CLINTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK
Course:
English 093 - Reading and Study Skills
Fall
2009 Contact hours: 3
Credit hours: 0
Instructor:
R. Reese
Office:
Room 512 Office hours: M
___ T ___ W ___ Th ___F ___
Telephone:
562-4151 ext.851 E-mail: Randy.Reese@clinton.edu
REQUIRED
TEXTS
Improving Reading Skills, 6th ed. by Spears
A dictionary
Articles from
magazines will be assigned as needed.
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this course is to teach students the
reading and study skills necessary for success in college. This course provides
students with effective strategies for increasing vocabulary, taking notes, and
reading college-level texts. The
course promotes active reading including the formation of inferences,
conclusions, and judgments. Students
are encouraged to consider the possible applications of what they read. By the
end of the semester, students will take a department-wide exit examination in
reading comprehension. Students must
earn a C or better for their work during the semester and pass the exit exam
to pass the course. Students
who do not earn a C for the course will be placed into English 093 for the next
semester. Students who earn a C or
better for class work but do not pass the exit test will be placed into either
English 093 or English 120 depending on the score on this test.
Students
will:
·
identify
the main ideas of college level texts,
·
make
inferences and draw conclusions from information
contained in texts,
·
use
several strategies for reading expository texts,
·
distinguish
between fact and opinion
·
use
context, affixes, and a dictionary to increase
vocabulary
·
use
library resources to obtain needed information
·
use
an effective note-taking strategy such as the Cornell
system
·
use
an effective study strategy,
·
summarize
texts, and
·
recognize
an author's purpose and tone.
COURSE
METHODS
This course will be taught through a combination of
lectures, discussions, in-class exercises, cooperative activities, and short
writings. Class participation is
important to success in this course.
GRADING
Assessment will be based on homework, class
participation, tests and quizzes, and short writings.
Students must pass this course with at least a "C" average and
must pass an exit examination. At
the end of this course, students may pass out of reading courses, need to take a
higher level reading course, or need to repeat this course depending on the exit
test results and grade average. Course
grades will be determined as follows:
Homework – 20 percent
Tests, quizzes, and short writings - 70
Class
participation - 10 percent
To equate letter grades with percentage points, you may
use the following as a guide:
A = 95-100
A- = 92
B+ = 88
B = 85
B- = 82
C+ = 78
C = 75
C- = 72
D+ = 68
D = 65
D- = 62
F = no credit
ATTENDANCE
POLICY
Attendance is required by the college and is vital to the
successful completion of this course. College
policy states that a student who is absent for more than 15% of class meetings
is considered non–attending and may be involuntarily withdrawn from the
course. Because class participation
is important and new material may be presented each session, you must attend
every class. Excess absence (more
than three classes) may result in a lowered grade (a full letter grade) or
automatic withdrawal from the class. If
you must be out for more than three classes, you should conference with me about
your progress in the course.
GRACE
PERIOD
We all sometimes have difficulty keeping up with our
work. A limited number of
assignments may be accepted up to one week after the due dates if you conference
with me about your situation.
An assignment will be considered late unless you:
-Send the assignment with someone else in the class.
-Deliver the work to me in person prior to the class.
-Put the work under my office door prior to class.
-Receive permission to e-mail the work to me prior to class.
MAKE-UP
WORK
If you must be absent on the day of a quiz or an in-class
writing, you must make arrangements with me to do the make-up work.
Quizzes, tests, and graded homework should be made up within one week of
the original due date. Responsibility for your progress and achievement is
something we share.
INDIVIDUAL
ASSISTANCE
If you would like individual help outside
of class, speak to me after
class so that arrangements can be made. If
you have, or suspect you have, any type of disability or learning problem that
may require extra assistance or special accommodations, please see me after
class or during my office hours as soon as possible, so I can help you obtain
any assistance you may need to successfully complete this course.
We will try to make any arrangements that may be required so that we can
both achieve our goals in this course.
DIVERSITY
The college community includes people with diverse
patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving due to cultural differences. These
differences will be valued and respected in all classes.
COURSE CONTINUITY PLAN
In the case that the college officially closes because of an
emergency which causes a short term disruption of this course, we will utilize
email to continue this course in the short term (1-3 weeks). All students
need to utilize their campus email to receive course-related information.
The
primary responsibility for managing the classroom environment rests with the
faculty. Students who engage in any prohibited or unlawful acts that result in
the disruption of a class may be directed by the faculty member to leave the
class for the remainder of the class period.
This may count as an absence for the day.
For example, cell phones should be turned off and out of sight before a
class begins. If you are
multitasking, you are not giving your full attention to the class, the
instructor, and your classmates. Students should not talk while the professor is
talking or while a student is offering a response during a class discussion.
Students should not move around the room or leave the room during the
class period unless it is absolutely necessary.
Please take care of your personal needs prior to class.
Actions that distract other students or your instructor interfere with
the education of your classmates.
In
general,
-stay involved in what is going on during class,
-don’t interfere with your classmates’ right to pay attention
and learn,
-and don’t interfere with the instructor’s right to teach.
ACADEMIC
HONESTY
It is not academically honest to misrepresent another's
work as your own; to take credit for someone else's words or ideas; to accept
help on a quiz, test, or assignment when you are expected to work independently;
to obtain advance information on confidential test or quiz materials; or to act
in a way that might harm another student’s chance for academic success.
A student who does not maintain academic honesty will receive a failing
grade, either for the assignment or for the course, depending on the severity of
the offense. For a second offense, a
student may be dismissed from the College.
COURSE
OUTLINE
While the skills needed for effective reading at the
college level must be integrated, certain important skills will be emphasized.
1. Using an effective note-taking strategy
2. Learning vocabulary by using context and affixes
3. Identifying main ideas
4. Marking and annotating text
5. Summarizing
6. Using library resources to obtain needed information
7. Using an effective study strategy
8. Distinguishing between fact and opinion
9. Drawing inferences and forming conclusions
“Tips for Women: How to Have a Relationship with a
Guy”
“To Kill a Hawk”
“The Bystander’s Dilemma: Why Do We Walk on By?”
“The Two Sides of Fear”
“The Language Explosion”
“Fast Food Nation: Behind the Counter”
“Somebody Built the Pyramids”
“The Hunger for More”
“Sports Centered” (from database)
“Fatherless Boys Grow Up into Dangerous Men” (from
database)
“The Picture of Conformity”
“Easter’s End”
“Farewell, Fair Weather”
“The Environmental Issue from Hell”
“Is the American Dream a Delusion?”
“$1.2 Billion Fence Adds Little or No Security”
“Building a Wall between Worlds”
“Sleep and Dreams: Conscious while Asleep”
“Race”
“Seed Plants, Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms”