My (Your) syllabus: What a perfect way to teach students about informational text. No need to create any special lesson plans, or rubrics, or assessments. The syllabus that has already created, can be the text in the lesson plan. It can be an exemplary text. Students will be held to the expectations that are contained in the syllabus. They should be able to read and comprehend what it contains…
It is filled with grading policies and percentage breakdowns that are specifically outlined in this document. How I handle plagiarism, cheating, cellphones, hall passes, absences, homework ect. are all detailed in what up until this point was a document that was just signed and filed away.
I ran the syllabus through the Lexile analyzer (Free, but you need to sign up) and was blown away with the results. The Lexile level of the syllabus was 1530L. Which is much too high for 9th graders, but also filled with three syllable words that are very education domain specific. Left to their own devices, some of the students will not be able to read, let alone comprehend what that expectations for them are. What an evil trap that is.
After looking over the CCSS, I realized that my (and probably your) syllabus is a great example of the type of text that we are trying to prepare our students for. It is right in front of us. While I intend to use other articles, short stories, poems, plays, essays, and reviews, I think a good start is my own Syllabus. I will keep you updated.