Vasquez – Read 36 - 1
Cerro Coso Community College
Fall 2011
Professor Vasquez
Course: 70492 (M/W 8:00-10:05am)
Student Contact Hours: M/W 1:00-2:00 & M 4-6pm;
and T/R 4:10 – 5:10 pm and by appointment
Contact: lavasque@cerrocoso.edu
Office: LAC 720
Phone: 760/384-6162
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free”
Fredrick Douglass
“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
Harry S. Truman
Read C36: Developmental Reading
Course Description:
Read 36 helps students improve their reading skills. Emphasis is placed on development of word
recognition, vocabulary, paragraph analysis, and comprehension. (No prerequisite required.)
Required Tests and Materials (“Required” means “Not optional”)
Sherrie l. Nist’ and Carole Mohr’s Building Vocabulary Skills, Short Version 3rd ed.
Velma Wallis’ Two Old Women
Barbara Ehenreich’s Nickel and Dimed: On (Not Getting By in America)
A college level dictionary (Bring to every class meeting)
Various Reading Handouts (Instructor provided)
All students must have their own books. The vocabulary book is a workbook and you will be tearing
pages out and turning them in. Please have textbooks by second class meeting. If you are waiting on
financial aid or other financial means, please talk with the instructor. You are responsible for having all
work completed on time. Please come to class prepared to work, with pens, pencils, highlighter,
dictionary and extra 8½ x 11 paper (with clean edges) to every class meeting. All formal out-of-class
work must be typed. All formal in-class work must be written in blue or black ink only.
What will I know how to do when I successfully complete this course? (SLOs):
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
A. Analyze structures, including main ideas, major and
minor ideas, supporting details in paragraphs and
rudimentary essays.
B. Locate transitions in paragraphs and rudimentary essays.
C. Identify Purpose and Tone in paragraphs and
rudimentary essays.
D. Make inferences in paragraphs and rudimentary essays.
E. Read actively by marking text and making useful
marginal notes for later use.
F. Demonstrate increased vocabulary at an intermediate
level.
G. Employ at least two learning skills such as time
management, and test preparation.
Vasquez – Read 36 - 2
H. Employ learning skills that promote academic success, such as balancing life, work, and
school.
My Read C036 Teaching Philosophy:
Over the years, I’ve developed some philosophies of teaching that inform my approach to the teaching of
Read 36. They are as follows:
 Reading and writing are closely related. Reading helps improve your writing and writing helps
improve your reading.
 Reading is a skills-acquisition class. In order to achieve success in the class, one must have
acquired skills one did not have before or develop to a higher degree the skills one brought into
the classroom.
 Understanding does not come all at once but, rather, a little at a time. Learning is an incremental
process; therefore, what I teach, I teach in steps.
 One learns how to do a thing right by doing it wrong first. Therefore, a classroom must be a place
where one can make mistakes, and a haven must be provided for the student to get things wrong.
Attendance and Class Participation Policy:
Simply put – when class is scheduled, you are here. Since students who miss class regularly also miss
crucial instruction necessary to pass this class, attendance is required, not optional. Furthermore, since we
only meet for four hours per week, please schedule all doctor, dentist, counseling, and other appointments
outside of class time. Please be on time for class and stay for the duration of the class.
Students who miss the first day of class will be automatically dropped. Students who miss during the first
week and/or do not turn in homework/in-class assignments during the first week will be automatically
dropped.
If you find you will not be able to finish the course after the 30% date, you have until the 60% date to
drop a class with a “W” on your transcripts. If you’re not sure where you stand, talk to the professor.
What’s the Read 36 workload like?
It can be very intense at times.
You’ll stay busy because
o You’ll be working in a number of sites: the classroom,
the LRC, the textbook, and at home.
o You will always have homework. Homework will be a
combination of reading, writing, and vocabulary.
Reading Log:
You are required to complete 10 reading logs throughout the 16 week semester. Choose a novel – any
appropriate level reading novel. Read for at least 20 minutes, four nights a week. Complete the log for
each day’s reading. Logs will be given out on Mondays and due the following Mondays.
Quizzes, Vocabulary Tests, Midterms and Final Exam
There will be several quizzes throughout the semester. Quizzes are given at the beginning of class to
determine if you have completed the readings and understand the material presented in class. If you
arrive late, you do not get extra time to finish. There will be four vocabulary tests, a midterm and a final.
Vasquez – Read 36 - 3
Each test will include material we have covered in lecture, class workshops, the novels vocabulary, and
homework. Specific dates are on the tentative schedule.
Homework – Due Dates – and what’s the policy for late work?
All assigned work – textbook assignments, logs, vocabulary assignments and other assigned work – is due
by five minutes after the start of class. There are many reasons – some legitimate – for work arriving late,
but there are also consequences. Late work, as defined by this class, is any work turned in after 8:05am.
Work turned in after 8:05am will be considered one day late. Late papers lose 5% off the grade for every
24 hours it is late (not class days – 24 hour days. 8:06 on the day an assignment is due begins the first 24
hours. Late papers will only be accepted for one week past the due date. There are no exceptions.
Quizzes are given at the beginning of class and may not be made up. You cannot take it at the end of class
if you come in late, nor can you reschedule. If you must miss an exam, you can reschedule if and only if
you contact me and talk to me personally in advance and make arrangements. An email or phone call on
the day of the test is not acceptable. Rescheduled tests will include an essay portion. Please plan to be in
class on the day of a test. Final exam cannot be rescheduled. Additionally, late papers receive a grade
only, no comments.
Office Visits, E-mails, and Phone Messages: – Please feel free to drop by my office at any time and/or to
email me with any questions you have regarding the class. In person, where we can communicate freely is
the best way to work, but I know that is not always possible, so you can also email or call me. I check and
respond to e-mails everyday Monday through Friday, occasionally on Saturday, never on Sunday. I will
also be happy to help you work through a reading, and any ideas you have for writing, help you revise
your work, and or give you ideas for improvement. Please turn in hard copies of assignments when asked
for. Do not email your homework to me and ask me to print it because you do not have access to a printer.
The learning Center and/or library have printers available for your use.
Be aware that I check phone messages only when I am on campus (M-R), so the best way to reach me is
through email. If you call, make sure you leave a number – one that can be clearly heard and understood.
When you send an email, the subject line should be as follows: Read 36, Your Name, Topic
o This makes it easy for my email program to sort messages into the correct folder.
o Your Name would be . . . yes, YOUR NAME!! Not the words, but the actual name you go by.
Don’t laugh. I have had students who actually put “Your Name” in their email subject lines!
o Topic: is the subject you are writing about. That lets me see at a glance what you need (question
on paper, help with format, etc.). If it is important, also include something like “HELP” or
“PANIC” or “ARGHHHHH.”
So, your subject line might look something like this:
Read 36 Janet Parker, Question about first quiz
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please use and check your college email frequently. I sometimes send email
messages to the entire class and this is the email I will send it to. You are responsible for getting and
following all email communication.
Also: Please remember this is a college class; therefore, all communication, including emails should be
written in standard American English (i.e., no text language, no all lowercase lettering, and use
punctuation).
Academic Integrity:
Hmmm. . . what’s that mean? It’s plagiarism, or intellectual theft. Any student who plagiarizes in any
form, intentionally or unintentionally by
Vasquez – Read 36 - 4
o
o
o
o
Getting outside, unacknowledged help from a family member, friend, boy- or girlfriend, tutor, or
instructor,
Copying language from another written source word for word without quotations marks and/or
citing the source,
Putting his or her name on someone else’s paper and handing it in, and/or
“borrowing” an instructor’s words or ideas
will receive an automatic F on the assignment which may lead to failing a class. Plagiarism is serious
and so are its consequences. It’s just not worth the risk! Do your own work!!!
Grades*:
By using jupitergrades.com you will always know where you stand in the class. You can check your
grade on individual assignments and find your overall grade at any time. Grades will be based on the
following point totals:
10 Reading logs
10 quizzes
In-class work
homework
20 Vocabulary chapters
4 vocabulary units
4 vocabulary tests
Midterm
20 points each
200
10 points each
100
various
200
various
200
participation points*
50 points each
200
50 points each
200
100 points
100
Final exam
200 points
TOTAL POINTS
200
1,400
The points are averaged on a standard 100 percentile scoring. I do not grade on a curve. Each individual
student earns his/her own grade.
Please Be Considerate. This is an excuse-free workplace:
Take responsibility for your decisions. This includes coming to class on time, staying for the duration of
the class, and turning in each and every assignment when it is due. If you choose not to, for whatever
reason, you will have to live the consequences of your choice.
Please keep two concepts in mind: respect and consideration. You are not required to be here. You are
here because you choose to be. Your peers in class have also made that choice, and like you, are spending
their hard-earned money. No person in this classroom has the right to interfere with another’s right to an
education. Excessive disruptions or disturbances will be cause for a student’s removal from the course.
PLEASE: Turn off cell phones and leave them off for the duration of the class. Students who use
their phones in class (talking or texting) will be removed from the class and marked absent for the day. A
second offense may mean removal from the course. Same goes for headphones and iPods. Put them
away. Do not wear/use them in class.
Accommodations
Students who have verified learning disabilities and need assistive services or who, due to a sensory or
processing disability, require alternative media formats of class materials should contact the Special
Services Office at (760) 384-6250
Vasquez – Read 36 - 5
Questions, Questions, Questions???:
If at any time during the class you do not understand a concept we have covered, please ask. I will do my
best to make everything covered in lecture and in the readings as clear and understandable as possible and
I actually mean for everyone to understand everything. This means that you have the right, indeed the
obligation to question, ask, and argue for clarification at any point. If there is something you do not
understand, please raise the question in class since chances are if you do not understand something there
are probably other students in class who are struggling with the same concept. If you still don’t
understand, ask me before or after class, e-mail, call me or do all four!! Don’t just let things that aren’t
clear to you slide by. Remember, I cannot help you if you do not let me know you are struggling. I
strongly – very strongly – encourage everyone to bring a draft of their formal papers by my office before
they are due – give yourself enough time to revise. One more thing: while most of you will progress well
in your understanding of this course’s content, you may find that you are receiving grades below what
you expect. A significant cause of this results from the fact that you are not fully appreciating the
assignments and/or rubrics. Please make sure that you know and follow what the assignment requires.
Check out the rubric before constructing your answers. Now, relax, stock up on chocolate, ice cream, and
a big bag of M&M’s (to assuage your guilt, just tell yourself that they are for Halloween), relax, and
enjoy the ride. Prof. V
I reserve the right to revise and modify this syllabus and the attached schedule as necessary.
Tentative Schedule – Read 36: Fall 2011
*All readings and written assignments should be completed on the dates indicated. While I expect the actual
weekly assignments for the course to approximate closely the following list, additional readings, handouts,
exercises, and homework assignments may be added. If you have to miss a class, do not assume that we’ll be doing
exactly what this list promises the following class meeting: e-mail me or get in touch with a colleague in class to be
sure you know what you are responsible for. (Better yet, avoid missing any classes!!!)
** Even though “Vocabulary” will not be listed each day on the schedule below, we will devote the first few
minutes of each class to review vocabulary homework from the Improving Vocabulary Skills workbook.
Week Date
1
22 August
2
3
In-class Assignments
Introduction
What to expect from Read 36: Syllabus Review
What I have to Do / Success Strategies
Homework
Vocab: Chapter 1
Reading Log 1
24 August
Quiz 1 - Syllabus
Pre-reading / predictions “Summer”
“The Birthday Party”
Main Idea / Support
Vocab: chapter 2
Bring Dictionary Monday
29 August
Reading Log 1 Due
Using a Dictionary – BRING DICTIONARY
Vocab: chapter 3
Reading Log 2
31 August
Quiz 2 – Dictionary Usage
Building Vocabulary Strategies
Vocab: chapter 4 & 5
Read: Walker
5 September
LABOR DAY HOLIDAY – No class
7 September
Reading Log 2 Due
Quiz 3
“My Mother’s Blue Bowl”
Main Idea / Major/Minor Details
Vocab: Unit 1 crossword and
tests 1-4 / Study for Test
Reading Log 3 / Read: Seaver
Vasquez – Read 36 - 6
4
5
6
7
8
9
12 September
Reading Log 3 Due
“My New World”
Main Idea/ Support / Purpose/Tone/Audience
VOCABULARY TEST 1
Vocab: chapter 6
Reading Log 4
Read: Oberg and Smith-Yachel
14 September
Quiz 4
“The Internet Instills Family Values - Really”
“My Mother Never Worked”
Applying Skills Learned
Vocab: chapter 7
Read: “Seoul Searching”
19 September
Reading Log 4 Due
Quiz 5
“Seoul Searching”
Using Details to find Central Theme
How to Write a Summary (working with Oberg)
Vocab: chapter 8
Read: Olasky and McCourt
Reading Log 5
21 September
Summary Review
“Aiming for Success” “Angela’s Ashes”
Working with Support / transitions
Vocab: chapter 9 & 10
Read: Two Old Women
Chapters 1-4
26 September
President’s Day Holiday – No classes
28 September
Reading Log 5 Due
Quiz 6
Two Old Women – (1-4)
Reading Log 6
Vocab: Unit 2 crossword and
tests 1-4
Read: Two Old Women (chapter
5-6)
3 October
Unit 2 Vocab Due
VOCABULARY TEST 2
Read: Two Old Women (5-6)
Vocab: 11
Read: Two Old Women (chapter
7)
5 October
Reading Log 6 Due
Quiz 7
Two Old Women (7)
Writing Comparisons
Midterm Prep
Study for Midterm
10 October
MIDTERM
Vocab: 13
Reading Log 7
Read: Gregory and Williams
12 October
Quiz 8
“Shame” and “Daddy Tucked the Blanket”
Vocab 14
Read: Rich and Olsen
17 October
Quiz 9
Reading Log 7 Due
“Power” – Adrianne Rich
“I Stand Here Ironing” – Tillie Olsen
Making Connections to Williams and Gregory
Vocab: 15
Read: Tan (x2)
Reading Log 8
19 October
“Most Hateful Words”
“Mother Tongue”
Vocab: Crossword and tests 1-3
Study for Test
Read: Carson
Vasquez – Read 36 - 7
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
24 October
Reading Log 8 Due
VOCABULARY TEST 3
“Doing it Better”
Reading Log 9
Vocab: 16
Read: Carson (2)
26 October
“Coming into My Own”
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
Vocab: 17
Read: Fox
31 October
Reading Log 9 Due
Quiz 10
Is making fun of overweight people discrimination?
In-class discussion
“Starved Out” – Cynthia Fox / “Barbie Doll”
Vocab: chapter 18
Read: D. Gregory
Reading Log 10
2 November
“Heavy Judgment . . .” Deborah Gregory
Making connections
Vocab: chapter 19, 20
Read: Wiesenfeld
5 November
Reading Log 10 Due
Quiz 11
“Making the Grade”
Vocab: Unit 3 crossword and
tests 1-4 / Study for vocab test
7 November
Unit 3 due
VOCABULARY TEST 4
Read: Nickel and Dimed (intro
and pages 1-49)
12 November
Quiz 12
Nickel and Dimed (intro and pages 1-49)
In-class activities
Read: Nickel and Dimed (intro
and pages 51-69)
14 November
Nickel and Dimed (intro and pages 51-69)
In-Class Activities
Read: Nickel and Dimed (intro
and pages 69-133)
21 November
Quiz 13
Nickel and Dimed (intro and pages 69-133)
In-Class Activities
Read: Nickel and Dimed (intro
and pages 134-150)
23 November
Nickel and Dimed (intro and pages 134-150)
In-Class Activities
Read: Nickel and Dimed (intro
and pages 150-191)
28 November
Quiz 14
Nickel and Dimed (intro and pages 150-191)
In-Class Activities
Read: Nickel and Dimed (intro
and pages 194-224)
30 November
Quiz 15
Nickel and Dimed (intro and pages 194-224)
In-Class Activities
STUDY FOR THE FINAL
FRIDAY
9 December
FINAL EXAM
IN-CLASS 8:00-10:00am
Please arrange your schedule to
be available on Friday of this
week for the final exam.