High School English Syllabus Template Editable Google Slides Middle School

Perfect for the first week of school, this 100% EDITABLE, NO PREP, GOOGLE SLIDES syllabus template, sample syllabus, and syllabus scavenger hunt is the perfect way to start back to school season with your middle and high school students. Edit the sample English syllabus or use the template to create your own syllabus for any subject area. Then use the Syllabus Scavenger Hunt in stations, small groups, or partners to engage students and to ensure comprehension ... and to break up traditional boring "first day of school" lecture!

This activity is designed to work well for both DIGITAL and PRINTABLE formats.

Want to save even more time? Check out my Back to School Bundle for fun first-week ice breaker activities, resources for setting expectations and norms, and more!

What's included in this resource?

✅ Detailed teacher's guide for using this resource

✅ Detailed lesson plans with step-by-step directions for implementing the scavenger hunt activities

✅ Engaging activities to ensure students actually read the syllabus
✅ Done-for-you materials that are ready to go, including...

✅ EDITABLE sample syllabus (secondary English)

✅ EDITABLE syllabus template

✅ EDITABLE syllabus scavenger hunt activities (3 differentiated versions)

✅ EDITABLE AI (artificial intelligence/Chat GPT) syllabus policy statements

Details about this resource:

⭐ Sample syllabus (editable):

• A 3-page sample syllabus for secondary English
  • Teachers of secondary English can make minor edits (teacher name, email, etc) and be ready to go!
  • Teachers of other subjects can use the syllabus as a guide for completing the template (see below).
  • Includes a signature sheet for parents and students to sign and turn in.

⭐ Syllabus template (editable):

• A professional-looking template for creating your own syllabus. Use the template for any secondary (middle school or high school) subject area.
• Topics addressed include:
  • Course overview
  • Course objectives and student learning outcomes
  • Class expectations and behaviors
  • Academic honesty policy
  • AI (ChatGPT) use
  • Grade categories and weights
  • Cell phone policy
  • and more!

⭐ Three syllabus scavenger hunt activities (editable)

• THREE versions to engage students as they read the syllabus
• Comprehension questions ensure understanding of key concepts
• Higher level questions allow students to express ideas and opinions, such as what texts they're most interested in reading and their opinion about various class policies
• Scavenger hunt activities can be used to guide class discussions around policies, texts, class expectations & more
  • Version 1: A 14-question scavenger hunt with look-and-find style questions to help students review important information in the syllabus
  • Version 2: Syllabus Scenarios activity - Covers the same content as the Q&A in version 1, but in a more creative format. This version provides various scenarios that help students put the syllabus policies into action.
  • Version 3: A guided annotation for the syllabus - excellent for introducing annotation and close reading skills right from the start.

⭐ AI (artificial intelligence/Chat GPT) syllabus policy statements (editable):

• A bank of SIX different AI policies to choose from - pick the one that best aligns with your philosophy & school policies!
• Editable plug-and-play statements are ready to be added to any syllabus.
  • #1: Strictly Prohibited - the use of AI is never permitted
  • #2: Prohibited - While useful outside the context of this class, AI conflicts with the learning objectives for this specific course and is therefore not permitted (ideal for ELA courses, writing courses, communications courses, and any other foundational skills course)
  • #3: Highly limited - AI may be used with explicit prior permission only 
  • #4: Limited - AI may be used for specific tasks (brainstorming, formatting, revising, editing, etc) without the need for prior permission (documentation required) 
  • #5: Embraced - Students may use AI freely (with documentation) & will continue to develop AI literacy by documenting and reflecting on their use of AI throughout the semester
  • #6: Required - Students must demonstrate not only their ability to use AI competently, but the ability to combine critical thinking and AI tools to surpass AI-generated content 

100% Editable in Google Slides - students can complete their work digitally or on paper.

Activity Duration:

This activity will take 1-2 hours, depending on how long your syllabus is and how teachers choose to conduct the scavenger hunt & close reading activities.

Final Notes and Details:

Please note, this activity is created in GOOGLE SLIDES and is EDITABLE so you can meet the unique needs of your students.

**This resource is a PDF with links to Google Slides documents. However, the documents can also be downloaded from Google Slides as POWERPOINT files or PDF files if you prefer (file, download as, choose your format)

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Terms of Use:

This work is copyright. Your single-user license which allows you to use this resource with YOUR students only. If you'd like to share this resource with a teacher-friend, please provide them with a link to my store, so they can download their own. Thank you for being part of the Teachers Pay Teachers community and for supporting a fellow teacher!

Cover Credit: Thank you to Aneta Designs for the watercolor strokes in the product cover!