Instructor's E-mail: jhutcheson777@yahoo.com
Course Description
This class is designed to improve your oral, listening, reading, and writing communications skills, as well as your study skills.
Over the course of the semester, you will learn
- how to take notes in college.
- how to read effectively and efficiently.
- how to analyze ideas in paragraphs and full articles.
You will also expand your vocabulary, your understanding of grammar, capitalization, and punctuation conventions, as well as your ability to recognize commonly misspelled words.
You will do almost as much listening and speaking as you do reading and writing; the philosophy of this class is that we become good readers and writers by processing ideas orally first.
What we read and talk about will largely be organized around “themes,” or general ideas that guide our study of vocabulary, writing, and the longer reading assignments. We may also go online to learn more about the theme we are discussing.
Finally, we will develop reading fluency by treating ourselves to a murder mystery novel that takes place in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. If you are from this area, you should enjoy the familiar references to local landmarks and history. Even if you are not from the Upper Peninsula, you will enjoy this engaging “whodunit.”
Texts
Guide to College Reading 8th Editon by Kathleen T. McWhorter
ISBN: 0205604978
English Brushup by John Langan and Janet Goldstein ISBN: 0073123765
A Cold Day In Paradise by Steve Hamilton ISBN: 0312969198
Course Credits
Eight: Four credits in reading (AE 102) and four credits in writing (AE 103).
Prerequisites
Appropriate scores on the Reading and Writing ASSET exam.
Learning Outcomes
After taking this course, your reading skills will have improved measurably.
You will be able to
-use context clues and word analysis to aid in vocabulary comprehension.-identify main ideas in readings.
-differentiate main ideas from supporting details.
-use active strategies & skills to improve your reading comprehension.
-infer unstated ideas from a text.
-distinguish fact from opinion.
At the end of this course, your writing skills will have likewise improved. You will be able to
-demonstrate ease and fluency in written expression.-produce grammatically correct narratives of at least 200 words, on a variety of topics. To do this, you will
-use complete simple and compound sentences and questions.
-identify and employ standard and consistent verb forms.
-apply standard rules for capitalization.
-apply standard rules for punctuation.
-employ standard spelling and appropriately choose between homonyms.
-edit your writing for major grammatical errors, including fragments, run-on sentences, and clear pronoun references.
-word process your writing, utilizing writing tools such as spell check and grammar check.
Pace and Framework
The class is 15 weeks long. During the first twelve weeks you will be expected to complete one full section of the reading skill building and thematic writing assignments presented to you. The last three weeks will focus on showcasing all your learning by polishing a selection of writing lab assignments and taking a final exam in reading.
Instructional Approach
This is not a traditional reading and grammar course, although we will study reading strategies and grammar basics. The design of this course is based on the belief that we improve our ability to read and write by engaging all of our communication skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and by focusing our activities on ideas that compel us to communicate.
The role of grammar in this approach is to “polish” our communication; we study grammar rules in order to go back and improve what we have already written.
As we find ourselves wanting to learn more about a specific idea, we have to read longer and sometimes more complex articles. In order to do that, we need reading strategies and skills that will focus our attention and improve our comprehension. The reading text will take us through each one of these strategies and skills, one at a time. Our overall goal, however, is to apply all of them to articles we read on the Internet, in a journal or magazine, or in a textbook.
 |
Read, observe, listen, and/or think
|
(Step 5 is where grammar becomes important)
Cultural Inclusion
Within its mission statement, Bay Mills Community College affirms its objective of fostering “a spirit of pride in Native American language, culture and history through participation in classes and cultural activities.” In keeping with this objective, this class will include, from time to time, Anishinaabe culture and values in its readings and discussions.
Evaluation
Over the 15 week class, you will be building a portfolio of your written work, grammar, and reading quizzes.
Weekly Quizzes
Expect to take skill building quizzes and pop quizzes on what you have learned in your virtual learning rooms. The purpose of a quiz is to help you and your instructor measure your learning.
Reading and Writing Responses
A major part of this course is the practice of writing in the context of themes that we will be exploring. Writing assignments will often be based on notes that you’ve taken from a reading or listening assignment.
At the end of 13 weeks, you will be asked to revise and edit several of your writing pieces―pieces that have been “polished” to best represent what you’ve learned over the semester. Again, these will earn letter grades.
Book Report
The last item in your portfolio will be a book report on the novel we are reading. It will earn a letter grade, and it should be treated like one of your polished writing pieces. You may read the novel at your own pace throughout the 15-week class. The book should be approached as a relaxing and enjoyable experience. Since you will be writing a book report, you will want to take a few notes along the way.
| Point Values for Final Grades: | |
| Reading Skill Building Quizzes Reading Tests (3) Reading Final Grammar Quizzes Five Polished Writings Book Report *Class Participation: Reading Responses Reading and Listening Pop Quizzes Writing Lab Assignments Total Points: |
 1015 5 10 25 (5 possible points each) 15 20 (50 activities) ___ 100 |
*number of activities submitted (1 point each) divided by 50= ___% grade in participation. _____% X .20 = _____ participation points.
Grading Scale
You will receive a letter grade on your polished and showcase writing pieces, as well as your book report. When your grades are averaged together, at the end of the semester (you will be shown how), the letter grades will be converted to percentages, using the following scale:
A 100% B- 83 D+ 69
A- 94 C+ 79 D 66
B+ 89 C 76 D- 63 Less than a D- no credit
B 86 C- 73
At the end of the semester, your total number of points earned will earn a letter grade using this scale:
Less than a D- Incomplete; repeat the course.
A 95 to 100 A- 90 to 94 B+ 87 to 89 B 84 to 86 B- 80 to 83 C+ 77 to 79 C 74 to 76 C- 70 to 73 D+ 67 to 69 D 64 to 66 D- 60 to 63 Please watch your points carefully. You need a C or better to go on to the next level of reading and writing classes.
Late Assignments:
From time to time, personal difficulties, job-related pressures, family responsibilities, and such may interfere with your ability to stay on your weekly schedule. Nevertheless, learning works best in a structured timeframe.
To give you an incentive to stay on schedule, your work can only earn full credit if it is turned in on time. After the first week, late work will receive half credit. After two weeks, it will be too late to turn in your late work unless you made previous arrangements with your instructor.
It is important that you email your instructor in the event of an unavoidable delay. I will work with you as much as I can, as long as I understand why you have fallen behind in the class. However, communication is the key !
Please contact me as soon as possible if you are having problems. I am online every day and check my emails on a regular basis.
Learning Disabilities
Communication is also important if you have either a learning disability or a physical disability that I can accommodate. Please let me know, within the first 3 weeks of the class, so that I can help. I am more than willing to make adjustments that might lessen frustration and improve achievement.
Don’t forget: my “virtual office door” is always open! If you send an e-mail and do not get an immediate response from me, do not worry. You will hear from me as soon as I have checked my email and I am able to respond.
BMCC Policies:
All students please review the following policies and proceduresStudent Handbook : (http://www.bmcc.edu/StudentServices1/Handbook/index.html).
Drop or Add a Class : (http://www.bmcc.edu/StudentServices1/Handbook/index.html#course).
Book Refund and Book BuyBack Policies:(http://www.bmcc.edu/StudentServices1/vbookstore.html)
Billing or an outstanding bill: (http://www.bmcc.edu/StudentServices1/Handbook/billingProcedures.html).
Information about class schedules and transcripts:(http://www.bmcc.edu/StudentServices1/Handbook/transcripts.html).
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