LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students

Syllabus

1. Welcome to Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable

Students
Welcome to LDEng101: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students. I am excited to
be your professor for this course. My name is Roselyn Green and I received my Bachelor of
Science in Elementary and Special Education from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix,
Arizona. I am currently working towards a master of education in Instructional Technology at
Coastal Carolina University. Since 2013, I have been teaching Learning Disable students at
North Vista Elementary School in Florence, South Carolina. Throughout my career of teaching, I
have taught students ranging from Autism, Developmentally Delays (DD), Intellectually Disable
(ID), and Emotional Disturbance (ED). In this class, you will learn strategies that will help you
teach writing effectively to any student with or without special needs.

Course Outline

This course will explore various strategies and best practices to help special need students
become better writers. Students will learn various strategies to teach, that will help them design
writing strategies that are specific for their demographic of special needs students.

Requirements
Participation: To be successful in this course class participation is both important and required.
Students must complete the series of assignments and assessments. Most importantly, success
of this course cannot be achieved only on the reading, assignments and assessments, but you
must do the discussion and shared experiences.

Discussion: To encourage your engagement you will need to Module discussions. These
discussions are designed to engage a students interaction with others in the course and provide
constant, helpful feedback and assistance when dealing with various issues in online
learning. Discussion postings should be courteous, thoughtful, and carefully written. Pay close
attention to deadlines and schedules for each discussion. All discussions should be posted to
Moodle by 11:55pm on the due date.

Assignments: Assignments and online activities are opportunities for the students to demonstrate
their abilities to apply the knowledge gained in the course. The documents created can be uses as
teaching tools for your classroom. Pay close attention to deadlines and schedules for each
assignments. All assignments should be posted to Moodle by 11:55pm on the due date.
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
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Quizzes: During this course, students will take two quizzes. Each quiz is online in Moodle and
you will be able to use open-book. Students may consult all online course materials, or even
external Internet resources. Everyone is encouraged to collaborate with your classmates
currently enrolled in LDEng101, providing that everyone submits their own quiz. A maximum of
24 hours are allowed for completion of each quiz, which must be submitted before the
deadlines posted in Moodle. Upon your submission, you will receive your quiz score
immediately.

Delivery
This is a graduate level distance-learning course in learning strategies to help teach disable
students how to write effectively. This course will consist of readings, presentations,
participation in the discussion forum, graded essays and two quizzes. Due to this being a 3 credit
hour course and this course will be completed in 5 weeks, you will need to schedule your time
accordingly and allow for at least 10-15 hours a week for completion of assignments.

Online learning will allow for flexibility, but it can be a trap. Please work accordingly to your
schedule to complete assignments and have the flexibility to enjoy learning and other family
responsibilities.

Workload

Week Topics Method of Assignment due

Instruction

1 Understanding your Reading Student

Topic Presentation Introductions
with notes and Discussion
comments forum1:
Video Response to
presentation instructor
discussion
question and 2
student
Assessment
2 How does the 3Rs Reading Discussion
help your Topic Power-point Forum 2:
presentation Response to
with notes instructor
Discussion discussion
question and 2
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
Syllabus

student
responses
Power-point
to explain the
3Rs to
students
3 Organizing your Reading Discussion
Thoughts Power-point Forum 3:
Presentation Response to
with notes and instructor
comments discussion
Video question and 2
presentation student
responses
Graphic
organizer
Quiz 1

4 Introduction Reading Discussion

Paragraph and Power-point Forum 4:
Supporting Presentation Response to
Paragraphs with notes and instructor
comments discussion
Video question and 2
Presentation student
Rough Draft
of writing
sample
Example of
desire
teaching
strategies
5 Conclusion Reading Discussion
paragraphs Power-point Forum 4:
Presentation Response to
with notes and instructor
comments discussion
question and 2
student
Video
presentation
of lesson
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
Syllabus

taught with
strategies
Sample
writing from
strategies
being taught
to a student.

Roselyn Green
Learning Disable Teacher
North Vista Elementary School
1100 North Irby St
Florence, South Carolina
843-615-3309 (Office)
rdgreen2@g.coastal.edu

2. Preface (optional)
Teaching students with learning disabilities can be challenging. Often these students struggle
with social and cognitive process. Writing is often a struggle for these students due to their lack
of communication skills outside of the classroom.

In order to help you have a better understanding of how students struggle with writing and
teachers who struggle with teaching writing, you would benefit from reading the following
articles before the class begin. These articles will help you have a better insight in to a student
struggles and how designing an effective writing strategy will help them and yourself overcome
the challenges of teaching writing to special needs students.

http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/writing-instruction-students-with-learning-problems/

http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/2802-how-to-accommodate-students-with-writing-
disabilities

3. Course Information
Course Title: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
Syllabus

Prerequisites: There is no pre-requisites or no co-requisites for this class. Students

should have basic knowledge of writing, English grammar and basic
computer skills (e.g., MS office (word), Internet skills), along with
Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is downloadable free of charge at
https://get.adobe.com/reader. Experience in teaching, training in
Special education and computer literacy.

Description: This course introduces students on how to teach effective essay

writing to Learning Disable students. Students will learn how to
introduce writing as an extended, simple process, which will prepare
them for writing strong essays. In LD101, students will write weekly,
and work on essay organization and development. The course will
emphasize strategies, organization and analysis of various types of
writing, including student writing.

Intended Audience: This course is intended for license Special Education teachers who are
interested in teaching writing to struggling students with a learning
disability.

Program: M.Ed. Teaching and Learning; M.Ed. Special Education

College: Spadoni College of Education

LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
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4. Goals and Outcomes

Course Goals
The following course goals articulate the general objectives and purpose of this course. Students
will:

Apply critical reading and thinking skills to the writing process.

Demonstrate an awareness of strategies to implement writing for learning disable
students.
Apply strategies for the composition process such as organizing, drafting, collaboration,
revision and peer evaluation to produce student writing.
Engage in pre-writing activities, including narrowing topics, generating ideas, and
breaking writing into sections for student clarity.
Recognize and develop styles appropriate to varied writing styles.

Course Outcomes
The following course outline indicates competencies and measurable skills that students develop
as result of completing this course. The learning outcomes are derived directly from the South
Carolina Department of Education Career and College Writing Standards and the Common Core
State Standards Initiative.

Student Learning Outcomes Standards Alignment Assessment

After completing this course, students will be able to:

Write arguments/opinion ELA.SCCR.W.5.1-1.1a Assignment 1

pieces on topics to support CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1
claims with clear reasons and
information

Write informative/explanatory ELA.SCCR.W.5.2-1.1a Assignment 2

texts to examine a topic and
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
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convey complex ideas and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2

information clearly and
accurately through effective
selection, organization, and
analysis of content.

Write narratives to develop ELA.SCCR.W.5.3-1.1a Assignment 3

real or imagine experiences or CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3
events using effective
techniques, descriptive details
and clear event sequences

ELA.SCCR.W.5.2-1.1a,b
Introduce a topic clearly, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2A Assignment 4 & 5
provide a general observation ELA.SCCR.W.5.1-1.1c
and focus, and group related CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1B
information logically;
including formatting (e.g.
heading).

Provide a concluding ELA.SCCR.W.5.1-1.1g Assignment 6

statement or section and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1B
produce clear and coherent CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.4
writing in which development
and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose
and audience

5. Grading
Instructor will grade your assignments and grades will be based on student performance,
participation in all class activities, group, discussion, assignments and quizzes and exams.
Candidates in the M.Ed. Teaching and Learning; M.Ed. Special Education must earn a grade of
C or higher in order to apply the credit hour.

Course Assessments
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
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All assignments and assessments will be submitted through Moodle. Email nor hardcopy
submissions will be accepted. All supplemental instructions and rubrics will be available online.
After all assignments and assessments have been graded, the student will be able to view his or
her grade by returning to Moodle.

Note: the text provided below in blue is for your reference only. Feel free to modify them as
needed.

Quizzes
Two quizzes will be administered during the session. You will complete each quiz online using
Moodle. Each quiz will be considered open-book; you may consult all online course materials, or
even external Internet resources. You are also encouraged to collaborate with your classmates
currently enrolled in EDIT 650, provided that you each submit your own quiz. You will be
allowed a maximum of 24 hours to complete each quiz, which must be submitted before the
deadlines posted in Moodle.

Discussions
Module discussions are designed to engage a students interaction with others in the course and
provide constant, helpful feedback and assistance when dealing with various issues in online
teaching and learning. Discussion postings should be courteous, thoughtful, and carefully
written. To facilitate the discussion and prevent procrastination, two deadlines are scheduled for
each discussion. Pay attention to each date.

Assignments
All writing for this class, regardless of context, should follow the conventions of standard written
English in sentence structure, punctuation, grammar and usage and spelling. These written items
and online activities are opportunities for the students to demonstrate their abilities to apply the
knowledge gained in the course, as well as from other education courses, to actual circumstances
to be experience in teaching students with disabilities. The documents and presentations created
can be used in real teaching situations.

Assessment Weight

Quizzes 10% (5% each)

Discussions 20% (2% each)

LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
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Assignments 70% (7% each)

Grades
Grades will be calculated by converting point accumulations for each assessment using the table
below. Candidates in the M.Ed. Teaching and Learning and M.Ed. Special Education track,
must earn a grade of C or higher in order to apply the credit hours toward the degree.

Score Grade

90-100 A

86-89 B+

80-85 B

76-79 C+

70-75 C

66-69 D+

60-65 D

Incomplete
A grade of incomplete may be granted to students who have suffered serious personal illness or
critical emergency circumstances during the academic term, resulting in failure to complete all
assignments by the end of the quarter. Documentation from a physician is required and must be
attached to the petition for a temporary grade of incomplete. Please see the college catalog for
additional information.
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
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6. Textbooks and Supplies

Required Texts
Nancy Mather, Barbara J. Wendling and Rhia Roberts, Writing Assessments and
Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities
Steve Graham Ed.D, Karen Harris Ed.D., Writing Better: Effective Strategies for
Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties

Recommended Texts
Karen K. Allan, Mary C. McMackin, Erika T. Dawes and Stephanie A. Spadorcia,
Learning to Write with Purpose: Effective Instruction in Grades 4-8

7. Schedule

Module 1: Understanding your Topic

In this module, you will learn how to teach learning disable students how to analyze the writing
prompt/instructions. You will start designing an outline of how to identify the various types of
writing and how to teach those types of writing (expository, narrative or persuasive prompts) to
students in a way they will be able to identify.

Topics:
Topic 1.1 What Writing Form?
Topic 1.2 Writing Prompt Keywords
Topic 1.3 Writing Topic Sentences

8. Course Policies
Note: the text provided below in blue is for your reference only. Feel free to modify them as
needed.
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
Syllabus

Time Management
An online course can take a considerable amount of time. As stated in welcome page, each
module requires 10-15 hours for readings and assignments/assessments. For this reason, it is
highly recommended that you begin each assignment early. Work on it regularly over the week
rather than waiting until the last day or two. This will allow you to have the chance to work out
problems or get help if needed.

Participation
Depending on the class activities, you are responsible for completing weekly assignments,
participating in discussion groups, and checking in to the course site on a consistent basis.

Faculty Initiated Drop

Please be advised that if you do not attend class at least once during the first week, I will drop
you from class. Since this is an online course, this requirement means that you MUST be present
in our Moodle course site during the first week and participate in the first assignmentSelf-
Introduction.

Deadlines
You will always be given explicit instructions on where to send your assignments. Assignments
are usually due on a weekly basis the exact dates will always be found in the activities. If you
wish to complete an assignment prior to the due date, you may (however, a group assignment
must be completed during the week assigned OR upon approval of every member of the group).
NO LATE SUBMISSION WILL BE ACCEPTED. PLEASE BE AWARE OF THIS POLICY
AND SUBMIT YOUR WORK ON TIME. This policy will be strictly enforced in the summer
session due to the condensed schedule.

Turnaround Time
The instructor will be monitoring the discussion board on a daily basis. Submitted assignments
will be graded and feedback will be provided within 3 days after the module is concluded. E-
mail messages will be answered within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends.
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
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Academic Integrity
Under all circumstances, students are expected to be honest in their dealings with faculty,
administrative staff, and fellow students. In speaking and/or correspondence with members of the
college community, students must give an accurate representation of the facts at hand. Students
must submit work that fairly and accurately reflects their level of accomplishment. Any work
that is not a product of the students own effort is considered dishonest. Students may not submit
the same work for more than one course. A student may be suspended or expelled for academic
dishonesty. Please refer to the Student Handbook for additional information regarding the policy
on academic honesty.

Academic Integrity Code

(from the Student Code of Conduct, Section III,
http://www.coastal.edu/conduct/documents/codeofconduct.pdf)

Statement of Community Standards:

Coastal Carolina University is an academic community that expects the highest standards of
honesty, integrity and personal responsibility.

As members of this community, we are accountable for our actions and are committed to
creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.

Honor Pledge: (required of all entering CCU students)

On my honor, I pledge:

That I will take responsibility for my personal behavior; and

That I will actively oppose every instance of academic dishonesty as defined in the Code
of Student Conduct.

From this day forward, my signature on any University document, including tests, papers and
other work submitted for a grade is a confirmation of this honor pledge.

Technical Supports
If you ever encounter any technology difficulties, please contact the following supports:

Moodle and WordPress (the instructor, clee@coastal.edu)

General Computing Issues (ITS Student Computing Services).
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
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Academic Supports
Kimbel library
Learning Assistance Centers (The Foreign Language Instructional Center (FLIC),
Mathematics Learning Center, Writing Center, and Structured Learning Assistance)
Counseling Services.

Thank you for abiding by the Course Policies.

9. Other Information

E-mail and Its Etiquette

Students must use their Coastal e-mail accounts for all correspondence with their professor. This
will help ensure that e-mails are secure and that Coastal staff can assist students with any e-mail
related technical problems. Coastals Student Computing Services (SCS) staff will not be able to
help resolve problems students may encounter with external e-mail services, such as Yahoo!
Mail, or Hotmail.

It is expected that all E-mail correspondence to the instructor will be conducted in a professional
manner. When utilizing E-mail for this class, you should:

1. include the course code, number, and section in the E-mail subject heading LDEng101
for example,
2. address the recipient in an appropriate manner,
3. utilize proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation,
4. close with your full name.

Computing Requirements
Required Hardware
To access e-learning courses, a multimedia-class computer (PC or Mac) with Internet
connectivity is required. The minimum system configurations required to view e-learning course
content are described below.
LDEng10: Effective Essay Writing for Learning Disable Students
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PC Macintosh

500 MHz Pentium III 400 MHz G4

Windows 2000 OS 9.1 (OS X recommended)
128 MB RAM (512 MB 128 MB RAM (512 MB
recommended) recommended)
1 GB free hard disk space 1 GB free hard disk space
56K modem (broadband 56K modem (broadband
recommended) recommended)

Required Browser
Students must have an Internet browser installed on their computers to view and interact with
online courses. Mozilla Firefox, version 1.5 or better, is recommended. Please note that browsers
may need to be further optimized if courses utilizing multimedia require any browser plug-ins or
ancillary players.

Special Services
If you have any learning disabilities or are alternatively-abled in any manner, or if you feel you
need special accommodation, please contact the Office of Student Disabilities, located in the
Student Health-Counseling Center, 204 University Boulevard. For more information, call (843)
349-2307. Disabilities must be on record with the university in order for a student to be eligible
for special dispensation.

Modification of the Syllabus and Schedule

The instructor reserves the right to modify the syllabus and schedule at any time. Notice of any
change will be E-mailed and posted as an announcement.