......................................Skyline College

....................................Reading 801: Reading Improvement -- Fall 2001

Course Meetings: MWF 1:10-2pm
Room 5102
Schedule #87382 - Read 801AF
Course Dates: 8/20 - 12/19

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"Words set things in motion. I've seen them doing it. Words set up atmospheres, electrical fields, charges." --Toni Cade Bambara


Course Requirements:
Recommended completion of ESOL 830 or 830 and 831, or appropriate score on the college Reading Placement test and other measures as necessary. English 801 is a co-requisite of Reading 801. That means that Reading 801 and English 801 should be taken together if you place into those two courses. If you are unable to take both at the same time, Reading 801 should be taken first.

Course Objectives:
The objective of this course is to guide students toward becoming more active, purposeful, and confident readers. To achieve this goal, we will work on strengthening and developing study skills as well as reading strategies. By the end of this course, students will be able to read more efficiently, distinguish the main ideas from supporting details, apply strategies to increase retention, evaluate a writer's argument or reasoning, and draw from a larger vocabulary.

Required Materials:
William Faulkner said, "The tools I need for my work are paper, tobacco, food, and a little whisky." Here are the "tools" required for this course:

The course books come in a discounted, packaged bundle and should include these 4 items:
(1) The Reader's Handbook by Brenda D. Smith
(2) The Short Prose Reader by Gilbert H. Muller & Harvey S/ Wiener
(3) 15-week Newsweek magazine subscription (to be purchased at bookstore)
(4) Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston

Recommended: a paperback portable dictionary

"Language is the mother, not the handmaiden, of thought; words will tell you things you never thought or felt before." -- W.H. Auden


Course Policies:
(1) Attendance-- Your active participation is necessary for you and your classmates to realize the objectives of this course. Therefore your attendance is crucial. A maximum of 5 (five) absences is permitted; each absence after the fifth will significantly lower your grade.

(2) Late Assignments--No late work will be accepted. All due dates are given well in advance; therefore I feel that it is unfair to the students who complete their work on time to accept the work from those who do not. However, because "life happens," each student will be allowed two "late tickets" during the semester; twice students may choose to turn an assignment in the following class period after the due date. Late assignments beyond this will not be accepted.

(3) Class participation--- Remember that participation counts--both for your grade and in your life. It is essential that you become consciously involved in class by participating in discussions and contributing thoughtful comments, questions, and answers.

Assignments:
In this course we will be keeping reading journals, taking in-class quizzes, working on vocabulary building exercises, completing reading strategy assignments, and the course will end with a 2 hour final exam.

Course Grade:..............................................Record Your Own Grades:
Reading Journal...........................40%...........................Average Journal score______ x .40 = _____
Homework.................................15%...........................Average HM score.....______ x .15 = _____
Quizzes.......................................15%...........................Average Quiz score....______ x .15 = _____
Final Exam..................................20%...........................Score for Final Exam..______ x .20 = _____
* Participation.............................10%...........................Participation...............______ x .10 = _____

.......................................................................................... *TOTAL: (convert total to %) ________

* Participation includes being prepared each day, meeting
with me at least once during the course of the semester,............* Deduct 1% for each absence over allowed 5.
and adding to daily discussion.....................................................Scoring as follows: 100-90=A, 89-80=B
............................................................................................................ 79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59-0=F

.."Wrestling with words gave me my moments of greatest meaning." -- Richard Wright


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