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Home My WebLink AboutALP-054Revised Spring 2016 Bergen Community College Division of Humanities Department of ESL and World Languages Departmental Syllabus ALP 054: American Language II: Reading Semester and year: Course and Section Number: (e.g. ALP 054 - xxx) Meeting Times and Locations: Instructor: Office Location: Phone: Departmental Secretary: (optional) Office Hours: E-mail Address: Course Description ALP-054 American Language II: Reading is a course in reading for academic purposes for intermediate English language learners. It develops reading strategies, critical thinking skills and vocabulary enabling students to understand and interpret texts. 3 lec., 3 non-degree credits. Prerequisite: ALP-044 Pre- or Co-requisite: ALP-051/052 Course Texts and/or Other Study Materials: Real Reading 3: Lynne Bonesteel (Pearson/Longman) ISBN: 978-0137144433 Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog by Garth Stein (HarperCollins) ISBN-13: 978-0062015761 Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of meeting the requirements in this course, students will:  Use reading strategies to understand texts;  Apply critical thinking skills to interpret and evaluate information;  Employ study skill techniques to understand and recall information;  Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues, a dictionary, and structural analysis (roots, prefixes, suffixes) of words;  Demonstrate basic information literacy skills and knowledge of library services and resources. Means of Assessment: To determine the extent to which students have achieved learning outcomes, teachers will evaluate:  Homework assignments.  Multiple choice, short answer quizzes and tests,  Journal writing.  Discussion in pairs, small groups and as a whole class.  Research project At the end of the course, all students take a course-wide Reading Comprehension Exit examination. Students will read a passage and answer approximately 34 multiple choice questions. Practice final exams are made available to acquaint the students with test format and content. Course Content This course reviews and introduces students to reading strategies, study skills and research techniques that students need at an intermediate level: 1. Previewing, skimming, scanning 2. Identifying signal words (finally, furthermore, in addition) that provide clues to organization of a text, such as time order, or compare/contrast 3. Identifying and distinguishing main idea and supporting details 4. Identifying information that is implied rather than stated 5. Drawing conclusions and make inferences based on explicit and implied information 6. Outlining 7. Using graphic organizers to take notes 8. Paraphrasing and summarizing 9. Using a dictionary to assist reading comprehension and expand reading and functional vocabulary 10. Accessing and retrieve information from a minimum of two databases 11. Using information in an ethical and legal manner Special Features of the Course (if any) [to be designated by the instructor] E.g. the use of learning technologies in the course (Internet, PowerPoint, Moodle, etc.) Grading Policy (to be designated by the instructor) A student’s final grade for the course is based primarily on his/her performance on the required work for the course (homework, reading tests, research projects, etc…), class participation, and on his/her overall mastery of the material covered in the course. Sample grading policy Class participation: 10% Homework: 20% Quizzes 20% Tests 30% Research project: 20% Grade Breakdown: A 90-100 B+ 86-89 B 80-85 C+ 76-79 C 70-75 D 65-69 F 64-below Attendance Policy: (to be designated by the instructor) Sample: Students are expected to attend class regularly and punctually. Attendance will be taken at each class session. If students occasionally arrive late, they should enter quietly, and not disturb the class. If students miss class, they should find out what they missed. It is probably a good idea for students to exchange telephone numbers with other students as a way to find out about missed classes . Poor attendance will affect a student’s grade. If a student’s absence exceeds one and a half times the number of weekly meetings, the student’s grade will be lowered by one full letter grade. If a student is absent excessively, the student can expect to fail the course. Lateness counts, too. Two late arrivals will equal one absence. Statement on Accommodations for Disabilities Bergen Community College aims to create inclusive learning environments where all students have maximum opportunities for success. Any student who feels he or she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Specialized Services at 201-612-5269 or via email at ossinfo@bergen.edu for assistance. Student and Faculty Support Services ELRC (English Language Resource Center) Room E-156 201- 612-5292 http://www.bergen.edu/elrc The Sidney Silverman Library – Reference Desk Room L-226 201-447-7436 http://www.bergen.edu/library Sample Course Outline & Calendar (to be designated by the instructor) Note to Students: The following Course Outline and Calendar is tentative and subject to change, depending upon the progress of the class Week(s) Topic/Activity/Assignments 1 Parts of Speech. Review sentence structure and types 2 Predict / Preview / Scan reading strategies Find meanings of words 3 Skim readings Review Basic Text Organization Process Find the main ideas / Supporting Sentences 4 Library instruction. How to find information in the internet. How to find definitions in the dictionary and other resources like Google. 5 Word Families Prefixes / Suffixes Synonyms Skim readings Find new words Find meaning of words from context Use dictionary and other resources to find core meaning of related words 6 & 7 Introduction to writing a summary and paraphrasing Journal writing for Research Project 8 Review and Test 9 & 10 Text Organization - Cause and Effect Graphic Organizer / Outline Signal words Guessing meaning from Context Making Inferences 11 & 12 Text Organization – Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizer / Outline Signal words Guessing meaning from Context Writing a summary and paraphrasing - Review Journal writing for Research Project 13 Exit Test 14 Research Project Presentation 15 Conferences