Speech/ Communication Applications Syllabus
Ms. Shields
Young Women’s Preparatory Academy
(email)
Tutorials: Monday- Thursday 4-4:45 Description: Speech/ Communication Applications is a course that will help prepare students for college and professional experiences. Students will gain a tremendous amount of knowledge in this class that will assist them in developing self confidence, increase their fluency as a speaker, research and organizational strategies and show them how to conduct themselves in a professional/ social setting. This course introduces the basic aspects of public speaking. Students will experience real life application by presenting various types of speeches, participating in argumentation, developing a group presentation, creating a resume and interviewing.
Course Schedule:
1. Communication Process:
i. Components of communicating
a. Sender (preparation, organization and delivery)
b. Receiver (listening process, passive vs. active listening)
c. Message
d. Channel
e. Feedback
f. Encoding/Decoding
g. Barriers
h. Context
2. Types of Speeches
i. Introductions
ii. Informative
a. Research
b. Citing Sources
iii. Persuasive
iv. Argumentation
a. The Great Debate
3. Communication Factors
i. Context
ii. Purpose
iii. Social Norms
4. Analyzing/ Interpreting Speeches and Communicators
i. Ineffective vs. effective speakers
ii. Choices in communication strategies
5. Group Presentations
6. Professional Presentations/ Interviews
i. Professional presentations/ interactions
ii. Incorporating mass media with oral presentations
iii. Writing a resumes / filling out job applications
iv. Job interviews
VII. Final and Portfolio
Materials:
- One inch Notebook
- Blue and Black pen only
-Google Docs account
-Student Notes/ Presentation packets
Expectations:
*Students will be prepared for class. Class notes will be vital for creating speeches and presentations as well as study material for the final. Students will be expected to take notes as well as keep up with them during the entire semester. Digital copies will be available on my website. In attempt to prevent waste of resources, if a student has difficulty accessing the materials they may request a hard copy of the packet. To acquire the ½ high school credit, students must pass the final and complete the class with an average of 70% or higher. Students will be expected to keep up with their graded work in order to determine their growth as a speaker. This will also assist parents in determining students’ grades as well as areas to work on.
* Speeches will be assessed and students will be provided with a rubric copy before and after their presentations. IF there is ever a dispute regarding a presentation grade; videos are available for review on a case-by-case basis to ensure student privacy. Students will also receive a grade for participation in which 65% will come from audience attentiveness and participation. Students will have to research for several presentations and sources will be checked and verified. Students will be asked to work as a group twice this semester; once to debate a topic chosen by the class and again to deliver a group presentation. Students will be expected to fill out a job application and create a resume. At the end of the term students will be interviewed as a job candidate; their ability to be professional and speak effectively will be assessed. These activities in addition with the Communications Applications Final will be what their total grade is based on.
Make up work/ Missing assignments: Students are expected to make up assignments when absent. Arrangements to make up said assignments should be made as soon as the student returns to school. All presentations must be made in front of an audience and therefore must be scheduled with the teacher in advance.
Academic Dishonesty or Plagiarism: Any student found using the work, ideas or language of another writer/student without giving credit to the source will receive a significant decrease in conduct.
Grading:
Classwork 30%
Homework 20%
Participation 10%
Quizzes Projects 25%
Unit Test 15%
Final 25%