Writing a Syllabus for the Secondary Classroom

How to Write a Course Guide for Middle and High School Classes

Sep 25, 2009 Miranda Zinnel

The course syllabus is the first impression given to your students and their parents. A well written syllabus communicates a lot to students and parents

It can be overwhelming to write a new course syllabus. Examining the basic structure of a syllabus as well as looking at examples can make the process of writing one easier.

Syllabus Heading

At the top of the syllabus, the instructor and the class should be clearly identified. To make it more personal, teachers might consider including a quote that symbolizes their educational philosophy or is simply inspirational.

Class Description

The key academic objectives that the class will cover should be identified here. The teacher can also provide a detailed calendar of what units the class will study each quarter or semester.

Class Expectations

Teachers should think about what the most important rules will be for their classroom. New teachers should brainstorm a list and then narrow it down to the top six or seven. Class expectations might include things like being respectful, being on time and coming prepared to class.

It’s important not to just list expectations. Quantify each expectation with details. Being tardy in one class might result in the loss of points. In another class, being tardy might result in detention. The teacher's policy towards cell phones and mp3 players can also be addressed in the explanation of class expectations. It’s important to communicate to students and teachers what is meant by each of the expectations and what the penalty is for not meeting an expectation.

Class Materials

What materials will students need everyday? Are there materials they just need to bring on certain days? If they need to bring their textbook every day, this is the place to tell them. If students have to hand in their notebook periodically, then be sure that they know they need a separate class notebook versus keeping all subjects in a multi-subject notebook. And of course tell them if they need to bring their notebook every day.

Absences and Assignments

This is the place to tell students what the teacher's, and possibly the school's, policy is for late assignments with excused absences. It also needs to be communicated to them where they can get assignments if they are absent. If assignments are posted online the web address should be listed.

Late Work

It’s important to develop a policy for if and how late work will be collected. Some teachers don’t accept any late work, which is perfectly acceptable, but many parents might question this so the policy needs to be explained. Other ideas for accepting late work include using late passes that students can attach to late work at any time during the quarter. Teachers can also take off a certain number of points or a percentage for each day that an assignment is each late.

Explain Grading Policy

At some point in the course guide the grading policy needs to be explained. Most likely this policy is set by the department or school, but it still needs to be stated somewhere on the syllabus.

Other Syllabus Items to Include

Teachers might consider including notes on their syllabus about how plagiarism or cheating is penalized. It also might be useful to list the class schedule, e-mail address and work phone number somewhere on the syllabus. This is more for the benefit of the parents than the students. Be sure to put on the syllabus anything else that is unique about the classroom, or any school or district rules that are especially important.

A Professionally Written Syllabus Starts the School Year Off Well

A final component that should be a part of the syllabus is a place for both the student and the parent or guardian to sign their names. This makes the syllabus a true contract between the teacher, the student, and their parents.

The best thing a teacher can do when writing a syllabus is to look at examples written by other teachers. There are also many great online examples. Both general examples and examples by subject area are useful. It’s said that first impressions are important; as a teacher, writing a professional syllabus is the first impression given to parents and students at the start of the school year.

The copyright of the article Writing a Syllabus for the Secondary Classroom in Middle/High School is owned by Miranda Zinnel. Permission to republish Writing a Syllabus for the Secondary Classroom in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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