READING 3D

Winter Quarter 2010

 

 

Instructor:    Mark Paulson

Office:            R130     Tel: 425-564-3142

E-mail:           paulsonmark @ hotmail.com

Time:             12:30-1:20pm, Monday-Friday, Room L222

Text:              Ready to Read More, Blanchard & Root

                        Novel – The Client

Materials:      81/2 – 11 inch, white, lined paper

                        Pen or pencil

 

 

Course Overview

In order to do well in academic courses, you must be able to read well.  Reading is an essential key to learning.  We read for a variety of reasons—entertainment, learning new ideas and facts, enlarging our vocabulary, learning to think in English, etc.  The focus of this class is to help you develop the skills to read English with greater understanding, speed and confidence.  You will be learning and practicing the various reading skills that will help you reach your reading goals.

 

Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

 

  

Assignments and Grading

Your final grade will be based on:

ü      Quizzes and tests

ü      Homework

ü      Participation and attendance

 

To advance to Level 4, you need to achieve 75% or better in your classwork AND 75% or better on your final exam.  Note:  The final exam will not be given early.  Students who do not pass the final exam will have to repeat the quarter.

Grading Scale:           A = 93-100%              D = 0-74 (repeat level; good effort)

                                    B = 84-92                   F = 0-74 (repeat level; unsatisfactory effort)

                                    C = 75-83

 

It is recommended that you keep all graded assignments in a notebook and keep a record of your scores.  Keeping track of your own progress is an important part of the learning process. 

There are no make-ups for tests unless you have a medical or advisor’s written excuse.  You are responsible for making the arrangements for any make-up work. Only 1 make-up test allowed.

Late assignments lose 10% of their value per day late.  No homework will be accepted more than two days after the due date.  All assignments are due AT THE BEGINNING of the class period.  If I forget to ask for them, they are still due.

 

Attendance

Students who miss class 12 times will receive an “F”.  Students who miss class 10 or 11 times will receive no higher than a “D.”  Three (3) tardies will equal 1 absence.

 

If you are sick and have to miss class, contact me or a classmate to find out what we did in class and what the homework is.  You are still responsible for your homework even if you are absent. 

                                              

Classroom Guidelines

  1. Participate.  Join in the class.  Be respectful and active.
  2. Ask questions immediately.  If you don’t understand something I say or something you read, ask me about it.  Don’t wait until later to ask—you might forget your question.
  3. Plan.  Don’t wait until the last minute to do your work.  Plan your time so that you aren’t rushed and so that you can ask questions before an assignment is due.
  4. Give me feedback.  If something is very difficult or needs to be explained more, please tell me.  I am happy to go over the lessons again.  Likewise, if you really enjoy something that we do, let me know.
  5. Make appointments for extra help.  If you find that you are struggling with something we are working on, make an appointment to see me for some extra support.  Remember, you are responsible for your own learning.  If you need help, it is up to you to ask for it.
  6. Have a positive attitude.  You may not like everything that you do in all of your classes, but try to find something positive about the work.  You will have less stress and more fun!
  7. Share your ideas and opinions.  Interact with the reading.  Relate it to your own life.  This will help you retain the information and will help you be a better writer.
  8. Stay organized. Keep your papers in chronological order.  This way you not only have a portfolio of your work, but you also can find assignments easily.
  9. Do your own work.  Do not copy your friend’s work or copy from a newspaper or the internet.  Copying is called plagiarism and it is very serious in US colleges.
  10. Try your hardest.  No one is perfect and we all learn from our mistakes.  If you try hard, that is half the battle.

 

This is an ENGLISH ONLY classroom.  When you enter the classroom, leave your native language outside.  Go into the hall during break if you wish to speak another language. 

Use college appropriate behavior in the classroom.  This is not middle school.  Turn off your cell phones before class.

Calendar: (subject to change)*

Jan 18:                  No classes – MLK Jr. Holiday

Feb 2:                    No Class

Feb 8:                    Midterm (tentative date)

Feb 15:                  No classes – President’s Day Holiday

Mar 4:                   No Class

Mar 22:                 Final Exam, 12:30pm

 

If you require accommodation based on a documented disability, have emergency medical information to share, or need special arrangements in case of emergency evacuation, please make an appointment with DRC (Disability Resource Center.)   If you would like to inquire about becoming a DRC student, you may call 564-2498 or go in person to the DRC program office in B132.

 

Please refer to the Arts and Humanities Student Procedures and Expectations   http://bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/policy.html   for all other information.

 

To find out if the campus is open during bad weather, go to: http://bellevuecollege.edu/publicsafety/status/     or call  (425) 401-6680

  1. Plagiarism and cheating

Students are in ELI classes to learn English and ELI teachers are here to help them. Cheating makes that harder for both the students and the teachers. There are different kinds of cheating: plagiarism, “borrowing” a classmate’s homework (partially or wholly), using an essay or a presentation from a previous quarter, using “cheat notes”, and copying answers from classmates’ papers during tests.

 

Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas as your own in both writing and oral presentations.  It is cheating and is not acceptable in American classes.

 

Examples of plagiarism are:

 

o       Copying from a Web page, book or article

o       Buying papers

o       Copying from another student

o       Using a friend’s paper from a previous quarter

 

If you plagiarize:

 

o       First time:  your teacher will work with you so that you understand what not to do

o       Second time:  Fail the assignment

o       Third time:  Fail the class and be reported to the Associate

Dean of Student Services.  Possibly be asked to leave the school