NCEL 427: HIGH-INTERMEDIATE READING SKILLS
Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading | Value |
---|---|
Effective Term: | Summer 2022 |
Units: | 0 |
Hours: | 5 lecture per week (60 total per quarter) |
Advisory: | Appropriate placement through Foothill College's placement model (i.e., guided self-placement) and concurrent enrollment in ESLL 226 or NCEL 426 recommended; intended for students whose native language is not English; completion of noncredit ESL sequence or previous ESL coursework at Adult School is recommended. |
Degree & Credit Status: | Non-Degree-Applicable Non-Credit Course Basic Skills, 3 Levels Below Transfer |
Foothill GE: | Non-GE |
Transferable: | None |
Grade Type: | Pass/No Pass Only |
Repeatability: | Unlimited Repeatability |
Student Learning Outcomes
- Identify the main idea of an appropriate text of approximately 500 words.
- Apply words learned in their given form by using them to write original sentences which demonstrate the studentÕs comprehension of the target word.
Description
Course Objectives
The student will be able to:
- Apply reading skills appropriate for comprehending structure and meaning
- Apply active pre- and during-reading strategies to reinforce reading skills
- Compose single- and multi-sentence writings in response to readings discussed in class
- Demonstrate both active and passive vocabulary development
Course Content
- Apply reading skills appropriate for comprehending structure and meaning
- Locate main ideas
- Thesis statements
- Topic sentences
- Determine organizational patterns
- Cause/effect
- Compare/contrast
- Narration
- Description
- Process (how to)
- Identify types of evidence
- Anecdote
- Personal experience/observation
- Facts/statistics
- Expert testimony/opinion
- Identify types of introductions
- Background information
- Definitions
- Common beliefs
- Questions to engage readers
- Anecdote
- Description of problem/issue
- Background information
- Identify types of conclusions
- Summary of main ideas/restatement of thesis
- Recommendation
- Prediction
- Distinguish fact from opinion
- Make inferences
- Locate main ideas
- Apply active pre- and during-reading strategies to reinforce reading skills
- To locate main ideas:
- Examine titles
- Skim sub-headings
- Examine photos and other visuals
- Identify terms that signal generalities/opinions in thesis statements and topic sentences
- To determine organizational patterns:
- Analyze thesis statements and topic sentences for linguistic cues that signal patterns
- Identify words and phrases that serve as transitions between and among ideas
- To identify types of evidence:
- Look for vocabulary that signals chronology in narratives (anecdotes)
- Look for vocabulary that signals steps in process (how to) writings
- Look for use of pronouns that suggest first person experience or third person observation
- Skim for numeric items and citations that suggest statistical evidence
- To identify types of introductions:
- Search for descriptive and defining information that provides background
- Look for vocabulary that signal chronology in narratives (anecdotes)
- Look for vocabulary that signal steps in process (how to) writings
- Identify descriptive detail that explains a problem
- To identify types of conclusions:
- Identify restated items that summarize the main ideas of a piece
- Look for linguistic signals that suggest recommendation
- Look for linguistic signals indicating prediction
- To distinguish fact from opinion:
- Identify terms that signal recognized facts or real states of being
- Search for linguistic items that suggest a writer's beliefs and attitude, for example:
- Modal verbs
- Descriptive adjectives that show personal preferences
- To make inferences:
- Access prior knowledge (schema) to interpret information
- Gather details to formulate generalities (induction)
- To locate main ideas:
- Compose single- and multi-sentence writings in response to readings discussed in class
- Make connections to personal experiences
- Express personal opinions on main topics from readings
- Demonstrate both active and passive vocabulary development
- Active: write original sentences using newly learned vocabulary accurately
- Grammatically
- Denotatively
- Passive: demonstrate ability to correctly identify meanings of new words in context
- Use context clues to determine meanings of unfamiliar word
- Use an English-English dictionary to support vocabulary development
- Identify parts of speech
- Choose the appropriate definition of a word based on the context from readings
- Active: write original sentences using newly learned vocabulary accurately
Lab Content
Not applicable.
Special Facilities and/or Equipment
Method(s) of Evaluation
Class performance
Completion of required outside readings
1. charts, diagrams and graphs
2. short newspaper and magazine articles
3. excepts from textbooks
4. short fictional works
Exercises
Quizzes
Exams that demonstrate students' ability to apply the newly acquired reading skills to new reading selections comparable to those studied in class
Method(s) of Instruction
Lecture
Discussion
Demonstration
Representative Text(s) and Other Materials
Baker-Gonzalez, Joan, and Eileen K. Blau. World of Reading: A Thematic Approach to Reading Comprehension 2. 2009.
Barton, Laurie, and Carolyn Dupaquier Sardinas. NorthStar: Reading and Writing Level 3. 2019.
Gramer, Margo, and Colin Ward. Q: Skills for Success Reading and Writing 3. 2015.
Addison Wesley Longman. Longman Dictionary of American English. 2014.
Although at least one of the representative texts for this course is older than the suggested "5 years or newer" standard, they remain seminal texts in this area of study.
Instructors must choose a textbook from the textbook list. If, however, a faculty member would prefer to use a textbook not on the list, they must contact a full-time faculty member who regularly teaches the course to explain how the adoption would serve to achieve the learning outcomes specified in the course outline of record.
Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments
- Readings from the text and outside readings
- Writing of journal entries, sentence and multi-sentence responses to readings