Agriculture Mechanics I Course Syllabus Spring 2008

Room: 403 Agriculture Building Franklinton High School School Phone 919-494-2332 ext 245 E-mail: tommykemp@fcschools.net Class Hours: 9:20-10:50 Monday through Friday Course Description Agriculture Mechanics I Course Number: 6831This course develops knowledge and technical skills in the broad field of agricultural machinery, equipment, and structures. The primary purpose of this course is to prepare students to handle the day-to-day problems, accidents, and repair needs they will encounter in their chosen agricultural career. Topics include agricultural mechanics safety, agricultural engineering career opportunities, hand/power tool use and selection, electrical wiring, basic metal working, basic agricultural construction skills related to plumbing, concrete, carpentry, basic welding, and leadership development. Course Objectives 1. To introduce students to agricultural mechanics careers. 2. To learn safety procedures in ag mechanics work areas. 3. To develop leadership skills for effective citizenship and participation in a democratic society. 4. To provide students opportunities to participate in FFA career development events. 5. To provide students insight into Ag mechanics and focus on how we make our lives more productive through Ag mechanics. 6. Provide the students with opportunities to analyze, and research ways to take tools and use them as a resource. 7. Select and use measuring and marking devices. 8. Identify and perform basic wiring skills. 9. Perform basic plumbing skills. 10. Apply basic concrete principles. 11. Practice basic carpentry skills. 12. Identify and use hand and power tools. 13. Operate oxy-fuel welding and cutting equipment. 14. Describe the use of basic agricultural business records.

Textbooks and required supplies Required text: Agriculture Mechanics, fundamentals & applications 5th edition Author: Ray V. Herren Delmar Learning Publishers Note: These textbooks will be provided to you, however you will be responsible for replacement cost if you lose it.

Important Information!
Every class you come to you are expected to: 1. Bring wide ruled or college ruled paper to write on along with a black ink pen, a pencil and a highlighter. 2. Be on time. That means in the room at your assigned seat. Failure to adhere to the tardy policy will result in ASD detention after the first verbal warning. 3. Remove your hat when entering the door. Hats will be requested and the return of said hat will be at the discretion of the teacher depending upon the amount of work required to obtain said hat. 4. Dispose of your drinks or any food unless you have medical documentation that allows you to do so. Bottle water may be permitted. 5. Do not sit or remove anything from the teacher's desk. 6. Do not write on the board unless instructed to do so. 7. Work turned in unsigned will not be graded. If you don't care to sign your work I am not going to attempt to grade and locate the author. 8. Work will not be submitted in anything but black ink. In other words if you turn in work in anything but black ink it will not be graded. Pencils will be used on test that utilizes machine scorable bubble sheets 9. Everyday each student will be expected to have paper and pen upon which to write with. We may not use our paper and pen each day, but you are expected to have them available. Failure to bring such materials will result in a period of ASD with the instructor. 10.Bathroom passes will be permitted on a limited basis as determined by the instructor. Chronic demand for the privilege with be as follows. I will exchange a bathroom pass for one period of ASD with the instructor.

Class Rules of Conduct It is expected that every student abide by the code of conduct of Franklinton High School. Each student has received and signed a statement that the student has received and read their copy. If you have not done so, please see me immediately and I will see that you have a copy. It is my expectation that you are familiar and understand the Franklinton High School code of conduct. Feel free to ask me questions concerning this matter. Students will be expected to abide by the following rules at all times. 1. Be respectful of the learning environment 2. Always come to the class prepared 3. Be recognized before speaking 4. Do not criticize fellow classmates 5. Do not remove items from the teachers desk 6. No headgear allowed 7. No food and drinks allowed in the class 8. No profanity Disciplinary Procedures 1. Students will be asked to Refocus 2. Refusal to Refocus will result in ISS 3. Referral will be filled out 4. Student will be sent to ISS 5. Parent will be called Emergency Procedures Evacuation Procedures- see instructions posted in the classroom. During laboratory exercises safety glasses are to be worn at all times. During a Tornado drill students are to walk to the science building and gather in the hallway at the designated location. During a fire drill students are to immediately exit the building and gather in front of the church where I will call the roll. You are to remain with your classmates and not talk to other classes that will be present. Remediation Tutoring will be conducted as needed by the instructor after school.

Grading Procedures Your grade in this course will be graded in four sections 1st six weeks is worth 15% 2nd six weeks is worth 15% 3rd six weeks is worth 15% Each six weeks grades will be established by the following: Daily Work Quizzes Sectional Test 50% 10% 40%

Course project is worth 30% The course project should carefully selected and significant. Ideally the project would require one to utilize learned materials, (i.e. tool usage, project design or selection, determining a bill of materials, acquisition of materials and presentation of the project at Franklinton High Schools Spring Showcase.) It is the students responsibility to acquire their own materials. The Ag mechanics shop will provide the space, tools and power to complete your project. Projects that utilize partnerships must approved by the instructor and be significant in nature. Final exam is worth 25%

Assignment of grades will be on the following basis: A 93-100 B 85-92 C 77-84 D 70-76 F 69 and below Assignments 1. Weekly assignments. Each week you will be given assignments that reinforce class lectures and readings. Most of these assignments are simple and will not require inordinate amounts of time to complete. However, several of the assignments is to expose you to a variety of materials related animal science topics and to prepare you for classroom discussion and activities.

2. Quizzes Each six weeks you will take several quizzes to determine your current level of competency. These quizzes will be unannounced so you should be prepared to take one at any time. 3. Sectional Test After each major section there will be a multiple-choice test to determine mastery of learned concepts. These tests will be weighted more than other assignments so you attempt to do your best on these tests. These tests are designed to provide practice for your final exam. 4. Shop projects. This course is designed to spend a substantial amount of time in the shop area. This feature is a privilege meaning the instructor can at any time revoke shop privileges. This can occur from playing in the shop area, misuse of tools, damage to tools, and leaving tools out and failing to store them properly at end of each class period. Also, untidiness in the shop area will result in revoked shop privileges. Translation: you make a mess, clean it up. Failure to adhere to safety rules will result in shop privileges. If you are in the middle of a project and such violations occur then you will be expected to finish project after school. 5. Shop projects. Upon completion of the OSHA safety course the student will conduct a basic shop project in order to learn the correct operation of shop machinery and tools. The project selected will be approved by the instructor. The Ag shop will provide tools, machinery, power, fasteners and shop space for the student. The student will have to provide the necessary materials to complete the project. The project is not mandatory however the student will be expected to turn in research paper dealing with Ag Production in lieu of a shop project.

Research Paper Research Guidelines

Guidelines for research are as follows. 1. Research is an integral component of the course. Students are expected to make a diligent and critical inquiry into their topics. The recommended length of the paper should be 8 to 10 typed, double-spaced pages, with a minimum of five primary and secondary sources. Paper may include additional supporting documentation such as pictures, charts, graphs, etc. 2. Each paper must cite a minimum of five different sources. Students should strive for variety and balance in their selections. Only one general encyclopedia may be used as a reference in the final bibliography. 3. Students should learn to examine and interpret research in terms of possible bias, validity, reliability, and credibility. 4. Research may take a variety of forms, primary and secondary, traditional and nontraditional. Students may design and administer surveys, conduct interviews, access online databases, or consult portable database projects. Students should tailor the type of

research to the topic of research.

5. Students must carefully document all research information in their papers. This should include parenthetical documentation within the paper and a list of works cited at the end of the paper. 6. Students should apply the most recent edition of a standard form of writing style that includes the appropriate documentation within the paper and a list of works cited at the end of the paper. 7. Students should be thoroughly informed of research ethics. 8. Students should be thoroughly informed that acts of plagiarism will result in a failing grade. This course is designed to spend a substantial amount of time in the shop area. This feature is a privilege meaning the instructor can at any time revoke shop privileges. This can occur from playing in the shop area, misuse of tools, damage to tools, and leaving tools out and failing to store them properly at end of each class period. Also, untidiness in the shop area will result in revoked shop privileges. Translation: you make a mess, clean it up. Failure to adhere to safety rules will result in shop privileges. If you are in the middle of a project and such violations occur then you will be expected to finish project after school. Very Important! Late work policy. I expect your assigned work to be turned in on a timely manner. If your assignments are late due to either excused absences, or instructor approval, you will only have two school days for each excused absence to turn in any missed assignments after you return to school. . It will be the student's responsibility to get missed work from me. It is your responsibility to determine whether or not you have missed any assignments. I will not hold your hand on this issue. Students who are failing the course should meet individually with the teacher to write a grade recovery contract. This will be signed by the teacher and the student and will be shared with the parent Absentee Policy Students are only allowed ten absences per class before the possibility of failure. If a student is absent, the student needs to submit an excused note explaining their absence (see excused absences in the Code of Student Conduct Book). All missed work needs to be made up within two days for each absence upon returning to school.

I have read this course syllabus and understand its contents with regards to the administration of the Agriculture Mechanics I during this semester. Student signature __________________________________ Date _____________ Parent Signature ________________________________ Date ____________ Teacher Signature__________________________________ Date__________________