


 * Purpose and Goals **

The guiding philosophy behind this class is that in order to become better teachers of writing, we ourselves must engage in the writing process. We should see ourselves as writers and recognize the varieties of ways in which writers practice their craft. By doing this, we gain an understanding of our own writing processes and increase our effectiveness as writing teachers. We will explore what writing is and what it is becoming, and what the changes in writing mean to us as creative people and teachers.

The goals of this class are: • To guide and encourage you in your own growth as a writer • To introduce you to the writing process approaches to writing instruction • To help you prepare for your fieldwork • To introduce definitions of literacy beyond reading and writing • To consider the pedagogical implications arising from the emergence of new and social writing technologies.

A guiding philosophy behind this class is that language constructs how people think, write, speak, and interact with each other. Teachers of writing have the special opportunity to view how children construct themselves, each other, and the world around them in their writing. Most importantly, teachers of writing can work with students to help them to construct themselves, each other, and the world around them in order to promote social justice.

=**Course Assignments**=

=**1. Attendance and Participation**= This class is designed as a community of learners and depends on the contributions of each member of the community. For this community to thrive, all of us need to be present, prepared, and participating. I do understand that health problems may occasionally prevent you from being in class. If you must miss class, please contact me as soon as possible so we can arrange alternative assignments. You are responsible for any material missed. More than one absence will result in a 5-point reduction in your final grade. Punctuality is also of critical importance. If lateness becomes a problem, I will request a conference with you.

While we all have varying comfort levels with class participation, it is expected that everyone will support the class community and their own learning by engaging in class discussions. The class will generally follow a writing workshop structure. A significant portion of our class time will be spent writing, working collaboratively, and researching. The success of the class depends on what each of us brings and the manner in which we bring it. There will be very little lecture in this class; therefore, it is essential that you have read, thought, and written about assigned readings prior to class. Active participation is defined as:

(1) providing evidence that you have read the assigned material; (2) engaging in thoughtful and reflective oral and written response to the reading; (3) demonstrating respect for the ideas of others; (4) working productively in small and large groups; (5) raising your own questions as an individual; (6) being an open, inquisitive, and dynamic learner.

In short, you are expected to attend to the material and to our class discussions. If you use your class time for matters other than our mutual work—homework for other classes, reading The Red & Black, etc.—I will consider you not in attendance and count you as tardy.

As evident in the description above, we will make oral literacy part of our classroom practices through our whole group and small group discussions. You are encouraged to think beyond the confines of this class and enliven our discussions with your reflections on other readings and experiences. Literacy classrooms must be, by definition, safe and nurturing spaces, and we will work together to create the kind of supportive learning environment in which effective written and oral communication can flourish.

=**2. Small group writing lesson**= For this assignment, you will work in groups of 4 to plan and teach one lesson plan on a specific writing genre. The lesson plan should last approximately one hour.

=**3. Literacy narrative and digital literacy narrative projects**= Each time we meet we will engage in some type of writing workshop activity centered on our own literacy narratives and digital literacy narratives. These writing assignments will be completed on your blog and then will be used to develop a final, multimodal project that you will present to the class.

=**4. Blog Posts and Blog Buddy Responses--**Posts due on designated Sundays by 9pm= Each blog post will be written as a response to the weekly assigned readings. Consider and work toward synthesizing the readings, our class discussions, and your own questions and experiences as a teacher and student. Sounds easy, right? Unfortunately, truly grappling with ideas and information never is. And I want you to grapple. You are writing to see what you think; you are writing to learn. The good news is, the terrain is so new, there’s not a lot to be wrong about-- the ideas are new, the applications to teaching and learning are new. Of course, that’s the bad news too. Cognitive dissonance can be so uncomfortable. ;-) In each post, you should note a few important quotes, ideas, or concepts about __ each __ of the assigned class readings and, in addition, pose substantive questions. The questions should reflect things you don’t understand, things you wonder about, and things that provoke you or make you think about your own teaching and learning processes. We will use these posts to generate whole and small group discussions on the readings. Please do not simply summarize the readings. I am more interested in your engagement with the material.


 * How long should our blog posts be? ** Post to your blog on the assigned weeks by Sunday at 9pm. Blog posts should be between 500-1000 words. However, you should be more concerned with the quality of the writing than the quantity of the writing. Remember, you are writing for your peers/colleagues, as well as a more general audience. Think about the blog posts you enjoy reading. What features make a blog post memorable or interesting for you? Humor? Conciseness? Cleverness? Depth? Questions?


 * Blog Buddies:** Each of you will be assigned two blog buddies. You will read your blog buddies’ posts each week and post a thoughtful comment to their post (minimum of 75 words).

= Blog Post Evaluation = Howard Rheingold, a thought leader in Web 2.0, virtual communities, and participatory democracy, offers this perspective (emphasis added):

Some blog posts are personal reflections, rants, or arguments, but the quintessential blog post is a link surrounded by context. Not all blog posts contain links, but links are at the heart of blogging. As a rhetoric, bloggers can use the medium of a blog to entertain, inform, incite, dispute, organize, depending on the voice and stance they take. Strive in your blog posts for critical, informative, performative, public voices -- show instructor and other community members that you are thinking about the core issues of the course and share your learning with the rest of the class, as well. Entertainment value is a plus, but critical public voice is required.

Blogging Criteria for Our Grappling Posts
(Adapted from Howard Rheingold’s criteria for student forum participation.)


 * The outstanding blog post ** centers on the writer’s interest in or questions about a key aspect raised in the reading, its relationship to the larger picture(s) of teaching English and/or conceiving of literacy, and its significance to the writer’s personal beliefs about the topic. It weaves class readings, lived or observed experiences and the writer’s thoughts about the significance of these, other participants' postings, material and experiences from other classes, into a multi-dimensional discussion of the subject. The post strives toward a resolution of the writer’s question or offers the writer’s newly considered perspective on the subject. (In the stratospheric post, the writer argues for a position or point of view within the discussion.)


 * The standard blog post ** emerges from the writer’s interest in or questions about what they believe are key points in the texts. The post refers to the readings, the ideas of another class member, incorporates a perspective on the significance of personal experience, and relates these to the writer’s own developing beliefs or ideas about teaching English. The post demonstrates that the writer is looking at the subject from many angles.


 * The below average ** ** blog post ** offers the writer’s opinions and/or feelings about the reading. It does not interact with or incorporate the ideas of other participants', the reading, the writer’s experience, or argue for a position or point of view. It gives the impression of being competed in order to check it off on a list of things to do.


 * Not acceptable: ** A simple "me too" comment that neither expands the conversation nor demonstrates any degree of reflection by the student is not acceptable.

There are many blog sites out there – you may select your own tool for blogging. Many educators use Edublog ([]), but Blogger ([|www.blogger.com]) and Wordpress ([|www.wordpress.com]) are also popular platforms. Here are a few links to get you started.
 * How do I start?**
 * Basics to starting a blog: []
 * Writing content: []
 * Blog comparisons: []

The “extras” are points earned for the way you construct your blog as a personal and dynamic writing space. These extras might include an informative “About” page, a blog roll with links to blogs that you recommend, widgets, and so on. The blog is intended to provide practice for you as you become a writing teacher. By “writing teacher” I mean not only a teacher of writing, but also a teacher who writes. Blogs are also used by middle and high schools as a platform for students to write and share their work.
 * Extras:**

1. Be sure you cite all sources in your blog posts. You should include references at the end of each entry, and use appropriate citations when directly quoting another source. 2. You should also cite the source of any image you post. 3. Remember to take advantages of the affordances of blogs; include meaningful images, charts, and hyperlinks to help your reader (and yourself) better understand what you are discussing
 * Remember:**

=**5. Interview-Based Case study of a reader/writer**=

This assignment asks you to investigate the literacy practices of one student whom you are working with in your practicum setting. You will be asked to observe, interview, and collect artifacts the student has created. In a 10-15 page research paper, you will use the data you collected about the student and connect it to the theories and readings you’ve completed from both your reading and writing methods courses.

=**Policies and Other Information**=

I anticipate that you will all do excellent work in this class, but I do have views on what excellent means. • “A” means excellent work that shows you have not only met the requirements of the assignment, but also are challenging yourself and displaying creativity and initiative in your work. • “B” means good work that meets the requirements of the assignment in a thoughtful and adequate way. • If I feel that your work does not meet the level of either an A or B, I will request a conference with you so that we can discuss ways to improve your performance in this class. • Since so much of classroom learning is social and derived from our collective dialogues, I reserve the right to deduct up to 5 points from your final grade due to lack of participation.
 * Grading Policy **

Detailed rubrics for major assignments will be distributed in class. Late submissions will receive, at most, half credit. No work will be accepted three days after the due date. If I feel your work is not meeting the criteria for the class, I will request a conference with you. If you would like to discuss a grade you received on an assignment, contact me within one week of receiving the grade. I am happy to discuss any grade, but grades will not be changed after one week.


 * Weight distribution of assignments:**

Attendance and participation (10%) Small group writing lesson (20%) Literacy narrative and digital literacy narrative projects (20%) Blog posts & Blog buddy responses (25%) Case study of one student’s reading and writing practices (25%)

A 94-100 A- 90-93 B+ 87-89 B 84-86 B- 80-83 C+ 77-79 C 74-76 C- 70-73 D 65-69 F 64 and below
 * Grading Scale **

=Students with Disabilities= If you have a documented disability and require academic accommodations, please contact me individually as soon as possible. You may also speak with Disability Services at (706) 542-8719 to discuss the process for requesting accommodations.

=Academic Honesty= Our class will strictly adhere to UGA’s guidelines for academic honesty. All academic work must meet the standards contained in “A Culture of Honesty.” Guidelines can be found at http://www.uga.edu/honesty/ahpd/culture_honesty.htm. All students are responsible to inform themselves about these standards before performing any academic work.

=Computers and Cell Phones= Computers and cell phones are welcomed and encouraged as long as they are used to further the work of the course. Communication – Use email (given in class) when contacting me about anything related to class. I will check for emails once or twice a day, and I will respond to you within 24 hours, except on weekends. You should check your email account every day or two as well for updates and emails.