Writing a syllabus
Writing a syllabus can be tricky. When I was in college I used the syllabus to negotiate EVERYTHING that was happening in class. The best thing you can do as a teacher is put enough in your syllabus to cover the things you want to do, but not so firm that your course is inflexible. Here are some of the things I think should absolutely be included when writing a syllabus.
What do you need when writing a syllabus?
Course Description
Course description – it’s good to give the students a look at what the course is about. For chemistry, I describe it as the study of matter and change, but also make sure to throw in how chemistry is used. Chemistry is the science with the most branches – biochemistry, organic chemistry etc. and make sure that my students know the value of learning chemistry right off the bat.
Course Objectives
Course Objectives- what is the point of this course? What are some MAJOR things the kids are going to learn? For me, there is a lab component, as well as “learning the fundamentals of the atom and the periodic table, and applying that knowledge to substances.” Don’t forget to include “to take a final exam at the end of the course.”
Course Organization
Organization – How is your course organized? What units do you expect to teach in each semester, quarter or month? I only break it down by semester. This gives kids an opportunity to know exactly what is going to be on the midterm before the course even begins. Check out my All Star Planning masterclass if you could use some help in this department. Pay attention to step 2 and 3 specifically.
Required Materials
Required Materials – List the book that your course is based off of. If your students need to have a specific binder or gridded composition book for labs, make sure to list that here. I just tell my kids to get a notebook, preferably composition and a folder. Then I list the textbook provided by the school. I make my students write vocabulary terms (read more about that here) and let them know how many index cards they will need, if they choose to do flash cards.
Grading Formula or Grading Breakdown in Your Syllabus
Grading Breakdown- Your grading policy must be rigid and unchanging during the school year. Most schools will offer a grading policy so check with your principal or department chair before completing your syllabus. It’s only fair that each part of your course is graded the same throughout the year. There are a few ways you can choose to grade. Percentage or Points. I prefer the point system, but use the percentage system because that’s what my school uses. I’d definitely check with your school about this to see how much freedom you have here.
Course or Class Policies
Course Policies- Add some type of plagiarism or cheating policy. You’re going to want this – trust me. Most people will choose to give a zero for copied assignments. I choose to give a zero for these types of assignments and I let my students know that they can expect every one of their teachers to get an email outlining their behavior. (I’ve never actually done this, but I do appreciate the expectation that I would do this.)
Grade Calculation Equation
Equation of how grade is calculated – especially for high school students. I’m not sure that every kid knows exactly what “labs are 20% of your grade” actually means. I’ve had a few students that proved this to me. I provide 2 equations – how the quarter grade is calculated, as well as the overall average. It’s only fair to the students that are less mathematically inclined. I know that I would have appreciated this as a students.
Don’t Forget to Add Your Contact Information!
Contact Information – put your email, Remind codes, Google Classroom codes, what have you on the syllabus. I think it is especially important to put more than one method of communication on the syllabus. This will cover you from the “I couldn’t reach you” line that will inevitably come up. If this syllabus is going to be shared with parents, this will help them find a preferred way to reach you as well.
Should parents sign a syllabus?
I think that you should add a page to the end of your syllabus that you have students and parents sign which indicates that they have read and understand the syllabus. I attach a form that I ask parents to fill out with preferred contact methods. On this form, I also provide my contact information and ask parents to add me to their contact lists. Sometimes the phone number in your school’s software is out of service or not a preferred contact method. Some parents prefer getting emails, some like texts, and some like calls. I ask parents what they prefer for this reason. We all want parent contact to be as easy as possible for EVERYONE. I wrote an entire post about parent contact, which you can read here (it also applies to distance learning).
If you want to get some more classroom structure tips, specifically lesson plans, you can check out my All Star Planning masterclass. If your curriculum is more or less hashed out, your syllabus is a breeze. Grab my syllabus template here!
