Hello Suzanne!
I have taken your grading policy and added the assignments - I am struggling with how to give value to these assignments and keep your policy. Can we move the maximum points up to 185? If we count each week as 10 points and the assignments that would add up to 185 given that week 15 would be the week they shared their creative projects for an additional 10 bonus points if we decide to do that. here's how I have altered your policy - provide feedback, change it whatever, but I won't put it in the class until I hear from you.

Grading Policy

A few words about grading: It is not our favorite part of teaching. However, it is necessary and gives you an idea of how you are doing throughout the class. We will make every effort to post your grades for the week as soon as possible.

The grading system for this course is based on a scale of 10. You can earn as many as 10 points for each week’s assignments, which include posts, submission of assigned projects, essays, and responses. The final project is worth 25 points
The total number of points you can earn for the course is 165. This means the grading for the semester looks like this:
168 – 185 points = A
157 – 167 points = B
146 – 156 points = C
126 – 136 points = D

At Midterm: (maximum points available: 70)
63 – 70 points = A
56 – 62 points = B
49 – 55 points = C
42 – 48 points = D

WEEKLY DISCUSSION BOARD GRADES:

8-10 points = Excellent posts which include information from the reading assignments and critical thinking on your part. Responses are spread throughout the week and indicate that you have not only read the assigned reading, but your peer’s posts as well.

7 points = Several posts which include some references to the reading material, and more than two responses which are posted at different times.

5-6 points = A post which addresses the question in a very general way, and one or two responses that are written at the same time. Blackboard tracks posting times, so it is evident when you have spent 15 minutes on your posts for the week. Even though you may in fact be reading every post all week, I have no way of knowing this if you do not interact with your peers.

An absence is indicated by a grade of 0 for the week.

As the above criteria indicates, I am looking for meaningful synthesis of the reading material, quality interactions spread over the course of the week, and “critical thinking” on your part. Critical thinking is indicated by your opinion on the topic, and why you feel the way you do.

If you ever have questions or comments about grades or anything else, do not hesitate to contact me via email or phone. It is always better to address issues sooner rather than later.

Assignments for this course are:

Creative Activity Lesson Plan 10 points

You will create a lesson plan for a creative activity. You can refer to page 71 in your text entitled “Presentation of Creative Activities.”

Literature Review 5 points

Each of you will sign up for a chapter in the textbook. You will select one of the books in “Books for Children” at the end of the chapter. You will write a brief summary and reaction and then create one activity to go along with the piece of literature. These are not required to be full lesson plans. Examples of a literature review will be provided. These will be submitted into a specific forum in the discussion board for a class discussion. When your week is represented your reviews will be due the first day of each week in relation to the chapters represented. They are due the first day so that they will generate discussions throughout the week.

Website Review 5 points

Each of you will sign up for a chapter in the textbook (this does not need to be the same chapter you selected for the literature review). You will select one of the websites listed at the end of the chapter or under WEBSITES (for the appropriate chapter). You will then complete a website evaluation on your selected website. Like the literature review, these will be submitted into a specific forum in the discussion board for class discussion. Again, your reviews will be due the first day of each week in relation to the chapters represented. They are due the first day so that they will generate discussions throughout the week.

Small Group Reports 5 points

Think of these as tasks you would do in small groups if our class met on ground. For most of the tasks you will discuss problems/ideas in small groups (online, not necessarily at the same time) and then one person will submit the project for the entire group. Since these will also be discussed in the forum they must be submitted early in the week to generate discussion.

Creative Project 20 points

This will be an individual creative project. This will be a unique project for you. You will choose an interest area and develop a small unit on the theme/interest area you choose. It must contain a minimum of three lesson plans complete with objectives, methods, materials, standards addressed, (Vermont Framework of Standards), bibliography of sources, desired outcomes and assessment process. You will submit an outline of your project to the discussion board so that as a class we can provide feedback through discussion. The final project will be due in the discussion forum no later than 6 pm, Monday at the end of week 13.