1 College Reading: ENG 085:02 Meeting time: Mondays and Wednesdays 9:00-10:56, Bert Walker Hall Rm. 221 Winter 2009 Instructor: Barbara A. Stockton Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Monday and Wednesdays 2:35-6:00 and Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:35- 6:00 in BW 125 (CSS), or by appointment. Textbooks and Supplies: 1. Introduction to Critical Reading, sixth edition, by Leah McCraney. 2. The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch 3. Making Reading Relevant: The Art of Connecting by Quick, Zimmer, and Hocevar 4. 2 Spiral notebooks, one for your reading journal and one for your project notes 5. Folder 6. Highlighter 7. Sticky notes 8. Note cards (3X5) for vocabulary practice 9. Dictionary (optional) Course Objectives: 1. Improve reading comprehension 2. Expand vocabulary by creating your own Vocabulary Log and practicing methods to improve your contextual guesses. 3. Write summaries demonstrating understanding of reading selections 4. Create connection between texts and personal experiences 5. Combine information from several sources 6. Read for enjoyment and information These course components address and/or measure achievement of the above objectives. 1. Nelson-Denny Reading Pre & Post Tests 2. Reading response journals: writing summaries and making connections between texts and your life 3. Vocabulary development assignments and tests 4. Researching and synthesizing information project 5. Personal reading and discussion Journal for Introduction to Critical Reading: You are expected to read the assigned works and also write about them in your reading journal (spiral notebook). Unless it is otherwise specified you should write about the works, focusing on three levels of meaning: 1. Literal level: Summarize, in your own words, what the words on the pages are saying. Here the focus is on the words of the text. 2. Interpretive level: Read between the lines. What are the author’s intentions in writing this? What lessons is she/he trying to convey? Quote from the text to support your interpretations. Here the focus is on the author’s ideas. 3. Applied level: Relate this piece to your own experience, your own thinking, or other things you’ve read. What does this writing say to you personally? Tell your related stories. Here the focus is on you, your experiences, your ideas. Your handwriting must be legible. Otherwise, your papers should be typed and attached into your notebook. Journals count as 30% of your grade.2 The Reading Response Journal will be graded by the following measures: The sections are clearly labeled 1, 2 and 3 and the areas of focus are addressed The journal response thoroughly and clearly discusses each point (at least three pages total for each journal article for a 4.0). The writing is legible. Journal for The Last Lecture: You will answer the questions on the study guides for The Last Lecture and relate the story to your life as suggested on the study guides. This will count as 20 % of your grade. Vocabulary Logs and Quizzes: You will be responsible to complete all pages of the Vocabulary Log with words from your reading. They must not be words you already know since the purpose is to improve your vocabulary so you improve your score on the Nelson Denny Test. I expect each of you to collect a minimum of 125 words. As you go about your day, collect words that you do not understand. The words might come from a media source, a conversation, a class, or your reading. Do not just copy words from a dictionary or a textbook glossary. For each word, write your guess of the definition based on the context, where you found the word, the definition in the dictionary and antonyms and synonyms. It is best to select words you have heard of before but do not understand and words that you think will be useful for you to know in the future. There will be more specific information regarding this assignment when it is assigned. Other vocabulary words will be added to the lists, as needed. Furthermore, prefix, suffix and root word study will also be a component of the course vocabulary development and will be assessed. Vocabulary log, prefix, suffix and root word assignments and tests will count as 15% of your grade. In-Class Activities: In class activities will be discussed and explained throughout the term and will count as 15% of your grade. If you are absent, this will affect this part of your grade because you can’t participate if you aren’t here. Research Project and Presentation: You will have the opportunity to do a research project, which you will present to the class. Throughout the term you will conduct a personal research project on a topic of your choice that is either related to your career choice; a health concern; a famous person, place or historical event; a travel destination; a social problem you are concerned about; or a particular skill you are interested in developing. An alternative would be for you to do a “last lecture” like the one you will read by Randy Pausch. Details will be given later. This will provide you with independent practice of college reading strategies to learn more about a specific topic by: summarizing and evaluating information, identifying and defining unknown vocabulary and synthesizing information from multiple sources. You will be required to research the topic utilizing multiple resources, and at the very least 1 book and 3 websites. You will learn how to conduct a research project, document your findings and conclusions and report your sources appropriately. You will also report your findings to the class in an oral presentation during the last weeks of class. You are to create a folder with copies of the articles used for research. For each source (4 minimum), you are to 1. Write a brief summary that tells what the article is about. (Literal) 2. Write a paragraph or two that interprets the author’s purpose in writing the article. What is it the author wants reader to know or believe about this subject? (Interpretive) 3. How does this make sense to you based on your own experience or observation? (Application) 4. Make a list of at least 3 questions you would pose to the author. 5. Identify and define at least 3 unknown words found in the article. You are also to write an essay introducing the subject, why you chose it and what you learned from your research (at least 3 key pts.). This will constitute 20% of your grade.3 Grades: 100-93=4.0 77-71=2.0