_______________North Seattle Community College_______________________

Basic and Transitional Studies Spring 2012

COURSE SYLLABUS

Reading & Vocabulary Level 4COURSE: IEP 042.02 (Item # 8945) CLASSROOM: CC 3350 DATES: Monday, April 2nd through Thursday, June 7th

TIME: Monday through Thursday, 2:30– 3:35 PM

Instructor: Laura Jensen Office: IB 2409C Office Hours: M 3:45-5:00 or by appointment Email: Laura.Jensen@seattlecolleges.edu Website: http://facweb.northseattle.edu/ljensen Telephone: 206.934.4558

CALENDAR:

Monday, May 28th: Memorial Day (campus closed) Friday, June 8th: Closing Party: Quarter ends—Make any travel

plans for after this date!

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Active Skills for Reading: Book 3 by Neil Anderson $42.65 new $32.00 used

✪Needed by Tuesday night

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan Oxford Bookworms $9.38 new $7.05 used

REQUIRED MATERIALS: 3-ring notebook with loose-leaf paper Pens or pencils Highlighters

RECOMMENDED (Optional): These two reference books that would be helpful for this class —and for the rest of your time using English. However, I have put copies on reserve in the library, so purchasing them is not required.

Oxford Collocations Dictionary (for students of English) Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus (A dictionary of Synonyms)

These two books are not available at the NSCC bookstore, but could be ordered online.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will help prepare you to meet the reading demands of college courses. To that end, you will improve your reading speed, your comprehension, and your vocabulary. You will also develop study skills to help you succeed in American college classes. Finally, you will use spoken and written English to demonstrate your comprehension of and ability to think critically about what you have read for this class.

COURSE GOALS: In this course, you will improve your ability to:

Distinguish between main ideas and supporting details. Recognize and understand the meaning of discourse indicators. Use word parts (roots & affixes) to figure out the meaning of new

words. Make logical inferences based on what you have read. Skim to prepare to read or scan to find specific information. Evaluate readings and express opinions about them. Write timed short answers in class based on readings. Develop study skills that will help you to succeed in college.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Attendance Policy

Absences in the IEP program are not allowed. Immigration requirements state that you must attend your classes. If you are absent due to an emergency, you must email your instructor and give proper documentation, such as a note from your physician.

If you ever must be absent from class, it is your responsibility to contact a classmate to get the homework.

Name /Phone/E-mail _______________________________________________________ Name /Phone/E-mail _______________________________________________________

IMPORTANT: The IEP office monitors attendance carefully. Missing class can negatively affect your visa status!

Homework: Homework assignments are an extremely important part of improving your English ability. All homework should be done before class begins. Never do homework

during class. Late assignments will not receive full credit. Never copy another student’s homework or ask someone else to do

your homework for you.

A Note about Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is when a writer uses words that were written or said by someone else in their own writing or speech without citing the source. Although some cultures consider this an honor, in the US this is considered cheating and is NOT okay. Examples of plagiarism include:

Copying someone’s homework or paper. Copying a paper (or PART of a paper) from a book, magazine,

article, or the Internet. Letting someone else do an assignment for you.

We consider these things to be dishonest; plagiarism is a form of stealing!

It is offensive behavior.

During tests and quizzes, you may ask me questions about the directions, but you may not talk to one another.

I will give “pop” (surprise!) quizzes occasionally to make sure that students have completed their reading before class.

Speak only English in class. After all, isn’t that what you’re here to practice?

Electronics: Cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices must be turned off and put away during class. Using any electronics during a test or quiz is forbidden. If I find electronics out during a test or quiz, that student will receive a zero; don’t do it!

Please do not wear fragrances (perfume, cologne, etc.) while you are at NSCC because many people are sensitive to these chemicals and it interferes with their learning.

Participation. Understanding a reading involves interaction—talking to others about the text, asking and answering questions, and expressing your own interpretation and opinion. Participation also includes your ability to respect and cooperate with others in the classroom.

GRADES:

Most assignments and tests and quizzes will receive a number of points. The more important the assignment, the higher the number of points it is given. The minimum passing grade is 75%.

Tests and quizzes cannot be made up; it is very important to be in class on test days.

Your grade will be determined as follows:Homework assignments, including Word Webs and Vocabulary

Logs 25% Reading and Vocabulary Tests and Quizzes 45%

Final exam 25% Participation, including attendance, preparedness, contributing in class 5%

(Of course, excellent attendance and preparedness will also help your scores in every other area in addition to participation!)

At the end of the course you will be given a numerical grade based on a scale of four points, on which 4.0 is the highest possible grade and 2.0 is the lowest passing grade.

Grade Chart

96 to 100% 4 .0 84% 2.994-95% 3.9 83% 2.893% 3.8 82% 2.792% 3.7 81% 2.691% 3.6 80% 2.590% 3.5 79% 2.489% 3.4 78% 2.388% 3.3 77% 2.287% 3.2 76% 2.186% 3.1 75% 2.085% 3.0 Below 75% Not passing

IMPORTANT: You need to receive a minimum grade of 75% in order to pass this class. In addition to a 75% class average, you MUST pass the cumulative final exam with a minimum of 75% in order to pass this class. Any missed quizzes, assignments, or homework will hurt your score and could cause you to fail this class.

Repeat Policy

A student is allowed to repeat a class once. If a student fails that class a second time, he or she must go through an appeals process to continue.

EMERGENCY INFORMATION:

Campus Closure

To find out if the NSCC campus is open if there is snow or an emergency, you can call 206.527.3600 and listen to the message or check these websites:

http://www.northseattle.edu http://www.schoolreport.org

You can also use the Campus Alert System:

Seattle Community Colleges students can sign-up to receive text message and e-mail alerts in case of a campus emergency or unplanned closure.

https://itservices.northseattle.edu/campus-alerts-service

You can check Metro bus snow routes here:

http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/rr/adverseweather.html