Do you write a syllubus for your students?

[Michelle My Bell]

I was thinking about the concept of a syllabus and was curious if anyone does this? If so, how do you go about it? What kind of information does it contain exactly? What happens if you get off track? Enquiring minds want to know!

[Peela]

I dont really know what you mean by a syllabus...but I have written dozens of homeschooling plans, many extremely detailed, over the years. It always seemed like a good idea at the time, to help me clarify my thoughts and ideas..but I rarely stuck with anything rigid for long. I just like planning. A lot. And then when it comes to implementing..doing what feels right at the time.

[mooooom]

I wanted to make sure to have them available in case colleges wanted to see them. Basically they are a brief overview of the course: a paragraph on what topics will be covered, a paragraph on what they will be expected to do (papers, worksheets, how many tests, watch movies to go along w/, etc). A list of materials used and how grading will work (what percentage for tests, papers, workbook, etc. will make up the final grade).

 

I looked at a lot of online syllabi and most seemed to cover behavior of students/missed classes.... more than the above, stuff that just wasn't for relevant for us.

 

There are many online syllabi to look at.

[Ester Maria]

For some subjects I do, especially the ones they're primarily doing independently. I find it easier to be able to focus on concrete goals for each week. If they get off track, it's more work for the next week, though that usually doesn't happen. I also allow an "empty" week on each syllabus to be used when needed.

 

It basically includes the name of the work, pages/paragraphs to do - no other directions on what to do. I use it more as a "weekly reading list" than as a syllabus.

[seibert4kids]

Is a syllabus the same as a "course description"? My son is starting HS in the fall, and I was thinking of just keeping a record of "course descriptions" to share as needed with potential colleges.

[choirfarm]

I started using a syllabus this past year for the first time and everyone LOVED it. I use TOG and my 9th grader did rhetoric for the first time. I did history as written, but modified the literature some. It allows me to put all the resources on one page for him to see. This also helped with my dialectic student as he is a voracious reader and read what was required as well as some alternate selections. I did them by quarter: 9 weeks at a time. I would just say, do week 3. Sometimes we went on vacation, so they would start a week, but not finish it till we got back. I actually found it very freeing. I could also say as I looked and we needed more time and the weeks were lighter: do BOTH week 32 and 33.

 

The only other subject that I used a sort of syllabus for was Chemistry this year. He was doing Apologia Chemistry with the TEaching Company lectures and the Apologia labs and the microchem labs. I use Homeschool Tracker and someone had devised a lesson plan for all of those. I printed off the assignments and he just checked them off as he did them. Not really a syllabus, but it worked. I never did any for math or any other subjects, but I do plan to do it for statistics for my oldest next year. I would do it for anything I designed myself. I don't bother doing it with my elementary student. Here is an example from history

Week 18

Gold Dust and Gunpowder

1. The Revolutionary Era 149-162,165-172,266-296

Antebellum America 277-293

American Presidency: Zachary Taylor

The Universe Next Door ch 4

2. Questions/Charts

3. Timeline

4. Maps

 

 

Here is one from English

 

 

Week 25

Vocabulit lesson 25

AG- Appositive Phrases

Literature: Red Badge of Courage- finish the novel

Writing: Literary Analysis - finish rough draft

 

 

 

 

If you mean course description, then I have those as well. Here is my history one for my 9th grader. I still need to add a few resources we've done lately, mainly for church history.

 

 

19th Century World History

 

 

 

This world history course begins with U.S. President John Adams and continues through William McKinley, covering major events of the 1800’s. Students will follow developments in the United States, South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, China, and Japan. Of particular focus are the Congress of Vienna, Victorian England, Manifest Destiny, Marx and Communism, the American Civil War, and European Imperialism. Students will earn one full credit upon completion of this course.

Books, Materials List, Resources: ( Entire resource used unless otherwise noted.)

The American Presidency Edited by Alan Brinkley and Davis Dyer

Introduction through Grover Cleveland

The Early American Republic 1789-1829 by Paul E Johnson

The Revolutionary Era 1789-1850 By Charles Breunig and Matthew Levinger

Antebellum America 1784-1850 Editor William Dudley

Simon Bolivar The Liberator by Guillermo A. Sherwell

The Age of Nationalism and Reform, 1850-1890 by Norman Rich

The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage

The Morman Trail and Latter Day Saints by Carol Rust Nash

American History by Era: The Civil War 1850-1895 Book Editor Auriana Ojeda

Eyewitness to the Civil War by Hyslop and Kagan

The Gilded Age: A History in Documents Janette Thomas Greenwood ch 6-11, ch 7

Imperialism: A History in Documents pp. 6-39

Movies/Documentaries:

HBO’s John Adams

Wild South America- BBC 6 part series

Victoria and Albert

History Channel: Underground Railroad

Slavery and the Making of America – 4 part series

Civil War Journal: 4 parts

American Experience: USS Grant

History Channel Ellis Island

Church History Component:

The Universe Next Door ch 1 & 2

Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce

William Carey: Obliged to Go

Adoniram Judson: Danger on the Streets of Gold

Modern Revivalsim ( ch 1- 5

The Tragic Tail of Narcissa Whitman by Cheryl Harness

Pigtail and Chopsticks Man by Jim Cromarty

The Civil War as Theological Crisis

William Booth: Soup and Salvation

Mary Slessor: Forward into Calabar

Class description: The student will read the reading material above, complete maps from the time period, continue a timeline, answer questions, participate in weekly discussion, and take periodic exams on the material.

Grading Scale: A = 100-90%; B = 89-80%; C = 79-70%; D = 69-60%; F = below 60%

 

 

Christine

[choirfarm]

I included a couple of catch up areas. Some weeks in English I had AG reinforcement. I did that for several weeks. Some weeks he did a reinforcement worksheet. Other weeks, he was catching up. Sometimes for writing I wrote: see teacher for assignment. It gave me flexibility to be behind on a project and give me time to catch up.

 

Christine

[FaithManor]

I wrote a syllabus for each of DD's high school credit classes. I wanted her to be more independent of me in the sense of planning her own time and weighing her work against her social life. I felt that it would help prepare her for college.

 

I saved each syllabus as a Word document so that I would have them for my ds's. There are several curriculums that we will use again and I felt that I could adapt the others to the new curriculums. But, dh needed to upgrade our computer's operating system and DID NOT SAVE MY WORD DOCUMENTS! All that work down the drain!!!!!!

 

They worked very well for dd. I think that handing out a course syllabus makes the student "own" their time and prevents misunderstandings about when assignments are due. Plus, if you then assign a research paper or significant project, the student as time to ask a lot of questions about your expectation. It also allowed me to then take a good long look at myself as a teacher and "see" an entire year on paper. Was I being reasonable? Was I asking enough, too much, too lenient? Would this format cover our educational objectives?

 

I have never done them for lower grades, instead I make weekly assignment sheets. But, ds (13) had a harder time understanding how much more time he needed to spend on his work this year (7th grade) and had some problems at the beginning of the year with organizing himself. I think he needs more guidance for next year and I may make a syllabus for 8th grade Science and English to help him understand what it is going to take to get from point A to point Z.

 

Faith

[elegantlion]

I started this year as practice. Next year I will give a copy to ds. I'm using a syllabus form from Donnayoung.org. Scroll down a bit and you'll see a section on using a syllabus. I'm using the semester planner for the weekly planning, but the syllabus form shows you what information to include.

[mom31257]

My dh teaches public school and gives his students a syllabus each semester, but it is not a weekly lesson plan.

 

Here is what he includes in his:

 

Name

Class Room Location

His Planning Period

Course Description

Units/Chapters to be covered that semester (with titles)

Grading Scale and percentages of daily work, quizzes, and tests

Materials required for class

Classroom expectations

Make-up work policies

Signatures by student and parent

[In The Great White North]

I did for high school. I looked at several online as examples (especially from the AP Course Descriptions). I don't consider the one that are just a set of classroom rules, procedures and expectations to even be a syllabus. The key part of a syllabus to me is that it shows the progression through the year.

 

I included the subject, materials, a grading scale, and assignments for each week.

 

I saved each syllabus as a Word document so that I would have them for my ds's. There are several curriculums that we will use again and I felt that I could adapt the others to the new curriculums. But, dh needed to upgrade our computer's operating system and DID NOT SAVE MY WORD DOCUMENTS! All that work down the drain!!!!!!

 

Backing them up RIGHT NOW. I plan on using these again.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

I write a syllabus for the classes I teach at co-op. We've made this mandatory to facilitate parent/teacher/student communication. We have also found that two students needed them for the college admission process.

 

I think it's a great idea to write one for the classes taught at home. Busy high school kids need to learn how to manage their time. If they have a time consuming activity on the horizon, they can see what they need to manage and work ahead. Thanks for the idea!

[MBM]

I was thinking about the concept of a syllabus and was curious if anyone does this? If so, how do you go about it? What kind of information does it contain exactly? What happens if you get off track? Enquiring minds want to know!

 

I afterschool and use pared-down syllabi for several subjects -- grammar, vocab, literature -- to keep my son on track. It's too easy for us to put things off, so completion dates are the most important aspect for us. I've done this for about two years, and it's worked well so far.

[Michelle My Bell]

You have all answered my questions beautifully. This is also for my high school daughter I was considering doing this for. We are also using TOG and I thought this idea would be very good with that. I was happy to see someone who is doing this with TOG.

 

I actually think the following quote on how it is used really sums it up well for me. In fact, I think I would combine both ideas below into one syllabus. I really like the idea of an overview of the materiels, books used etc... along with the weekly expectations, grades etc...

 

Thanks so much!!

 

 

I started using a syllabus this past year for the first time and everyone LOVED it. I use TOG and my 9th grader did rhetoric for the first time. I did history as written, but modified the literature some. It allows me to put all the resources on one page for him to see. This also helped with my dialectic student as he is a voracious reader and read what was required as well as some alternate selections. I did them by quarter: 9 weeks at a time. I would just say, do week 3. Sometimes we went on vacation, so they would start a week, but not finish it till we got back. I actually found it very freeing. I could also say as I looked and we needed more time and the weeks were lighter: do BOTH week 32 and 33.

 

The only other subject that I used a sort of syllabus for was Chemistry this year. He was doing Apologia Chemistry with the TEaching Company lectures and the Apologia labs and the microchem labs. I use Homeschool Tracker and someone had devised a lesson plan for all of those. I printed off the assignments and he just checked them off as he did them. Not really a syllabus, but it worked. I never did any for math or any other subjects, but I do plan to do it for statistics for my oldest next year. I would do it for anything I designed myself. I don't bother doing it with my elementary student. Here is an example from history

Week 18

Gold Dust and Gunpowder

1. The Revolutionary Era 149-162,165-172,266-296

Antebellum America 277-293

American Presidency: Zachary Taylor

The Universe Next Door ch 4

 

2. Questions/Charts

3. Timeline

4. Maps

 

 

Here is one from English

 

 

Week 25

Vocabulit lesson 25

 

AG- Appositive Phrases

 

Literature: Red Badge of Courage- finish the novel

 

Writing: Literary Analysis - finish rough draft

 

 

 

 

 

If you mean course description, then I have those as well. Here is my history one for my 9th grader. I still need to add a few resources we've done lately, mainly for church history.

 

 

19th Century World History

 

 

 

 

 

This world history course begins with U.S. President John Adams and continues through William McKinley, covering major events of the 1800’s. Students will follow developments in the United States, South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, China, and Japan. Of particular focus are the Congress of Vienna, Victorian England, Manifest Destiny, Marx and Communism, the American Civil War, and European Imperialism. Students will earn one full credit upon completion of this course.

 

Books, Materials List, Resources: ( Entire resource used unless otherwise noted.)

The American Presidency Edited by Alan Brinkley and Davis Dyer

Introduction through Grover Cleveland

The Early American Republic 1789-1829 by Paul E Johnson

The Revolutionary Era 1789-1850 By Charles Breunig and Matthew Levinger

Antebellum America 1784-1850 Editor William Dudley

Simon Bolivar The Liberator by Guillermo A. Sherwell

The Age of Nationalism and Reform, 1850-1890 by Norman Rich

The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage

The Morman Trail and Latter Day Saints by Carol Rust Nash

American History by Era: The Civil War 1850-1895 Book Editor Auriana Ojeda

Eyewitness to the Civil War by Hyslop and Kagan

The Gilded Age: A History in Documents Janette Thomas Greenwood ch 6-11, ch 7

Imperialism: A History in Documents pp. 6-39

 

 

Movies/Documentaries:

HBO’s John Adams

Wild South America- BBC 6 part series

Victoria and Albert

History Channel: Underground Railroad

Slavery and the Making of America – 4 part series

Civil War Journal: 4 parts

American Experience: USS Grant

History Channel Ellis Island

 

Church History Component:

The Universe Next Door ch 1 & 2

Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce

William Carey: Obliged to Go

Adoniram Judson: Danger on the Streets of Gold

Modern Revivalsim ( ch 1- 5

The Tragic Tail of Narcissa Whitman by Cheryl Harness

Pigtail and Chopsticks Man by Jim Cromarty

The Civil War as Theological Crisis

William Booth: Soup and Salvation

Mary Slessor: Forward into Calabar

 

Class description: The student will read the reading material above, complete maps from the time period, continue a timeline, answer questions, participate in weekly discussion, and take periodic exams on the material.

 

Grading Scale: A = 100-90%; B = 89-80%; C = 79-70%; D = 69-60%; F = below 60%

 

 

Christine

[Tutor]

We were planning on writing them for high school classes, but I may write one for next year just for my own practice. :001_smile:

 

I would like to have them available for portfolios to offer to colleges/ employers/ volunteer organizations, but I also like the official feel they lend to our schooling. I also want the kids to get used to them and read them completely and critically so they understand them and know what is expected from the students. My dh is a grad student and teaches college classes. The syllubus is viewed as a legal agreement between teacher and student (students have successfully sued profs for not adhering to the syllabus), and I want my kids to understand that the syllabus is a tool that helps them and their instructor (whether it be me or someone else) let their yes be yes and their no be no.

[MBM]

My dh is a grad student and teaches college classes. The syllubus is viewed as a legal agreement between teacher and student (students have successfully sued profs for not adhering to the syllabus), and I want my kids to understand that the syllabus is a tool that helps them and their instructor (whether it be me or someone else) let their yes be yes and their no be no.

 

Very interesting, and thank your for mentioning this.