Syllabus= for English 096

Reading Strategies

Term: Fall 2010

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","s= erif"'>Course Number: Engl 096P

Instructor: Dr. Aimee Krall-Lanoue &nb= sp;

Office: 508

E-mail: akralllanoue@ccsj.edu

Office Phone: 322

Office Hours: M/W 3:30-5= :30; F 1-:30-4:30 (online or office); by appointment

Instructor Background:Like many of you, I come from what woul= d be considered “working class.” For the first twenty years o= f my life, my father was a cook for a pizza restaurant in Joliet, Illinois. He n= ow works for the post-office. Both he and my mother have some college credit at the local community college, but my brother and I were really the first to attend college. I defended my dissertation on the working class in t= he field of composition and graduated in 2008. Prior to Milwaukee, I spent two years at Illinois State University teaching and completing my Master’s Degree in English. I have taught most kinds of writing classes and some literature classes, but my area of expertise and primary interest is in wri= ting pedagogy.

Course Time: = TR 12:00-1:30

Course Description: English 096 is designed to help students impr= ove their reading ability and learn techniques to aid in the comprehension and application of materials presented in college courses. Students will learn strategies that include reading for main ideas, deciphering unfamiliar and complex vocabulary, notating different kinds of argument and analysis, and understanding one’s own reading process. Students will practice these strategies by reading various kinds of texts such as textbooks, academic articles, newspapers, and literature. Not applicable toward a degree. =

Prerequisites: <= /span>None

Learning Outcomes/ Competencies:

The student will understand t= hat reading is a process.

The student will recognize and evaluate useful habits of reading.

The student will become comfo= rtable with reading various kinds of texts and be able to label the

general genr= e in which they belong.

The student will be able to u= se the genre or form of the text as a guide for the employment of

particular r= eading strategies.

The student will practice sus= tained reading in class and record the content of what was read and

their reading process throughout the time period .

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The student will become famil= iar with the dictionary as a way of aiding in reading

comprehensio= n.

The student will learn how to decipher unfamiliar and complex reading vocabulary.

The student will use a basic knowledge of grammar and punctuation to help understand the

meaning of c= omplex phrases and sentences.

The student will create his/h= er own journal for troubling words and phrases, punctuation, and

lines of arg= ument.

The student will learn strate= gies for reading for main points, identifying support, evidence, detail

and kinds of argument.

The student will learn and ev= aluate various methods of notation.

The student will demonstrate competence on standard reading comprehension exams (i.e.

Nelson-Denny= ).

The student will appreciate h= ow reading encourages critical thinking and personal growth.

Units

Unit 1: Process

In this unit, students will learn that reading = is a process and that successful readers make a series of moves that help them understand what they are reading. Through a series of articles and essays a= bout reading and literacy, students will track their own process for reading and comprehension through quizzes, comprehension journals, and short written responses. Students will take the first of a series of reading comprehension practice exams in order to pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses.

Unit 2: Surface fea= tures in reading comprehension

Students will learn how to us= e the surface features of a given text as a way to develop a plan for reading in = this unit. For example, students will look at formatting features of textbooks, newspaper and magazine articles, and college-wide publications and note how= the text is broken into parts--shaded or highlighted text boxes, pictures and illustrations, graphs and charts, bulleted points and outlines, review questions, etc. Students will learn how to read these features to aid in co= mprehension. Along with formatting features, students will also learn how to use their understanding of grammar and punctuation to understand complex sentences and phrases. The last section of this unit will look at the way complex texts--= like academic articles--use headings and subheadings, introductions, conclusions, prefaces, forwards, etc. to foreshadow the main points and purposes of a section of the work. In-class activities, worksheets, and quizzes will be u= sed to direct and assess students learning

Unit 3: Genre

This unit on genre will provide an introduction= into the kinds of texts students will encounter in their college courses. Throug= h a foundation of basic rules of genres--like textbooks, academic articles, newspapers and magazine articles, fiction and nonfiction books--students wi= ll use this knowledge to create context for their reading. This context provid= es another tool to help students comprehend difficult reading material and encourage active reading.

Unit 4: Final reading comp= etency exam

For the final unit, students = must pass with an 80% or better a 32 question reading comprehension exam.

Group collaboration, individual discussion, large-group discussion, in-class writing.

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You have one class period to submit any late assignments. Aft= er that, I will not accept late work and your final grade will be compromised.=

Tardiness and leaving class early will completely disrupt the = work of our small group. Because w= e meet only twice a week, you need to be present for the entire class period. Miss= ing more than ten minutes of class for any reason (arriving late, leaving early, etc) will count toward the nine hours of absences you are allotted.

Because our class time is limited, please turn off all cell ph= ones when you enter the writing lab. Also, do not engage in any social networking websites like Facebook or Myspace during class time. These are not only disruptive to our discussions and work, they also convey a general lack of respect for both the community of learners you are surrounded by but also t= he general mission of education.

t is essen= tial for you to actively participate in this class. It is only through the shari= ng of our ideas, interpretations, and understanding of given texts that we can collectively work through and produce a reading of those texts. After all, language (thus reading and writing) is a social activity—it only happ= ens because there are other people with whom we communicate. During class meeti= ngs, you should therefore always be prepared to speak meaningfully to whatever i= ssue is under discussion.

Responsibility:

I cannot stress enough the place of responsibility in this course. I am responsible for creating writing opportunities, setting expectations, communicating policies, and encouraging you to test out new ideas and new writing strategies. This is only a brief = list of my responsibilities. You also have a great deal of responsibilities in t= his course. You must come to class prepared and interested, ready to learn, and= be engaged. You must come with an open mind an appropriate attitude. You must = take the onus for talking to me about missed classes or any other concerns you h= ave.

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Student Support Services:

Among its other services, the Student Support Services Office guides, counsels and assists students with disabilities. If a student believes that he or she needs a “reasonable accommodation” of some kind because of a physical, psychological, or mental condition (e.g., additional time needed for tests, note taking assistance, special testing arrangements, etc.), he or she shou= ld contact the Student Support Services Office at 473-4388. Staff there = will secure documentation pertinent to the disability and work with faculty and staff, if necessary, to address the matter.

CCSJ Alert:

Calumet College of St. Joseph utiliz= es an emergency communications system that transmits messages via text, email,= and voice platforms. In the event= of an emergency, of weather related closings, or of other incidents, those studen= ts who are registered for the system shall receive incident specific message(s) notifying them of the situation. Please sign-up for this important service at any time on the College’s website. Alternatively, you can register at the time you register for classes. This service require= s each user to register once per academic year. Therefore, at the beginning of each academic year, please remember to re-register for the system.

Please note<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>: Calumet College of St. Joseph subscribes to Turnitin.com and all papers can and may= be submitted for checks on plagiarism from the Internet/Electronic sources/Databases.

All of these guid= elines are available in the Calumet College of St. Joseph library or bookstore. These texts outline how to cite references from a variety of sources, including electronic media.

School Closing Information:

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