Useful Syllabus

In order to make my syllabus more important to the students, I use it in class. To begin with, I ask them to help me fill in some blanks. At the bottom of the syllabus, I include a list of important days and type a line next to each where the students can then fill in the proper dates. Then as the dates come up during the semester, I use them as springboards for discussions or writing topics or some internet research. You can include whatever interests you. I include holidays and lab days and even the full moon. Students quickly catch on and often volunteer their birthdays.

Once they understand what we're trying to do, I pass out calendars that I've picked up around town. Students work in small groups. Sometimes the groups have to help each other as not all the calendars have all the special days I've selected. Later, I pass out a blank calendar and ask the students to fill it out either in class or as a homework assignment. We refer back to it every time there's a holiday or a full moon or a lab day.

On lab days, I have the students get out the notes they've written on the syllabus as well as the calendars they've made by hand. They use the information to fill in a calendar in MS Word. Once the students begin working on their calendars, I show them how to insert graphics and a text box for their names. A really nice thing about this lesson is that you can reinforce their emerging skills by doing another calendar the following month.

Sometimes, I begin the lab by showing the students an on-line interactive calendar like the monthly activity calendar found at enchantedlearning.com. It has tons of information and great "mini" research projects to look at and read about. You can explore as much as you'd like, depending on the level of the class.

If you're in a smart classroom, you can demonstrate both how to make a calendar and how to explore the on-line calendar. I sometimes demonstrate these skills before our lab and return later and review what we've done (or tried to do) after our lab day.

By using the syllabus, we refer to it quite often. In this way, I can gently remind my students of their obligation to come to class, to be on time, and to do their homework.