COURSE SYLLABUS – Fall ‘06
Cheryl Altman, Instructor / Office: Temp location
LIB 325 B
Phone: 949-582-4954 / Email:
Class website: http://socccd.blackboard.com
Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday: 9:15-10:15; Monday/Wednesday: 12:00-1:30. If I am not in my
office, then I am in the Reading Lab CC6.
Text/Materials:
BREAKING THROUGH, COLLEGE READING/7e by Brenda Smith
PROGRAMMED COLLEGE VOCABULARY/7e by George Feinstein
Course Pack for English 340: sold in the bookstore
Pocketbook Dictionary such as THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY
Novel: selected from annotated bibliography distributed in class
Three-ring notebook with standard paper and dividers
BINDER for Journal writing 3 packets of scantrons
Blue or black pens Pocket stapler or paper clips
Pencils (#2) a highlighter
Course Objectives:
Vocabulary
To develop strategies for decoding unfamiliar words
To increase ability to use context clues
To increase vocabulary awareness
To differentiate between the connotation/denotation of words
Comprehension
To improve comprehension skills
To develop effective study skills strategies - enhance note taking, listening
and test taking techniques
To improve concentration and memory
To enhance reading enjoyment and expand the range of reading materials
Speed
To increase reading rate
To develop a flexibility of rates depending on reader's
Purpose and type of material to be read
Writing
To improve individual writing skills
To adopt the "process of writing" as a strategy for written assignments
To improve library research skills
Methods of Evaluation:
1. ATTENDANCE - is mandatory - arrangements should be made with the instructor to make up work if you are absent. All work must be completed one week after the absence and will be considered late. Work not turned in on time will be lowered a grade. It is the student's responsibility to find out about missed work. Be sure to get several phone numbers of students in the class to call in case you are absent.
Missed quizzes must be made up on the student's first day back in class; otherwise, the recorded grade will be an F. There are no makeups for the mid-terms or final exam.
You must attend class on a regular basis (that includes online) to receive credit for this course. After two absences, arrange for a conference with me. If you are absent for a total of 6 cumulative instructional hours (which equals 4 classes), you CAN be dropped from the class! Don’t let this happen.
2. JOURNALS - Reading and writing are lifetime skills which improve with practice. You will be expected to read outside of class using a variety of reading materials. You will be held accountable for readings by keeping a Responsive Reading Journal. As part of your journal keeping, you will be required to read a self-selected novel, which focuses on a cultural theme. The format, bibliography and guidelines for this journal will be explained in class.
3. VOCABULARY is crucial to the development of effective and efficient reading and writing. You will be QUIZZED weekly from the assigned textbook. Be prepared! Study in advance! Make us of flash cards or word clusters.
4. TWO MID-TERMS will be given from assigned readings, lectures, and assignments. When you come to class be prepared to take notes!!! Tests cover lecture notes as well as course readings.
5. You are responsible for keeping GRAPHS and READING CHARTS up-to-date in order to evaluate your progress in various skill areas. These will be collected at the end of the semester for a grade.
6. MATERIALS - A three-ring notebook is required in order to keep course materials organized. Sections should be divided as follows:
Comprehension Skills, Vocabulary, Writing Skills, Study Skills, Assignments, Tests/Quizzes, Graphs. (Divide your course pack accordingly – PUT YOUR NOTES IN EACH SECTION.)
7. DISCUSSION BOARD - There will be weekly discussion questions to be answered through the class website. You are responsible for responding to each question + responding to another student’s answer.
8. MySkillsLab.com – is a supplementary online skills website. A free access code comes
with your textbook. You are responsible for completing activities and taking the online
practice quizzes. Please don’t lose your access code card.
9. READING LAB (English 341) – lab is a co-requisite course for this class. Students are required to complete a minimum of 16 hours of work in the LAB. Individualized assignments will be given to each student. There will be four scheduled lab assignments; you may not make up time in the following grading session. Lab work will be kept in a separate manila folder in a file cabinet in the reading lab [CC6]. A percentage of your English 340 final grade will be based on your lab work. Failure to complete the required number of hours or demonstrate completion and mastery of the assignments in a reasonable amount of time will lower your grade.
10. MLA Format for Writing Assignments:
¨ Write in ink on one side of the page (do not write on the back). If your handwriting is hard to read, please skip lines.¨ Typewritten work is always welcome. For major writing assignments you MUST use a word processing program such as MicroSoft Word.
¨ Staple or paper clip pages together. Your name should appear on every paper: last name with page number.
¨ Writing assignments (except journal entries) will be corrected for usage, punctuation and content. For certain writing assignments, your grade will be recorded in pencil. When you receive your corrected work, make the appropriate revisions and resubmit for a final grade.
¨ Heading on all papers - MLA format: in the upper left hand corner of your paper:
EXAMPLE:
Student’s Name Keiko Manami
Instructor's Name Prof. Altman
Course and days it meets English 340 MW, 10:30-12:00
Date: day, month, year 26 August 2006
*REMEMBER: Successful completion of this course allows you to enroll in English 200, a writing class. You must be prepared to meet the requirements for that class.
Grading:
You will be graded according to your progress and effort. The amount of improvement you make will depend entirely upon the amount of effort that you devote to your coursework.
During class you are expected to pay attention, take notes, and be prepared!
Use the chart below to convert letter grades to numerical grades.A+ / 100
A / 95
A- / 90
B+ / 89
B / 85
B- / 80
C+ / 79
C / 75
C- / 70
D+ / 69
D / 65
D- / 60
F / 59 – 0
Final Grade Calculation:
10% attendance/graphs/participation/preparation, textbook
checks
25% writing assignments: essays, summaries, journal assignments,
group novel project)
5% Discussion Board
25% 12-14 quizzes, 2 mid-terms, final exam [lowest quiz dropped].
15% lab attendance and completion of lab work
10% Text assignments (skills exercises, mapping, annotating),
10% Comprehension checks (reading selections, 2 lowest scores dropped)
Please note a missing assignment is recorded as an F grade.
Total: 100%
Important Information:
1. Students must take the pretest and post-test to complete the course. In addition, to receive credit for the course, you must score at or above the 20th percentile on the post-test comprehension test.
2. Cheating will not be tolerated. The course grade for such action will be an F. Refer to the Saddleback College Student Handbook 2006-2007, for information on Student’s Rights and Responsibilities which include the Code of Conduct and the College’s Academic Honor Code and Dishonesty Policy.
3. Please be on time to class. We will be doing warm-ups that will start at the beginning of each class.
4. Although roll may not be called, attendance is taken. If you are late, you will be marked absent. Any student who is late more than 4 times, may be dropped from the class.
5. Homework assignments will be given with each class. Assignments on course outline may change at the discretion of the instructor; therefore, it is imperative that you attend class.
When you come to class, please make sure that cell phones and beepers have the audio turned OFF!
**NOTE: If you have a learning disability or need special accommodation for this class, please notify me. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
Special Websites to help you practice spelling:
Spelling Sites
*Spelling Troublesome Words: tips on how to study spelling and what type of words to focus on:
http://www.utexas.edu/student/lsc/handouts/1112.html
Information on spelling for Teachers with LD students -:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/spelling_test.html
Dictionary Resources on the web
http://www.cs.nmsu.edu/~dtappan/dictionaries.html
Spelling Bee: word of the week, lists of spelling bee words
http://www.spellingbee.com/studyact.htm
*Webster dictionary online:
http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm
*Great site for info on spelling. Includes homonyms/mnemonics/ etc
http://webster.commnet.edu/hp/pages/darling/grammar/spelling.htm
homonyms: confusables gives examples in context as well as definitions:
http://webster.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/notorious/notorious_frames.htm
*Plurals/interactive spelling site;
http://members.home.net/englishzone/spelling/spelling.html
Purdue Spelling Page:
I before e rule
Homonyms: accept/except/effect/affect
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/Spelling.html
Info on how to teach spelling + bibliography:
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~seaghan/spellings/spellinfo.htm
Children spelling self-test - fun for adults; it is challenging. Misspelled word must be checked off and then correctly spelled. Immediate feedback.
http://www.funbrain.com/spell/
Fun Partisan Page: How spelling and grammar affect politics - examples using political leaders: http://www.americanpartisan.com/desk/style_guide/spelling/2.htm