Using the Model Syllabus, Calendar, and Assignments
The model syllabus, model calendar, and sample assignments are provided as a point of departure for customizing your own course. They can be used and freely adapted by any instructor, but new instructors especially should review the suggested goals and assignments closely. As you get to know your students—and yourself in the role of English 100 instructor—you may want to make changes that take into account your particular group of students or your own teaching style.
In English 100, students will embark on three major writing projects that build upon one another, each deepening their understanding and exploration of key concepts. Generally, each sequence includes one major project with at least one short assignment that allows students to practice skills needed on the longer project. Additionally, the course include at least one oral presentation. Assessment of students’ learning occurs with the grading of two portfolios (one at the end of sequence 1, the other at the end of sequence 3).
The English 100 admin team has created a model set of assignments related to UW-Madison and its surrounding community. Each project is designed to enhance students’ critical thinking, research, and writing skills, with a strong emphasis on connecting their academic work to real-world issues and places. These assignments encourage students to engage with the community, explore the significance of local spaces, and make arguments grounded in both personal reflection and extensive research. These assignments are in the next three chapters of the Instructor’s Guide.
The model calendar provides a schedule for the entire course, integrating all the required curriculum elements and providing multiple options for readings and assignments for each week and day. You are encouraged to make adaptations and selections to best meet the needs of your class and integrate your particular scholarly and pedagogical interests, as long as they align with the English 100 program.
As you can see, the model calendar provides possibilities for weekly and daily goals and and links to reading/writing assignments and activities/lessons. Possible daily lesson plans are available through the LessonShare Canvas site and in this BOX folder. Our model calendars have been developed and revised collaboratively by instructors and the admin team over several years. They are offered as a work in progress.
Along with a set of goals, the Comm A requirement prescribes some activities that must be included in any English 100 section, as well as in other Comm A courses (e.g., drafting, revision, an oral presentation). The model calendar and assignments organize the work of the course in a way that incorporates these goals and activities with the writing-centered approach of English 100. When customizing your own calendar and lesson plans, be sure to keep Comm A and the English 100 approach in mind.
When reviewing the suggested readings in the model calendar, you’ll notice they include Course Readings incorporated from the Course Readings website as well as other copyrighted readings shared solely through Canvas. You may choose to incorporate different readings, select a few additional readings provided as e-texts (pdf files) or on-line, or modify the reading assignments in some other way. However, all students should read at least the “Introduction to English 100,” “Course Policies and Resources,” and “Approaches to Rhetoric, Writing, and Revision,” which introduces them to the curriculum and the processes for approaching reading and understanding argument in English 100. You should also plan to assign the student essays for discussion.
As a final note, you will find that in many cases there are a number of activities mentioned for a particular day and you do not have to do all of these activities at once; rather, we encourage you to think thoughtfully about what works best for the direction of your course and select appropriately. Further, you will want to adapt and change the calendar to reflect the progress of your particular class and level of students; this might be especially true as the semester progresses.