Moberly Area Community College s8

MACC Catalog #LAL 031

CIP #32.010821

Revised: May 2017

Moberly Area Community College

Common Syllabus

LAL 031 Fundamentals of Critical Reading

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Catalog Description: LAL031: Fundamentals of Critical Reading (3-0-3)

Fundamentals of Critical Reading is designed to provide students with basic reading and study skills necessary for critical reading and comprehension. Degree- and certificate-seeking students required to complete development coursework must enroll in the required developmental course(s) prior to or immediately following their first six credit hours of enrollment at MACC. (FA, SP, SU)

Prerequisite/Co-requisite: None

Text(s): Title: Engage College Reading Package

Author: Dole

Edition: 1st Edition

Publisher: Cengage

ISBN: 978-1-1335-4734-1

Title: Maximum Ride: Angel Experiment (See Professor)

Author: Patterson

Edition: 2007

Publisher: Hachette

ISBN: 978-0-316-06795-9

Other Required Materials: Paper, pen/pencil, dictionary access, flash (“jump”) drive.

Purpose of Course: LAL031 is a reading-intensive course whose purpose is to teach students to successfully navigate college textbooks. To that end, strategies and methods of successful readers will be applied to a significant number of college-textbook readings throughout the course. It is also the purpose of all developmental classes to help each student become successful through the development of a variety of college study skills.

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

· Demonstrate reading comprehension

· Demonstrate ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate written material

· Demonstrate critical thinking skills

· Demonstrate expanded, college-level vocabulary

· Demonstrate familiarity with various literary genres

· Demonstrate competence in reading, writing, and thinking at a college level

· Demonstrate note taking and paraphrasing skills

Course Content:

· Developing and reinforcing basic reading strategies at the college level

· Learning and building vocabulary through context clues and analyzing words

· Recognizing topics, main ideas, and supporting details

· Recognizing patterns of organization

· Drawing inferences and conclusions from texts

· Evaluating the author’s purpose and tone

· Evaluating points of view

Assessment of Student Learning: Student outcomes of the above objectives that will constitute 80% of the student’s final grade may be measured through, but not limited to, the following: writing assignments, objective and essay examinations, quizzes, oral presentations, class participation, small group work, journal writings, homework, in-class writings, and computerized grammar exercises.

Quizzes 15%

Tests 15%

Homework/In-class assignments/Group Work 60%

Final exam 10%

Instructors who use a point system must then include the point equivalency to letter grades. For example:

Quizzes 15% 150 points

Grading Scale:

100%-90% = A

89%-80% = B

79%-70% = C

69%-60% = D

59% or below = F

Grades will be calculated on total points and 70% mastery will be necessary for satisfactory completion of the course. A grade less than 70% will result in the student being required to repeat the course.

Description of Major Assignments:

· College-level textbook reading and comprehension questions

· In-class discussions over readings

· In-class writing: In-class writing will prepare you for future courses containing essay exams and other spontaneous writing.

· Quizzes: Quizzes will relate to the assignments, class discussions, exercises, and readings in the textbook.

· Exams: In addition to a required final examination, the course may also include chapter, unit, and midterm exams.

Statement to Connect Course with General Education Outcomes or Technical Program Outcome Statement: In compliance with MACC’s General Education outcomes, the student who successfully completes this course will be able to:

· Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills

· Demonstrate knowledge of how history has shaped society and culture, understand how the individual relates to society and culture, appreciate cultural diversity, understand human behavior and mental processes, and understand human development

Instructor Policies:

Academic Dishonesty: MACC board policy is as follows: “Academic dishonesty by students damages institutional credibility and unfairly jeopardizes honest students; therefore, it will not be tolerated in any form.” Forms of academic dishonesty include but are not limited to the following: violations of copyright law, plagiarism, fabrication, cheating, collusion, and other academic misconduct. Incidents of dishonesty regarding assignments, examinations, classroom/laboratory activities, and/or the submission of misleading or false information to the College will be treated seriously. The procedure for handling academic dishonesty is outlined in the Student Handbook (Policy Handbook M.010). In cases of alleged academic dishonesty, the burden of proof is on the student, not on the instructor.

Attendance Policy: Any student who misses two consecutive weeks of class during a regular sixteen-week semester or the equivalent proportion of class time during a shorter session will be dropped from the class by the instructor unless acceptable justification is supplied. Additionally, any student who misses more than one-fourth of the entire number of in-seat class meetings in a regular 16-week semester or the equivalent proportion of class time during a shorter session, may be dropped from that class by the instructor if, in the opinion of the instructor, the student does not have reasonable opportunity to succeed in the class. A student’s attendance rate will be calculated based upon the first day of the semester (not the student’s date of enrollment in the course).

Student attendance must be defined in a different manner for online, hybrid, and virtual courses. Student attendance in these courses is defined as active participation in the course. Online, hybrid, and virtual courses will, at a minimum, have weekly mechanisms for student participation, such as any or all of the following methods:

a. Completion of quizzes or exams

b. Submission of assignments

c. Participation in threaded discussions

d. Communication with the instructor

A student who does not participate in an online, hybrid, or virtual course for two consecutive weeks will be dropped by the instructor unless acceptable justification is supplied. As with ground courses, a student’s attendance rate in online courses will also be calculated based upon the first day of the semester. If a student does not demonstrate active participation in the online course within the first two weeks (or the equivalent proportion of class time during a short session), the student will be dropped as “never attended.” Simply logging into an online class does not constitute active participation.

Students should be aware that their dropping a course and their last date of attendance in the course may impact their financial aid. (Policy Handbook I.090 and M.095)

Tardiness: Per instructor’s policy

Make-up and late work: Per instructor’s policy

Extra-credit work: Per instructor’s policy

Student Email: MACC Mail is the official student email system at MACC. Official college communication is sent via this email system. Students are responsible for checking their MACC Mail account regularly. Students may also receive notifications and reminders from MACC through the online learning platform. However, students should remain aware that the online learning platform messaging system and MACC Mail (student email) system are two separate systems.

Schedule of Student Assignments/Activities: Instructors will identify a Student Assignment/Activities schedule. Instructors have the prerogative to construct the schedule by class periods, weeks, or an overview of topics to be covered.

ADA Statement: Students who have disabilities that qualify under the Americans with Disabilities Act may register for assistance through the Office of Access and ADA Services. Students are invited to contact the Access Office to confidentially discuss disability information, academic accommodations, appropriate documentation and procedures. For more information, please call either the Moberly office at (660) 263-4100 x 11240 or the Columbia office at (573) 234-1067 x 12120, or visit our web page at http://www.macc.edu/index.php/services/access-office.

Title IX Statement: MACC maintains a strict policy prohibiting sexual misconduct in any form, including sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, and sexual violence. All MACC employees, including faculty members, are considered mandated reporters of sexual misconduct and as such are expected to contact the Title IX Coordinator when they become aware, in conversation or in writing, of an incident of sexual misconduct. For more information on this policy or to learn about support resources, please see http://www.macc.edu/sexual-misconduct-policy or contact Dr. Jackie Fischer, MACC’s Title IX Coordinator, at 660-263-4110, ext. 11236 or .

This schedule of weekly work was provided by Jeanne Bastian at the Hannibal site as an example for instructors teaching the course in terms of both content and pace of the course. The primary emphasis is covering the Wadsworth Guide to Reading Textbooks as well as the Engage text.

LAL 031: A sample weekly schedule for classes that meet twice a week

Some general directives for this class that help it run smoothly:

· No late work.

· All homework assignments must be typed.

· Students should check Tristate grade weekly.

· Netiquette guidelines: Use Houndmail for all course correspondence; use standard spelling, grammar, and complete sentences; be more polite than you think you need to be; include course name and day; include your full name.

NOTES:

· I start class with the Engage text, and at week 2, I incorporate the Wadsworth readings and assignments. Please refer to the end of this schedule for a more detailed explanation of my Wadsworth assignments.

· This schedule does not incorporate Aplia, although it could be incorporated on an individual basis to reinforce instruction or for students to complete outside of class in order to reinforce concepts.

· I have not listed individual chapter assignments below. Each Engage chapter contains several “Interaction” assignments, and all of them are good. Which actual assignments to use will depend on the individuals in the class, but we did do DAILY homework assignments from both Engage and Wadsworth. Additionally, the reading selections at the end of each chapter in Engage are interesting and include an excellent set of questions. They can be used either as homework assignments or as chapter tests.

Week 1

· Class 1: All students take the Compass and learn their scores as soon as they finish the test. Allow them to leave when they finish, and clarify that any student who scores an 81 or above on the Compass has tested out of LAL031.

· Students scoring 80 or below will remain in the course and will need to purchase the Engage text and Wadsworth reader. I give these students a syllabus and instruct them to buy their texts before the next class.

· Class 2: Syllabus and course expectations. Also, go over Tristate eCompanion and emphasize how students can and should monitor their weekly grades. Give a reading and written assignment from Engage,“Plan for Success” and Ch. 1.

Week 2

· Chapter 1, Engage: “Engaging with Reading”

o This chapter covers strategies for increasing reading comprehension and speed. Homework and discussion.

· Wadsworth: Parts 1-2 (1-70). Cover main concepts.

· ***Note*** this might be a good place to cover context clues, since they are in Ch. 2 with word analysis, and I don’t cover that until later in the semester.

Weeks 3-4

· Engage: Chapters 3 and 4.

· Chapter 3, “Identifying Topics and Main Ideas”

o This chapter covers identifying topics and main ideas, topic sentences, and thesis statements.

· Chapter 4, “Noticing Patterns of Supporting Details,”

o This chapter covers patterns of organization for supporting details and the difference between major and minor supporting details.

· Wadsworth: Part 3 (71-89).Assign “Exploring the World of Business” part 1.