Guilford Technical Community College

Adult Education Department ---- Course Syllabus/Course Outline

Term:______

COURSE TITLE: GED Language Arts

COURSE CODE: ______

INSTRUCTOR:______

TIME/LOCATION:______

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The GED language arts class prepares students to pass the language arts portion of the 2014 GED test series. The test includes three types of content: reading comprehension, writing, and grammar conventions and usage. The test emphasizes critical thinking skills. Seventy-five percent of the passages will be non-fiction drawn from science and social studies and twenty-five percent will be literature. The essay portion of the test requires students to analyze two text passages and write a supported argument based on the passages. The test is based on skills specified in the Common Core State Standards and other career/college readiness standards.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Using primary and secondary source items, students will demonstrate an ability to effectively use the following skills and concepts that are aligned to common core state standards:

  • Drawing conclusions and making inferences
  • Determining main idea and supporting details
  • Analyzing how characters and events develop and interact
  • Interpreting language and understanding word choice
  • Analyzing the structure and how parts of a text relate to each other and the whole
  • Analyzing author’s purpose and point of view
  • Analyzing relationships between documents
  • Creation of argument and use of evidence
  • Writing an analytic (evidence-based) response to source texts that develops the ideas and arguments thoroughly, with well-chosen examples
  • Using standard English conventions

Students will demonstrate an ability to use good test-taking strategies when completing in-class assessments.

Students will demonstrate mastery of the computer skills needed to handle technology-enhanced items such as drop-down boxes, drag-and-drop items, and fill-in-the-blank items. Students will also demonstrate appropriate word processing skills (typing speed of approximately 20 words per minute) when typing the extended response (essay) item.

PRE-REQUISITE: Minimum TABE score of 9.0 in reading

COURSE LENGTH: four weeks/6 weeks

TEXTBOOKS:Main Textbook - TBA

Course Supplements:

-New Readers Press – Critical Thinking for Reading, Science, and Social Studies – 2014

-New Readers Press – Writing for the GED Test Book 1 – Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics – 2014

-New Readers Press – Writing for the GED Test Book 2 – Reading Comprehension – 2014

-New Readers Press - Writing for the GED Test Book 3 – Extended Response and Short Answers – 2014

-New Readers Press – Scoreboost - Writing Across the Tests: Responding to Text on the Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science Tests – 2014

-New Readers Press – Scoreboost – Writing Across the Tests: Sentence Structure, Usage, and Mechanics - 2014

**Other classroom materials and books as needed

WEBSITES: Instructors will provide students with a variety of appropriate websites.

METHODOLOGY: Lectures, question/answer, individual work on self-study plans, computer/technology-assisted work, Internet research, small and large group discussions, audio/visual use, student class presentations, PowerPoint presentations, graphing activities, writing assignments (extended response items), quizzes and assessments.

EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE: Students should achieve a passing score of 80% or above on in-class and out-of-class assessments (per instructor discretion) before taking the official GED RLA Practice Test. (Because a strong score on the practice test is a good indicator of success on the official GED RLA Test, students are encouraged to take the GED RLAs Practice Test before signing up for the official test).

GRADING & MINIMUM PASSING CRITERIA:Students must post-test with the TABE test prior to completing the class if their current TABE reading score is below 11.0. The passing score for the official GED Social Studies Test is 150 out of a possible score of 200.

GTCC CODE OF CONDUCT: Students must adhere to the college’s rules of conduct.

ATTENDANCE POLICY:

  • Students are expected to attend each class and to notify their instructor if they need to miss a class.
  • Students are expected to arrive on time, return promptly from break and stay for the duration of the class. Students will receive credit for the actual time they are in class.
  • Students must adhere to the Adult Education Attendance Policy for GED students enrolled in a cohort. Cohort students are allowed two absences per term. Students who exceed the allotted number of absences during a term will be dropped from the cohort. They can enroll in the next cohort. After two cohort placement attempts, a student will no longer qualify for cohort placement. Other enrollment options are the ITTS Lab and/or the Combination Class which are offered to all students.

CLASSROOM GUIDELINES:

Students should . . .

  • Come prepared to class with pencil/pen, paper, study plan, and notebook.
  • Be on time for class. Those arriving more than 15 minutes late to class will not be admitted without a valid reason

(ex: note from another instructor who was meeting with the student).

  • Stay focused on their work and be strong, positive participants in classroom activities.
  • Refrain from bringing food or drink to class.
  • Turn off all electronic devices while in class.
  • Refrain from taking breaks and leaving the classroom unless an emergency situation occurs.
  • Respect their fellow classmates and instructor.
  • Listen to each other during classroom discussions. Students should state their own ideas and opinions in a respectful manner. (There will be times when we will agree to disagree!).
  • Enjoy and make the most of their classroom learning experience!

NOTE:

If you have a disability that may affect your academic performance and are seeking accommodations, it is your responsibility to inform the disabilities counselor as soon as possible.

For Greensboro students – Joyce Branch: 334-4822, EXTENSION 53021

For High Point students – Melissa Cox: 334-4822, EXTENSION 55059

It is important to request accommodations early enough to give the counselor adequate time to consider your request and recommend reasonable accommodations. Instructors will provide necessary accommodations based on the recommendations of the disabilities counselors.

12/18/13