Fall, 2004
Course Texts: Critical
Anter;
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in
by Barbara
Ehrenreich
Course Hours: 4:00-6:30
Course Location: Tuesdays: Liston room 1169
Cell Phone: 263-8182
Office Hours:
Course Description:
This one-semester course is
designed to help you develop the reading and thinking skills that are essential
for college and workplace success. The focus will be on enhancing your
vocabulary as well as developing the skills necessary to adjust your reading
rate and comprehension to suit your purpose for reading, the material being
read, and the reading situation. Successfully completing English 8090 will
enable you to read more efficiently so that you will be able to comprehend, apply,
and evaluate college-level reading materials as well as everyday reading
materials. You will also read a memoir during the semester.
Course Objectives:
In this course,
you will:
1. Increase your confidence in
your ability to read, comprehend, organize, and retain written information.
2. Learn how to efficiently comprehend,
organize, store and recall the key information presented in textbooks and other
printed materials.
3. Develop an understanding of
your own reading process so that can adjust your reading rate and level of
comprehension to suit your purpose for reading and the material being read.
4. Increase your vocabulary
through the study of word parts, use of context clues and practice with a
dictionary and thesaurus.
5. Develop an ability to
interpret, evaluate and apply what you read to your other courses and real-life
situations.
6. Use writing as a learning
process. Writing and reading are connected literacy skills. In this class you
will learn writing-to-learn strategies such as outlining, paraphrasing,
mapping, and summarizing, which will help you to improve your comprehension and
level of retention.
Course Requirements:
·
Assignments: Timely completion of in-class assignments,
(journal writings, exercises, group activities, etc.), homework (which will be
assigned at the end of class), lab assignments, and tests is critical to the
student’s success in this course. Homework must be passed in on its due
date. Students who choose to complete
textbook homework assignments directly on the pages of the textbook must copy
the applicable pages and hand them in. Late
work and make-up tests will not be accepted, but I will drop the two lowest scores
on your in-class exercises and homework.
I will also drop your lowest test score.
Tests will be given regularly to assess your understanding of the
course material as well as your ability to apply the skills and strategies
covered in the course.
Exposing yourself to a wide variety of reading materials is the best
way to improve your reading fluency and comprehension. I encourage you to actively engage yourself
in expanding your opportunities for reading, enjoying reading, and becoming a
more efficient reader.
Grading Policy:
Students must pass
English 8090 with a grade of 75% or higher. Students enrolled in the Nursing
program must pass English 8090 with a grade of “B” or higher. A letter grade of
A, B, C, or F will be given according to each student’s level of performance on
the following items:
Homework, journal,
and in-class assignments: 15%
Attendance and
participation: 15%
Tests: 30%
Web quest
presentation: 15%
Nickel and Dimed final exam: 15%
Final exam: 10%
Nickel and Dimed- After each assigned chapter write a brief
(1-2 paragraphs) synopsis listing new characters, issues and situations that
arise. Also keep track of vocabulary
words (at least 5) that are new or that you find difficult. These will be discussed in class during the
discussions. Also, during the course of
the semester you should be working on the webquest
project that is due at the end. You can
find this project at http://www.geocities.com/nickelquest/started.html.
If you have any
questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to speak with me before and/or
after class, to e-mail me, to call me, or to leave a telephone or written
message for me in the English Department.
Your academic success is my goal, and I will be happy to help you in any
way I can.
Students with documented
disabilities, please make an appointment with me before the second class
meeting so that we may discuss accommodations needed and work out an equitable
method for evaluating your class performance.
Date:
9/7/04 Introductions, student questionnaire, syllabus review
Chapter 1: “Reading in College”
9/14/04 Stanford Diagnostic
9/21/04
Vocabulary, Nickel
and Dimed (pages 1-21)
Chapter 2: “Developing Your College
Vocabulary”
9/28/04
Vocabulary, Nickel
and Dimed (pages 22-49)
Chapter 3: “Remembering What You Read”
10/5/04
Vocabulary, Nickel
and Dimed (pages 51-70)
Chapter 5: “Locating Stated Main Ideas”
10/12/04
Vocabulary, Nickel
and Dimed (pages 71-91)
Chapter 6: “Finding Supporting Details”
10/19/04
Vocabulary, Nickel
and Dimed (pages 92-101)
Chapter 7: “Using Inference to Identify Implied Main
Ideas”
10/26/04
Vocabulary, Nickel
and Dimed (pages 102-119)
Chapter 8: “Textbook Methods of Organization”
11/2/04 No classes on Tuesday, 11/2
(Veteran’s Day)
11/9/04
Vocabulary, Nickel
and Dimed (pages 121-161)
Chapter 9: “Using Preview, Study-Read, and Review
(PSR) Strategies”
11/16/04
Vocabulary, Nickel
and Dimed (pages 162-169)
Chapter 10: “Textbook Marking”
11/23/04 Vocabulary, Nickel and Dimed (pages 170-191)
Chapter 11: “
11/30/04 Vocabulary, Nickel and Dimed (pages 193-221)
Chapter 12: “Identifying and Evaluating
Arguments”
12/7/04
Chapter 13: “Reading Beyond the Words”
12/14/04 Webquest
presentations
Review for Exam
Week of 12/20/04-
Final exam week – final exam date and time to be determined.
***This syllabus is subject
to revision by the instructor. It is
your responsibility as the student to be aware of assignments and timelines as
established or changed by the instructor.