Community College of Philadelphia
COURSE TITLE:
High Intermediate Reading for Non-native Speakers of
English
COURSE NUMBER:
English 083
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Reading component in the third of four integrated pairs of
courses that develop reading and writing skills in English.
Emphasizes reading and writing processes, with continued
vocabulary development, reading in the content areas, and
the analysis of fiction and non-fiction. Development of a
social, cultural, and historical context for reading.
Sentence variety and advanced grammar, with writing in a
variety of expository essay modes in response to reading.
Credits will not be applied toward graduation.
PREREQUISITE:
English 082/092 or placement
COREQUISITE:
English 093
COURSE HOURS:
3-0-3
COURSE WRITERS:
Suzanne Kalbach, Ed.D., English Department
Pairat Sethbhakdi, Ph.D., English Department
CONTRIBUTORS:
Elaine DiGiovanni, M.A., English Department
Ann Silverman, M.Ed., English Department
Suzanne Vernon, M.S., English Department
FACILITATOR:
Larry MacKenzie
DATE:
May 13, 2002
1
Community College of Philadelphia
COURSE TITLE:
High Intermediate Writing for Non-native Speakers of
English
COURSE NUMBER:
English 093
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Writing component in the third of four integrated pairs of
courses that develop reading and writing skills in English.
Emphasizes reading and writing processes, with continued
vocabulary development, reading in the content areas, and
the analysis of fiction and non-fiction. Development of a
social, cultural, and historical context for reading.
Sentence variety and advanced grammar, with writing in a
variety of expository essay modes in response to reading.
Credits will not be applied toward graduation.
PREREQUISITE:
English 082/092 or placement
COREQUISITE:
English 083
COURSE HOURS:
3-0-3
COURSE WRITERS:
Suzanne Kalbach, Ed.D., English Department
Pairat Sethbhakdi, Ph.D., English Department
CONTRIBUTORS:
Elaine DiGiovanni, M.A., English Department
Ann Silverman, M.Ed., English Department
Suzanne Vernon, M.S., English Department
FACILITATOR:
Larry MacKenzie
DATE:
May 13, 2002
2
A.
Course Description
English 083 is the reading component of English 083/093, the third of four
integrated pairs of courses that combine the development of reading and writing skills for
students of English as a second language. English 093 is the writing component of this
integrated pair of courses. Through integrated studies, English 083/093 emphasizes the
reading and writing processes; it includes continued vocabulary development, reading in
the content areas, and the analysis of fiction and non-fiction. Students develop a social,
cultural, and historical context for their reading, especially when it pertains to aspects of
life in the United States that may be unfamiliar to them. They also use a greater variety
of advanced sentence structures in their writing.
By calling this pair of courses “integrated,” the ESL faculty mean that, in
practice, they are taught as if they were a single course. Students taking English 083/093
are at the high-intermediate level of proficiency in the ESL program; readers are now at
the secondary level, and the reading materials which students write about are usually
authentic fiction and non-fiction works rather than adapted texts for ESL.
The focus of English 083-093 is primarily academic. The broad range of the
reading material includes expository works that serve as sources of information,
especially in different academic areas, as well as models for students’ rhetorical skills.
Students write extensively and critically in response to these reading materials, not just in
imitation of them. Students learn to annotate readings and to paraphrase and summarize
increasingly longer passages. By doing writing assignments that include narrative,
descriptive, expository, and simple argumentative essays of 300 to 400 words, they begin
to produce writing that is similar to that done in English 098 and 101 in a more developed
form.
B.
Rationale
The high intermediate level pair of courses is designed both for continuing
students who have received a passing grade from English 082/092, and also for new
students whose reading scores are within the appropriate range and whose writing test
scores are at the 093 level. The placement of students with 083-level reading scores and
writing scores lower than 093 will be decided by academic advisors following set
guidelines (see ESL Curriculum Revision document). Students are expected to have
mastered the competencies required at the end of 082/092.
English 083/093 prepares students for English 098/099 and other higher level
courses by providing them with a strong reading and writing foundation. English
083/093 is designed to make use of serious and engaging content. The academic focus of
English 083/093 puts somewhat more emphasis on writing in response to academic
readings than was the case in the first two levels of the ESL reading/writing series.
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Themes like education, current events, and United States historical figures and events
have been used successfully at this level in the past. Students read materials not
especially created for learners of English as a second language, as opposed to the
materials in the previous level that are mostly simplified and adapted for ESL readers.
The readings for English 083/093 include selections from texts of different
disciplines, essays, newspaper articles, some poetry, and a novel or short story anthology.
In this way students acquire historical and cultural knowledge of the United States and
the world beyond while they are simultaneously developing their language proficiency.
An understanding of these materials prepares students to encounter more complex
reading that assumes a framework of cultural knowledge. They also develop a better
base for participating in classroom discussions beyond the ESL program, where they will
be surrounded by native speakers of English who already possess this cultural
information.
Written responses to the readings in English 083/093 help students to clarify their
own individual reactions to what they have read. There is increased emphasis on the
composing process with its multiple drafts and independent editing. Students are taught
to do peer review and to evaluate their own writing with less and less teacher
intervention. Throughout the writing process, grammatical structures are taught
concurrently with the full range of rhetorical forms that elicit them, such as classification,
cause and effect, persuasion, and comparison/contrast.
C.
Course Objectives
English 083/093 emphasizes comprehension of authentic whole passages from
academic materials and different literary genres while continuing to develop linguistic
proficiency and critical/analytical thinking skills. Students continue to explore the
meaning of the readings through discussion leading to written responses, including wellconstructed 300-word essays. They will continue to refine their ability to find materials
related to in-class reading on their own through the Internet. In addition to the academic
emphasis, English 083/093 develops students’ enjoyment of extensive reading by asking
them to read books of personal interest outside class and to describe and evaluate these
books for the whole class in both oral and written forms. These activities are required
with the hope that students will become lifelong readers for pleasure and for useful
knowledge. In this 21st century, they will need to apply their reading abilities to search
for and evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of information available through developing
technology.
C.1
Reading Competencies
Through exposure to authentic writings, students acquire a sense of idiomatic
English which will appear increasingly in their own writing. They increase their ability
to read not as passive recipients of unquestioned facts and ideas, but as active analysts of
different writers’ purposes and of how convincingly these writers achieve them.
4
Students’ analyses and responses to their reading should be expressed in both oral and
written forms.
In addition to practice of the reading competencies students acquired at the
previous level, some specific skills and strategies that they are expected to acquire at this
level are the following:
Prereading:
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Skim the reading to get an overview of what it is about, using clues such as headings
and visuals;
Identify written genre or rhetorical mode(s) of the assigned reading and determine the
best strategies for comprehending textual ideas in this particular genre or mode (e.g.,
how to read a newspaper article vs. a textbook chapter);
Recall previously acquired knowledge about the topic;
Predict the story line or main ideas of the reading.
Reading:
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Analyze problematic syntax when it obscures meaning;
Determine main ideas of a non-fiction paragraph, chapter, or essay;
Locate the topic sentence of a paragraph and the thesis statement of a chapter or
essay, if they appear;
Identify main ideas even when not stated directly;
Distinguish between direct statements and implied ideas which require inference;
Recognize the author’s handling of the elements of fiction: narrator, characters,
setting, plot, issues central to the work.
Postreading:
In class discussions and written forms (e.g., summaries, journals, analytical paragraphs)
 Articulate the author’s tone (e.g., critical, sarcastic, nostalgic), purpose (to convince,
to entertain), and intended audience in both fiction and nonfiction pieces;
 Distinguish between main ideas and details;
 Analyze which of a variety of rhetorical modes is used in a particular essay;
 Begin to interpret the significance of figurative language (metaphors, similes) in a
literary work in order to understand what it represents;
 Convert ideas, events, and other elements of the reading into a visual form (e.g. chart,
illustration, graph, time-line, map).
 In writing, paraphrase and/or summarize readings;
 Compose short reaction papers (see following section).
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C. 2
Writing Competencies in Response to Reading
At this level, in addition to shorter forms of writing, students are expected to write
complete essays in response to their reading that have an introduction with a thesis
statement, three or more body paragraphs developing and expanding on the thesis
statement, and a conclusion drawing the previous ideas together. They may also be asked
to respond in writing to movies, lectures, or artistic works.
Some skills specifically necessary for essay writing in English 083/093 are the
following:
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Use different techniques of brainstorming such as listing, branching, and outlining;
Use the organization of the appropriate rhetorical mode(s) for a particular essay topic,
usually suggested by the teacher (possibly in combination) from among the
following: narration, description, classification, comparison/contrast, expository
writing and simple argumentation;
Establish cohesion in an essay by using transition words and phrases between
sentences and paragraphs that correspond with the rhetorical mode of the essay;
Consider the writer’s purpose and the audience he or she is addressing as a
preliminary for possible publishing (e.g., classmates in a class magazine, the larger
community in the ESL Magazine, the readers of letters to the editor of the Vanguard
or a citywide newspaper);
Develop unity of the essay by giving paragraphs clear topic sentences that support the
thesis statement in the introductory paragraph;
Use peer review to help students recognize strengths and weaknesses in others’
papers in order to revise their own;
Develop editing skills for independent correction, using a monolingual dictionary.
In addition to the essay, other types of writing which students will undertake in
English 083/093 require them to do the following:
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Annotate important lines and paragraphs in a reading in the form of one-word or
phrase comments;
Keep “double-entry” journals that contain summaries of the reading in note form on
one side and personal reactions on the other;
In regard to readings, write short paragraph answers to questions that elicit both
information and thoughtful response;
Paraphrase lines or paragraphs from a reading;
Outline the important events or ideas of a reading;
Write a paragraph summary of events in a fictional work or important ideas in a nonfictional piece.
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C. 3
Syntax
In reading, students can be expected to understand more complex grammatical
structures than they can master in their writing. The following two sections explain the
syntax recognition and syntax uses that students will practice in English 083/093.
C.3.1 Recognition of syntax related to meaning in reading. Students will be taught to
notice and understand:
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The function of most individual words in the structure of a sentence;
Different syntactic structures like phrase, clause (defining adjective, adverb and noun
types), and sentence;
Pronoun references and noun antecedents;
Use of noun clause in direct vs. indirect speech;
Punctuation that signals syntactic meaning (for example, commas for defining
adjective clauses and appositives, colons followed by definitions, and semi-colons for
two closely related independent clauses);
Different syntactic structures with the same meaning (for example, “Mr. X is out of
work” = “Unemployed now, Mr. X . . . .” = “The ranks of the employed do not
include Mr. X”);
Advanced, less common sets of transition words that signal specific rhetorical modes
(for example, comparison/contrast and cause/effect);
Present and past unreal conditional clauses (subjunctive) referring to hypothetical
events (for example, “If I had known you were coming I would have baked a cake.”).
C.3.2 Correct use of syntax in writing
At this level there is an expectation that students will still have some unidiomatic
usage, but not to the extent that it interferes with comprehension. Although perfect
consistency with the following grammatical skills is not expected, about 75% or more of
the time students in English 083/093 should:
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Combine independent clauses to form complex sentences with appropriate adverbial
clauses (of time, condition, place, reason) and adjective clauses;
Reduce redundancy in sentences by embedding clauses and using pronouns;
Begin to vary sentence structures within an essay, from simpler sentences to more
complex ones;
Use the passive voice when it is desirable in a sentence;
Use correct form of the participle, whether past or present;
Use gerunds and infinitives correctly, both by themselves and within phrases;
Use the tenses and forms of verbs correctly, with an understanding of various
meanings of tenses;
Punctuate correctly to indicate direct vs. indirect speech;
Eliminate fragments and run-ons.
7
C.4
Language Focus: Lexicon
Students should increase their competency in the use of a dictionary for learners
of English as a second language in order to become more independent readers and
writers. One recommended dictionary is the Longman Dictionary of American English.
They should be able to extract all the information available to them about an entry,
especially grammatical material. No bilingual dictionaries should be used in the
classroom in order to avoid translation. The ESL Curriculum Committee recommends
that electronic dictionaries be discouraged in class and during tests because of their often
simplistic translations and lack of information about usage. Even the English-English
electronic dictionaries give little or no context for the use of an item.
C.4.1 Certain reading competencies related to lexicon will be put into practice; students
will learn the following three dictionary skills through the use of a dictionary workbook
tied to a specific dictionary. (Both the Longman Dictionary and the American Heritage
English as a Second Language Dictionary have such workbooks):
 Finding hyphenated and multi-word entries, including idioms;
 Discovering register of a lexical item;
 Determining whether the tone of a vocabulary item is denotative or connotative.
In addition, students will be taught:
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To derive meaning of a lexical item from the context, not just of the sentence where
the item is found, but also of the paragraph and the entire work;
To broaden familiarity with prefixes and suffixes in English;
To recognize a word form (part of speech) from a “family” of words by looking not
only at the suffix, but also at the structure of the sentence it is in;
Through structure of a sentence, to determine the part of speech of uninflected words
with no suffix;
After determining word form, to choose which of several possible dictionary
meanings is found in a particular sentence, including homographs (same spelling and
sound, different meanings);
To assemble semantic networks of vocabulary based on theme(s) of a particular
reading (These semantic patterns give a deeper understanding of the reading [for
example, high frequency of words related to struggle and violence], and a way for
students to develop collocations of words for easier recall and better control of
connotations);
To organize a system of vocabulary cards based on the above-mentioned semantic
networks, with greater attention to pronunciation and syllabication than in 082/092;
To acquire an awareness of register (formal, informal, etc.);
To recognize connotations of a word that convey a particular tone or feeling (e.g.,
“woman” vs. “lady” vs. “chick”) through reading in context and discussion;
8
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To distinguish between literal and figurative language (particularly, the use of
symbols, metaphors and similes as figurative devices).
C4.2 A set of lexical skills should be developed for students’ writing purposes.
Students should learn to:
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C.5
Obtain grammatical information about a lexical item from the dictionary (e.g.,
count/non-count nouns, transitive and intransitive verbs);
Use correct form of a word in writing (involves understanding structure of one’s own
sentence);
Use an ESL dictionary to learn about connotative differences among closely related
words (e.g. “scrawny” vs. “slender”);
Use reading around selected themes to expand and enrich vocabulary;
Develop the ability to use vocabulary idiomatically, as acquired from reading.
Study Skills
Students continue to improve their study skills while enrolled in this integrated course.
They are encouraged to adopt:
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C.6
Strategies for effective learning (e.g., adapting speed to materials, using memory
aides, and finding individual learning styles);
Good study habits, including time management;
Positive attitude toward reading and writing;
Focusing of attention and development of motivation (e.g., through personalizing
material);
Good note-taking skills;
Study aids such as note-cards, time-lines, maps, and graphic organizers;
Test-taking skills;
Methods for dealing with test anxiety.
Learning Lab
Students are required to attend one hour of additional instruction provided every
week by the Learning Lab Department of Educational Support Services. This lab is
designed to practice and reinforce the content and skills learned in the English 083/93
classroom. Reading and writing activities are integrated in the one-hour lab.
Lab instructors are ESL specialists who:
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Reinforce students’ reading and writing skills, especially the understanding and use of
grammar;
Help students with vocabulary acquisition;
9
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Encourage students to practice dictionary use;
Help students to work further with materials such as grammatical exercises and
vocabulary assignments) which they have begun with the course instructor;
Provide extra writing practice and conferencing about papers written in the lab;
Go over problematic areas in students’ essays previously written in the classroom to
give additional help;
Tutor students with less proficiency in smaller groups than the ‘regular’ classroom
(sometimes the class is divided into two groups by proficiency level);
Continual communication between the ESL faculty in the English Department and
the ESL Learning Lab faculty is essential to ensure that students gain the optimal benefits
from lab classes. ESL faculty should provide lab faculty with a copy of the course
syllabus at the beginning of the term. They should report to the lab faculty at least once a
week on material and activities covered in the 083/093 class, as well as report on
students’ progress, strengths, and weaknesses. This communication should happen well
in advance of the lab classes to permit lab faculty to prepare appropriate materials. Lab
faculty should likewise supply ESL faculty with reports on student attendance and
progress.
The ESL Curriculum Committee has urged teachers to emphasize to students that
the labs are an integral part of English 083/093, and that their attendance at labs (or lack
thereof) affects their final grades. Additional Learning Lab resources, such as tutoring,
workshops, and conversation groups, are available to all ESL students, but use of such
resources is essential for students repeating the course.
D. Planned Sequence of Activities
D.1 Evolution of Activities During the Semester
The usual sequence of activities during this integrated course starts with a
diagnosis of students’ strengths and weaknesses in both reading and writing during the
first week of class. They read a passage related to one of the themes of the course, and
then write short responses to related questions about it. Next, students are asked to write
a one-paragraph summary of the most important points in the passage. Finally, in the
next class they receive a choice of essay topics to write about, each of which elicits one
of the rhetorical modes studied in English 082/092, including narration, description, and
simple exposition. This diagnostic writing leads right away to a review of different
rhetorical modes and related grammar previously studied when the papers are returned to
students for revision.
Initial work on the essay format takes place in tandem with assignments which
activate students’ background knowledge about and responses to an introductory unit’s
theme. Early in the semester, written responses to course themes start out small by
focusing on the structure of paragraphs and short essays about the material they read. As
10
the semester progresses, longer works, both fiction and non-fiction, are introduced.
Students read literature of different types in each unit of the semester, with a particular
focus on the novel that is central to the course. An understanding of fiction and nonfiction concepts evolves from students’ engagement with these different materials.
D.2 A Typical Reading/Writing Unit
The course is composed of a series of units, each of which follows certain
activities that are cyclically repeated to develop the reading, writing, lexical,
grammatical, study, and technological skills previously described. Each unit should
involve the same cycle of activities, but the amount of time required for these activities to
be implemented may vary from one unit to the next.
Reading and writing activities are interdependent rather than isolated from each
other. While reading, students should be led to focus on language (including vocabulary
and grammar), organization, and content that they can use in their own writing. Then,
they can produce summaries, reactions in the form of journal-writing, and essays related
to the content of their reading. In each unit the activities should weave back and forth
between reading and writing as they deepen students’ critical thinking skills related to the
content of the unit.
Students prepare to write about the unit theme by paraphrasing and/or
summarizing its reading assignments to show comprehension. In this activity, they
practice writing topic sentences for their paragraphs and developing the main idea of their
paragraphs with more details. After that, they write evaluative paragraphs about the
reading materials to develop their critical thinking skills as a first step toward longer
expository essays.
The course description of 083/93 (see section A) suggests that students should
consciously interrelate with texts and develop a social, cultural and historical context for
their reading. Handouts with pertinent historical, cultural, geographical and social
information about the themes of the course and particularly its selected novel are given to
students in each unit. They are used to both help students develop a context for the novel
and simultaneously to develop students’ reading and writing skills. Activities such as
true/false exercises, vocabulary cards, and short answer questions about these background
readings can deepen students’ grasp of the material. (See Appendix for sample exercises).
D.3 Research Activities
After they are introduced to the themes of the course, students are asked to do
simple research exercises related to one of the themes. These exercises prepare them for
the possible short research report of about 300 words which they may write later in the
semester as an introduction to the extended research projects often required in collegecredit courses. In relation to these activities, a library orientation is scheduled during the
third week of the semester wherein students familiarize themselves with the available
11
print and electronic resources in the College Library, including the Internet.
Students can be assigned one or more of the following exercises:
1. Select one book and one reference work (e.g. an encyclopedia) that discuss your
topic.
2. Record the names of your sources in appropriate format (e.g., APA, MLA).
3. Explain why you selected your sources. What questions about the topic would
they answer?
4. Write a thesis statement for a hypothetical research paper and prepare a simple
outline.
Later in the semester, if students have performed well on the research exercises,
they can be asked to choose from a list of simple research topics related to the themes of
the course which they will report on in a paper of about 300 words.
D.4 Field Work
Philadelphia is a city rich with cultural and historical resources. There are many
trips teachers can take with their students in the city to enrich understanding of the
materials they are reading and writing about. For example, in relation to the Lewis and
Clark Expedition, a class can visit the American Philosophical Society to see the original
journals kept by Meriwether Lewis during the journey. If students show particular
interest in the Native American tribes mentioned in Streams to the River, they can go to
the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archeology. Because two
adjacent class periods are provided for the course, there is enough time to take these trips
during class time, when all students are available.
Another example of an activity outside of class is related to the theme of mural art
in Philadelphia. After students have read one or more articles about this phenomenon,
they are sent to look at some murals around the College, in other central locations, or in
their neighborhoods. They can then write a description of each mural they have seen and
analyze its intent (see Appendix for specific questions for this activity, and for
suggestions for other sites in Philadelphia related to U.S. history and culture that are
worth a visit ).
Interviews, questionnaires, and surveys are other kinds of field work students can
be assigned to do outside class. These activities will prepare them for similar activities
they may need to do later in content-area courses such as sociology or history.
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E. Textbooks
Several ESL publishers currently offer textbooks that are geared towards an
integrated curriculum of reading and writing at the high intermediate level. The
following are recommended:
Reading/Writing Texts--Write to be Read: Reading, Reflection, and Writing, by Smalzer (Cambridge)
Kaleidoscope 4, Reading and Writing, by Sokmen and Mackey (Houghton Mifflin)
Linkages, by Connerton and Reid (Heinle and Heinle)
North Star: Focus on Reading and Writing, High Intermediate, by English and English
(Longman) [used in Sample Syllabus 1]
Transitions, An Interactive Reading, Writing and Grammar Text, by Bates (Cambridge)
American Perspectives, Readings on Contemporary U.S. Culture, by Earle-Carlin and
Hildebrand (Longman) [includes good writing prompts about articles]
Changes: Readings for Writers, by Withrow, Brookes and Cummings (Cambridge)
Grammar Text--Focus on Grammar, High Intermediate: Course for Reference and Practice
by Fuchs and Bonner ( Longman) [included in the Sample Syllabus 1]
Fiction--A novel appropriate to the level and theme of the course should be adopted. The
ESL Booklist provides many useful suggestions. Junior or young adult novels, when not
too adolescent in theme, are often suitable for this course in their level of difficulty. A
collection of short stories can be used in place of a novel.
Dictionary--Longman Dictionary of American English
Supplementary materials--For background reading for trips around Philadelphia related to historical themes,
see inexpensive leaflets (about $5.00) on the history of Pennsylvania published by the
Pennsylvania History and Museum Commission in Harrisburg and sold at the
Independence National Park Visitors’ Center ( topics such as biographies of William
Penn and Benjamin Franklin). In addition, there are many audiovisual materials teachers
can use to enhance the topics studied in the class, including videos, tapes, and CD’s.
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F. Library Resources
Continuing students who have already taken English 082 will have been
familiarized with the layout of the College Library and in particular, the location of the
ESL collection of books. They should know how to get help in the Library, and how to
check out materials. Worksheets containing this information can be used by new students
to practice these skills.
Students go to the Library for a workshop taught by a librarian on using the
Internet to do research on a topic from a list of suggested topics related to the themes of
the course. In the workshop and in class, students learn how to evaluate different sources
of information and to select those most valuable and pertinent to their research topic. As
part of their learning to gather materials for research, they learn to record information for
their bibliographies and to avoid plagiarism by paraphrasing and giving credit for their
sources.
At the 083/093 level, students need to become familiar with the On-line Public
Access Catalogue (OPAC) in the Library so that they can identify materials in the CCP
collection which they can use for research projects in their reading/writing class,
including books, videos, newspapers, and periodicals. They learn to search for relevant
materials on the OPAC by author, title, key words and subject (the latter involves a
controlled vocabulary set by the system of LC Subject Headings). In addition, students
should be able to locate information both in general and subject encyclopedias (e.g.,
Encyclopedia of Popular Music). The usual means of introducing students to this
information is through a workshop given by a librarian, followed by class assignments to
find sources independently which are related to the themes of the course and the students'
research interests about them.
G. Technological Resources
Going to a computer classroom for at least an hour a week should be a regular
activity at the 083/093 level. There, the instructor can help students hone their computer
skills as applied to both reading and writing. Increasingly, ESL texts of all types are
offering accompanying Internet web-sites with related readings, exercises, and writing
topics. Students can also learn how to visit a variety of independent ESL web-sites that
offer reading exercises involving comprehension, vocabulary development, and the
adjustment of reading speed to different types of material (see Appendix for web
addresses). Students can also do some of the word-study exercises on the CD-Rom that
accompanies most new dictionaries.
Students at this level should learn to use a computer with word processing
software to revise papers that have already been evaluated by the instructor, involving
such improvements as expansion and reordering of ideas, and sentence combining.
Editing is also greatly facilitated by the use of word processing software to correct
grammatical errors and spelling, especially when the students use spelling and grammar
14
checking functions in addition to the instructor’s comments.
In addition, the Central Learning Lab offers optional workshops on computer
literacy for students who have little familiarity with computers to enable them to keep up
with the rest of the class in the computer classroom. Students who do not have
computers at home can complete their computer assignments on computers available in
the Student Academic Computing Center in B2-33, where technical aides will assist them
with any problems.
Some teachers may use e-mail as a tool of communication with the students and
among the students themselves, but it is not a mandatory activity at this level.
H. Student Assessment
Assessment of reading and writing proficiency in 083/093 depends on a variety of
measures, not just in-class tests and exams. It is not a totally quantitative process, so it
allows for some interpretation of what is best for each student, but there are also
standardized expectations for passing out of the course. (See pp. 3-6, above).
Subjectivity regarding the level of proficiency required to meet these criteria is reduced
by having small groups of ESL, teachers evaluate mid-term tests and final exams together
for reliability, along with the assessment of any other materials whose evaluation
individual teachers are unsure about.
H.1 Diagnostic Process
Student assessment begins during the first week of the semester with a diagnostic
reading test targeted approximately at the level of difficulty of an English 083-level text
(either from a text to be used in class or another one). Questions on this diagnostic test
should not be primarily objective; there should be opportunities for subjective responses
such as short answers of a few sentences, and for writing a one-paragraph summary of the
reading. New students can be moved to a lower or higher level at this point if the
diagnostic reading material seems too difficult or too easy. A continuing student who has
passed 082 cannot be moved to a different level even if English 083 seems inappropriate.
Therefore, the teacher will have to work with that student either to fill in the gaps in
background or to provide more challenging material than that usually assigned in English
083.
The diagnostic writing test consists of an essay written in class during at least 45
minutes in response to one of several topics that derive from the diagnostic reading test
passage.
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H.2 Cumulative Evaluative Tools
The following are the recommended number of tests in different areas to be given
during the semester:
The course should contain three reading tests plus additional quizzes to check
reading homework completion and understanding of course content such as dictionary
skills. Reading tests should include sections on vocabulary and word forms as they fit
into sentence contexts, Latin and Greek affixes, dictionary skills, visuals such as charts
and graphs, comprehension of course reading content, and ability to understand, analyze,
and summarize new reading material. Types of questions can be multiple choice,
matching (including matching of topics and main ideas with paragraphs), short answers
of several sentences to analytical questions, short essays (especially about literature read
in class), and summarizing articles in one or a few sentences.
Students write a variety of responses to reading assignments. They write
summaries and journal entries about readings done at home (to be responded to by the
teacher, but not corrected). They fill out forms such as license applications or graphics
like tables, and answer questions about their outside extensive reading chosen from a list
of books in the College library. Their answers lead to a one-page paper near the end of
the semester. In addition, an important assignment during the semester is the short
research paper previously mentioned related to the theme or sub-themes of the course.
For example, topics related to the theme of Sacagawea can be any of the following: U.S.
history involving native Americans, Thomas Jefferson’s plan for expansion, the Lewis
and Clark expedition, the flora and fauna of the early Western territories, or the impact of
Sacagawea on the opening of the West.
Four in-class composition tests of about 350 words should be given in response
to topics growing out of the readings students have previously discussed and analyzed.
There should be a choice of topics so that students will hopefully find one that they have
a strong desire to write about. Early in the semester the types of rhetoric elicited by these
topics can be narrative and descriptive, but after the first in-class test there should be
expository and even easy argumentative topics to wean students away from a focus on the
personal to a more academic and logical rhetorical structure.
It is suggested that students be informed of the topics for the first two or three
tests so that they can prepare for them at home. One possibility is to allow students to
bring a phrase outline to the test which they began in class and finished at home so that
they are encouraged to prepare their ideas and to realize that good writing does not
usually happen “off the top of your head.” Students are required to hand in the outline
along with the composition at the end of the test so it will be obvious if they were just
copying a completed paper prepared at home. In the last in-class test, students can be
told ahead of time which reading/s the topics will be about, but they do not receive the
actual prompts. In this way the teacher is able to see how quickly students organize their
thoughts under pressure, a skill that will be tested in the final exam, whose questions are
not distributed ahead of time. Thus if a student needs an inordinate amount of time to
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prepare a composition or is getting a lot of help and memorizing someone else’s writing,
it will become apparent.
A suggested format for the final reading exam is to give students a longer passage
to take home in preparation for the exam; they can then bring the reading passage to the
exam with any relevant notes, but they will not know the questions ahead of time. In
addition, in order to test their overall reading abilities in a limited time, students will
encounter an unfamiliar shorter passage in the reading exam. (See Section C for the
competencies students are required to have in order to exit English 083/93). The types of
questions should be similar to the tests given throughout the semester, perhaps with a
longer essay question since students have more time to develop an answer.
The four topics for the writing portion of the exam should grow out of the themes
of the semester. Readings for these topics will be given out the week before the exam in
order to enhance the students’ familiarity with the related issues and vocabulary of the
topics. Students choose one of the four topics to write about with a minimum of 300
words in a well-developed essay containing a clear introduction with a thesis statement,
several body paragraphs with more examples and details to develop the thesis, and a
conclusion that reiterates the main idea with additional comments. Students’ final exam
grades are evaluated by both the classroom instructor and a team of two ESL colleagues.
There should also be a grammar exam at the end of the semester to evaluate the students’
ability to put into practice the grammatical skills they have been practicing all semester.
Attendance in class and in the lab is an important factor in determining the
student’s success in the course.
Final exam performance is one factor among others in deciding a student’s
grade. The classroom instructor makes the final decision about whether each student is
ready to go on to the next level by using a semester-long evaluation of that student’s
performance, with an eye both to consistent improvement and the student’s level at the
end of the semester. If a student has not shown a steady performance at the 083/093 level
throughout the semester, passing grades on the final exams are no guarantee of the ability
to do well at the next level.
I. Course Assessment and Evaluation
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ESL faculty utilize a variety of tools to evaluate 083/093, as formalized in the
curriculum for 081/091. Course assessment methods include:
Peer visitations followed by collegial discussions of the most effective classroom
activities, methods, and materials;
Administration of course-specific student questionnaires that allow students to
evaluate the effectiveness of specific activities, methods, and materials;
Periodic review of course descriptions and curricula at regular ESL Faculty and ESL
Curriculum Committee meetings, which serve as effectual checks of course content
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and delivery;
Informal course-specific meetings held periodically during a semester to gauge
students’ levels and performance, teaching strategies and methods, and other concerns
related to a course;
ESL Book Committee meetings at which faculty members discuss course content,
materials, and potential new texts to pilot.
J. Sample Syllabi
On the following pages are two sample syllabi of integrated English 083/093
courses . The first syllabus directly reflects the activities and materials discussed earlier,
in Section D, and in the Appendix. The second syllabus presents other materials and
activities which are based on the same understanding of English 083-093 course
objectives and foundations.
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English 083-093 Sample Syllabus 1
Community College of Philadelphia
Syllabus
Spring 2002
English 083/093 MWF
9:05 – 11:05 A.M. Room: M3-1
Lab: Friday 11:15
Instructor:
Dr. Pairat Sethbhakdi
Office: BR-44B
Office Hours: MWF 12:30 and 2:35 PM (Also by appointment) Telephone: 751-8330
Goals: This course is designed to help students
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learn new strategies for improving the comprehension of academic texts;
improve reading speed by relying on the meanings from contexts;
improve study skills;
acquire skills in note-taking, library use and referencing;
gain a better understanding of United States history through reading;
recognize relationships among different readings;
use prewriting techniques such as list-making, clustering, and outlining;
write logically developed essays in a variety of rhetorical modes, particularly
narration, exposition and persuasion;
use pre-writing techniques such as list-making, clustering, and outlining;
practice editing and revising.
Attendance: Regular attendance is required. Any student who misses six consecutive
classes may be automatically dropped from the class. Attendance at the scheduled
Learning Lab class is also a required part of the course, so Lab teachers will notify the
classroom teacher of unexcused absences.
Grading Policy: Students receive the same final grade for both components of English
083/093. Their grades are determined by their progress as demonstrated in weekly inclass and out-of-class assignments. There will be weekly reading and writing assignments
(including multi-paragraph essays), quizzes, reading and writing tests, a mid-term test,
and a final exam. Those students who meet the criteria for passing will receive a final
19
grade of P; those who have made progress, but are not yet ready for passing, will receive
a final grade of MP; those who do not progress, receive F.
Required Course Texts and Materials:
1. NorthStar, Focus on Reading and Writing, High- Intermediate, by English and
English (Longman), 1998
2. Focus on Grammar, A High-Intermediate Course for Reference and Practice,
by Fuchs and Bonner (Longman), 1995
3. Streams to the River, Rivers to the Sea, by Scott 0' Dell (Fawcett Juniper),
1987
4. A good English-English dictionary (suggested: Oxford Advanced Learners’
Dictionary, The Newbury House Dictionary of American English, Longman Dictionary
of American English, or The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language )
5.A binder with loose-leaf paper
6. A pack of index cards
Requirements: Besides successful completion of assignments, in order to pass this
integrated pair of courses you must also:
participate in all activities;
complete all assignments on time;
attend class and lab regularly and be on time;
keep reading logs/journals.
Note:
If you have any disability, you must inform me in the first week of class. Sometimes I
need to contact you at home; if you have any number other than what is on the
college records, or a request not to be called, please let me know as soon as possible.
English 083/093 Sequence of Activities:
Week One
Introduction to the Course
Diagnostic Tests for Reading and Writing
NorthStar Unit One, Reading One: Approaching the topic; Predicting; Background
reading; Vocabulary; Reading for main ideas vs. details; Reading between the lines.
Analyzing topics and themes; Identifying topic sentences.
Focus on Grammar (FOG) Chapters One and Five: Present Tense/Past Tense --Overview. Using the simple present tense in both the active and passive voice.
Writing: A narrative essay
Hand-out: Historical background about Lewis and Clark’s expedition in preparation for
Streams to the River, Rivers to the Sea, a novel required for the course. This is an excerpt
from the book entitled Lewis and Clark, The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, by
Duncan and Burns.
20
Week Two
Analyzing information; Planning a response
NorthStar Unit One, Reading Two: Analyzing words in context; Arranging discussion
groups; Responding in reading-writing logs/journals; Applying and sharing information.
FOG, Chapter Three: Tag questions and their responses
Writing: Paraphrasing and summarizing skills; Writing with facts vs. opinions
Handouts : The United States and Thomas Jefferson; the Lewis and Clark Expedition:
Time-line, maps and illustrations
Streams, Author’s notes , Chapters 1-3
Reading Log/Journal
Research Activities: Introduction to a short research report using two or more sources
about a topic related to the course’s themes (approximately 200 words)
One-paragraph summary of a current news article chosen by each
student that connects in some way to a theme of the course
Week Three
Connecting Ideas
North Star Unit Two, Reading One and Two: Linking the two readings, Discussing and
giving opinions with supporting arguments
FOG Chapter Four: Gerunds and Infinitives
Writing: Introductory and supporting paragraphs; Writing an essay that takes a position
Handouts: “William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians,” “The First Americans”(Newsweek)
Streams, Chapters 4-6
Responding Sheets/ Group Discussion
Research Activities: Brainstorming short research topics culled from the novel
A guided tour of the library and a research workshop; Researching in the library and online
Week Four
Expanding the Topic
North Star, Unit Three, Reading One and Two: Reading for main ideas; Using synonyms
FOG, Chapter Eight: Adjective Clauses
Writing: Summary (choice of one summary from assigned reading); Review: writing a
cohesive paragraph; Writing a descriptive essay with adjective clauses; Editing and
revising;
Streams, Chapters 7-10
Group discussion, Answering guide questions in writing
Research Activity: Selecting a topic for the report and formulating questions about the
topic
Weeks Five and Six
Unreal/Imaginary Situations
North Star Unit Five and Six, A Focus on Main Idea and Specific Detail; Taking notes on
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a reading; Annotating and categorizing vocabulary
FOG, Chapters Six and Seven: Modals and Conditionals
Writing: Cause and effect sentences; Punctuation, Editing/revising; Essay on an
imaginary situation and its consequences
Streams, Chapters 11-15: Class discussion of possible themes, favorite characters, and
events in the chapter.
Research Activity: Introducing and practicing bibliography and footnotes.
Weeks Seven and Eight
Opinions and Conclusions
NorthStar, Units Seven and Eight, Introduction and conclusion paragraphs in an essay
FOG, Chapter IX, Indirect Speech and Embedded Questions
Writing: Writing up the results of a survey and conclusions derived from it
Streams, Chapters 16-18; Small-group discussion about themes of the novel
Mid-term Reading and Composition Tests
Week Nine and Ten
Comparisons and Contrasts
NorthStar, Unit Eight: Expressing time with adverbial clauses; Comparing two historical
events using a time-line and a chronological order
FOG, Chapter X , Phrasal verbs
Writing: Discussion about the mid-term test; Improving sentence writing;Answering
comprehension test questions. Writing an essay of comparison and contrast
Streams, Chapters19-21
Research: Finish short research reports. Share findings of reports orally with the class
Weeks Eleven and Twelve
Classification
NorthStar ,Unit Nine: Expressing nostalgia
FOG Chapter X: Pronouns and more phrasal verbs
Streams, Chapters 22-24
Film: Ken Burns’ documentary on Lewis and Clark’s journey
Weeks Thirteen and Fourteen
Expository Writing: Cause and effect
NorthStar Unit Ten: A whole essay, with unity, cohesion and details
FOG, Unit II, Future Tense
Streams, Chapters 25- 27(the end)
Group review and discussion of the novel: Character analysis and comparison; Plot in
relation to U.S. history; Literary values of this novel (setting, imagery)
Writing: Cause & effect essay on the current and future life of the native Americans
Week Fifteen
Conferences and Final Exams
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English 083-093 Sample Syllabus 2
COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA
SYLLABUS
English 083/093
High-Intermediate Reading and Writing Fall, 2002
Instructor: Suzanne Vernon
Office: BR47C
Phone: 751-8631
e-mail: svernon@ccp.cc.pa.us
Office hours: TR 2-4, W 12-2, and by appointment
BOOKS AND MATERIALS:
American Perspectives, Readings...by Earle-Carlin and Hildebrand
20th Century American Short Stories, vol. 1 by Jean McConochie
Chartbook for Understanding and Using English Grammar by B. Azur
Longman's Dictionary of American English
A good notebook, full-sized lined paper
THE COURSE:
This integrated reading and writing course is for high-intermediate academic
students. It is a preparation for English 098/089 and English 101. In this course, you will
read increasingly more difficult and varied non-fiction material as well as some American
short stories (fiction), and you will produce three types of writing in response to reading:
formal academic essays of 300 to 350 words, reading summaries in well-organized long
paragraphs, and informal reading responses. The course is designed to develop the
analytic (critical) thinking skills needed in college courses, to increase fluency and
grammatical accuracy in English, and to present some interesting information about the
United States culture, history, and society. Through class participation, you will also
improve your discussion skills. As college students, you have access to the College
Library and computers and are given an opportunity to learn the Internet and wordprocessing in Library and Learning Lab workshops. Regular attendance at scheduled
weekly Learning Lab sessions is a required part of English 083/093.
COURSE ACTIVITIES AND GOALS:
It is important to consider reading a form of communication like writing. An active
reader not only comprehends what he/she reads, but also relates reading matter to his/her
own experience and forms opinions in response to reading. The good student reader can
write clear summaries that explain authors' main ideas and important major points. This
23
student can also clearly express and explain his/her own opinion – agreement or
disagreement - orally and in writing. When reading fiction, he/she can “read between the
lines” to make inferences, follow the plot, analyze story characters, and interpret
figurative language and fictional themes.
Every two weeks, you will write a formal essay on a topic connected to our reading
material. In this way, you will use new vocabulary, information and ideas from class
reading and discussion to help them write. Sometimes you will study a writer's
organizational patterns and cohesion devices so that you can incorporate these techniques
into your own essays.
During the semester, our goal is to develop composition/communication skills in
several ways: vocabulary, sentence structure, spelling and punctuation, and organization
of ideas. In other words, you should learn to read and write about important topics in
English that continually improves. You should translate less and less from the native
language when reading and writing, and you should monitor your progress as you rely on
bilingual dictionaries less often. Writing is a thinking process that gives shape to our
ideas so that we can share them with our readers. Reading and writing are "two sides of
the same coin."
ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS:
Students in this course will learn to
1. use a monolingual dictionary and reading context to acquire new vocabulary
2. use syntax (grammar) to discover meaning when reading
3. understand word forms (parts of speech) and use them correctly most of the time
4. use the dictionary while writing
5. use grammar reference text to compose and edit while writing
6. write well-developed paragraphs with clear topic and adequate support
7. write organized 300+ essays with introduction (thesis), body, and conclusion in
several rhetorical modes
8. outline short model essays and their own essays
9. use a complete composing process: brainstorm, group information and ideas, and
do multiple drafts
10. rewrite essays using instructor's paper corrections
11. demonstrate progress with independent proofreading skills.
You will demonstrate these reading comprehension skills through text exercises,
class discussion, short written responses to questions, summary writing, and formal
essays that make reference to ideas and information in your readings:
1. recognizing main idea and detail
2. following organizational patterns
3. distinguishing fact/opinion
4. recognizing different types of writing ( news articles, biography, editorials, etc.)
5. making inferences
6. interpreting figurative language, irony, tone, and mood.
In reading and writing about short stories, you can compare characters and stories, write
about story themes, summarize plot, and express your own reactions to the stories in
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interesting ways. You should employ good reading strategies like skimming and
scanning non-fiction, reading with anticipation and prediction, and annotating margins.
Finally, you may develop a greater interest in reading, and by the end of the semester you
should notice that you can read more fluently and with more pleasure.
GRAMMATICAL ITEMS: You should study these through student-teacher
conferencing, grammar reference worksheets, class lectures, and with a tutor in the
Learning Lab if recommended:
-Basic sentence structure, word order, word forms
-Verbs: past and present tenses, simple, continuous and perfect aspects, and future
form
-Transitive vs intransitive verbs, passive voice, and modal verbs
-Complex sentence structures, some common subordinators, adverb, adjective and
noun clauses
-Adverbial conjuncts (transition words), essay coherence
-Direct quotations, reported (indirect) speech
-Comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs
TESTS: There are four in-class writing tests in addition to eight graded take-home
essays. There are several reading quizzes. There is a two-hour reading exam and a twohour writing exam at the end of the semester. Exam week is Dec. 12 - 18. You should
consider all class activities a kind of test. You should always come to school with books,
notebooks, and dictionaries. You should do your homework in a timely way. You may
retake some tests by visiting the teacher by appointment.
GRADES: Your final grade is based on your success with writing essays, summaries and
critiques, including revisions, your in-class writing, and your reading and writing quizzes,
tests, and exams. ESL courses are not college level courses, so they use only three
grades: P, MP, and F. In this course, essays are given P, P-, MP+, MP, MP-. P means
pass. If you get this grade on your composition, you can correct grammar mistakes, but
do not need to revise. MP means 'making progress.' If you get this grade on your essay,
you should revise it by following the teacher's written suggestions within one week and
give the revised paper to the teacher. In this way, you upgrade your English skills.
Sometimes, papers get P/MP. This means the ideas and organization are good, but you
didn't spend long enough rewriting with the dictionary and grammar reference; an essay
with this grade needs grammar corrections only.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS: Students should come to scheduled conferences at
midterm time and at the end of the semester and should visit the teacher during office
hours for extra help. Do not wait until the end of the semester to talk with the teacher or
get a tutor. In addition to scheduled weekly Learning Lab classes, you can make an
appointment with a tutor every week early in the semester if you know that you need
grammar help. Talk with Judy Reitzes in the Learning Lab, Room B1-28. Expect to
spend about 10 hours a week on this course outside of class, reading, doing book
exercises, planning and writing papers, and studying grammar. Schedule your life so that
you have time for homework. If you are registered at the Disability Center, tell the
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teacher at the beginning of the semester. You are responsible for understanding and
acquiring new grammatical structures and using them in your writing. Keep all your
essays in a folder at home for self study and review for the final exam. It is important for
you to understand all the academic requirements listed on this syllabus and to work on
them from the beginning of the semester, adding to your skills by speaking English a lot,
watching TV, and reading the news in English. Your reading and writing grades will be
considered together for one final grade. Students should receive P grades on both final
exams, but in a few cases very good classwork and progress and responsible student
behavior can boost an MP+ up to a passing grade. A P in this class means you can go
ahead to English 089/098.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Students in the ESL Program are required to attend class and
lab sessions regularly. You are permitted a maximum of six absences from class. After
that you are likely to be withdrawn from the course. Chronic lateness can count as
absence and is a disturbance. If you find that you cannot keep up, it is better for you to
withdraw in W1-1 and to talk with a counselor. Otherwise an F grade can affect your
GPA and your academic standing. BE INTERESTED, FOLLOW YOUR PROGRESS,
AND ASK FOR HELP. ENJOY THE SEMESTER.
SEMESTER SCHEDULE
(This schedule can change a little)
Week 1: Writing and dictionary diagnostic; textbook and syllabus. Begin grammar
review.
Weeks 2-3: Chapter 1, American Perspectives, exercises, timed reading, reading
response and essay 1. Roots is the topic. Begin perfect verbs.
Weeks 4-5: Chapter 2, AP, same as Chapter 1. American Family. You will hand in
reading response and essays for grade and will get a lot of help in class with these first
two chapters. Passive verb forms. In-class writing test 1.
Weeks 6-7: 3 short stories about immigrant families from 20th Century American Short
Stories. Summary writing. How to understand fiction. Discussion and short writing
about the stories. Begin study of complex sentences. Essay 3.
Week 8: Midterm writing test ( two hours). Visit to library for Internet instruction and
library instruction. ( this may occur later in the semester). Student/teacher conferences.
Begin major essay 4. Study of complex sentences and cohesion devices. Essay
organization and outlining.
Week 9: Chapter 4 AP. Do this more on your own. A reading midterm will be based on
this chapter. Your writing skills affect your grade on this test Hand in Essay 4.
Look at your reading skills, progress in timed writing, and English dictionary use.
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Week 10: Explore something that interests you via Web pages recommended in text and
make short oral report based on printout. The library workshop helps you do this.
Chapter 6, AP, relates to this work. Selected reading Ch.6. In-class writing test 2.
Weeks 11-12: Chapter 7 AP, extra reading on U.S. History, early Philadelphia. Essay 5.
Two short stories, making inferences, interpreting irony and theme, figurative language.
More summary and reader response. The stories get harder to 'figure out.'. In-class
writing test 3. Noun clauses and indirect quotation - paraphrase - academic writing that
refers to readings.
Weeks 13-14: Selections from Chapters 8 and 9 AP. Two more short stories. Essay 6, a
final writing based on short story analysis and comparison. Grammar wrap-up. Practice
final exam for in-class writing test 4. Final exam reading passage - discussion.
The final reading exam will be based on the topic of Chapter 10, AP. An important part
of this will be vocabulary in context and the use of a dictionary to find appropriate
meanings. You will also be given a new passage with comprehension questions to read at
the exam (timed). The final writing exam is based on a reading given to all English
083/093 students before the exam. The exam requires you to write a 300-400 word essay
just like the ones you have done all semester.
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APPENDIX
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Sample Exercises
Short Answer Questions
Vocabulary Card-making Assignment
Essay Questions
Reading Test
Sample Final Exam
Unit on Harriet Tubman
Mural Project
Guidelines for Peer Review
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Exercises on Background Reading
I. True/False Exercise
Directions: Read the passage entitled “Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of
Discovery, An Introduction”. Then answer the following questions.
Write True or False next to each statement about the article. If it is false, rewrite the
statement to be true.
1.
____Thomas Jefferson, who became President in 1801, organized an expedition
to find a passage to the Pacific Ocean.
2.
____ Meriwether Lewis, who led the Lewis and Clark expedition, was Jefferson’s
personal secretary.
3.
____William Clark, Lewis’ friend who also led this journey, never knew any
native inhabitants.
4.
____To prepare for this important journey, Lewis received crash courses in
science from four famous scientists at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
5.
____Napoleon Bonaparte of France sold the entire Louisiana Territory to the
United States for 15 million dollars.
6.
____Sacagawea, who served as a guide and an interpreter during the Lewis and
Clark’s expedition, was a Sioux Indian.
II. Short Answer Questions
Directions: Answer three of the following questions about the article in your own words
with two to four complete sentences.
1.
Give two reasons why Thomas Jefferson organized the Lewis and Clark
expedition.
2.
What supplies did Dr. Benjamin Rush give to Meriwether Lewis when they met in
Philadelphia?
3.
Why did Lewis choose William Clark to be his co-commander of this journey?
What were Clark’s qualities?
4.
Why did the Mandans welcome the Lewis and Clark expedition with open arms?
Why did they support the expedition?
5.
Who was Sacagawea’s husband? Why did Lewis hire both husband and wife for
this journey?
6.
What kinds of artifacts from this expedition can be found in the American
Philosophical Society Library in Philadelphia?
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III. Vocabulary Cards
Write the word in its simple form (no –s, -ing, -ed endings)
Using a separate index card for each new word, please put down the following
information:
1.
Write the page in the novel where this word is found.
2.
Copy the whole sentence where the word appears.
3.
Put the part of speech of this word (noun, verb, etc.) as it appears in this sentence
( the word may be more than one part of speech in other contexts).
4.
Copy the dictionary meaning of the word as it appears in this sentence (many
words have more than one meaning).
5.
Copy the pronunciation symbols for this word as they appear in the dictionary.
Include information for syllable division and primary stress, using the symbols of the
dictionary. Write the number of syllables at the end of the word. Note that pronunciation
of two closely related words that are spelled the same can differ according to the part of
speech (e.g. `in-sert, noun vs. in-`sert, verb) Words not so closely related in meaning but
still spelled the same can also differ in pronunciation, e.g.,`de-sert , noun vs. de-`sert,
verb).
Example of a vocabulary card entry from Streams to the River…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Chatter, page 1 (chattering)
“My cousin, Running Deer, said, ‘Have you heard the squirrels chattering over on
the far bank in that big tree?’”
Verb
Meaning: to talk rapidly and at length, usually about something unimportant
/chat r/
Chat.ter
2 syllables
IV. Essay Questions
Directions: Choose one of the following questions to write a well-developed paragraph
about. Refer to the novel and handouts for examples to support your idea.
1.
Why was Sacagawea so important to the success of the Lewis and Clark
expedition that she has become a famous figure in U.S. history? What skills and talents
did she contribute to the expedition?
2.
The relations between native Americans and European whites who wanted to
settle in North America had many ups and downs in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
Describe some of the relationships between Indians and Europeans from different
countries on both the east and west coasts during that time period. You should explain
the attitude and behavior of Lewis and Clark toward the Native Americans they met as
part of your answer.
3.
Compare and contrast two important men in Sacagawea’s life, Charbonneau and
Captain Clark. Why did she prefer Clark?
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Reading Test
English 083
Directions: choose two of these three questions to write an answer for. Each answer
should be at least a well-developed paragraph with a short introduction and conclusion.
Be specific about events and people in the book and refer to page numbers when you give
information from the book that directly answers the question.
I.
Why did Sacagawea want to go on this difficult, dangerous expedition with Lewis
and Clark? Give several possible reasons.
II.
Compare and contrast two important men in Sacagawea’s life, Charbonneau and
Captain Clark. Why did she prefer Clark?
III.
Sacagawea says, “Captain Clark changed my life. He changed everything.” Give
examples of gradual changes in her attitudes and behavior throughout the book as
a result of knowing Captain Clark.
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Test on Streams to the River
Directions: On another paper, write short answers (2-3 sentences) for five of the
following nine questions. Be specific, including page numbers wherever possible. You
can use information in more than one chapter if you feel it is relevant to the question.
Chapter 10
What were Sacagawea’s feelings about her new husband?
Chapter 11
Contrast a Shoshone wedding (for example, Sacagawea’s brother’s
wedding) with Sacagawea’s marriage to Charbonneau. Why does she
emphasize the difference?
Chapter 12
Why was Ben York so surprising to the Indians?
Chapter 13
How good an E.S.L. student was Sacagawea?
Chapter 16
Why did both captains Clark and Lewis collect flowers and other natural
items during the trip?
Chapter 17
Contrast the typical character of the Shoshone and the Blackfeet
Tribes.
Chapter 19
Describe the territory of the Shoshone.
Chapter 21
Describe the relationship between Clark and Sacagawea’s brother
Cameahwait.
Chapter 22
Why did Sacagawea get upset at Clark when he asked her repeatedly if she
wanted to continue the trip with him?
Good Luck on the Finals
32
English 083 Final Exam
S. Kalbach
Spring 2000
Name ________________________________
I.
Questions on America
Directions: circle the letter of the best answer to complete each statement.
1.
Native Americans probably came originally from _______________.
a) India
b) North Asia
c) Scandinavia
d) Spain
2.
Marco Polo was ________________________.
a) a Portuguese sailor who found a sea route to China.
b) a Spanish explorer who discovered an advanced civilization in
South America.
c) a Renaissance scientist who discovered the earth is round.
d) an Italian traveler who wrote a book about his experiences in Asia.
3.
__________________ paid for Columbus’ trips to the New World.
a) Bartholomew Diaz
c) Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand
b) King John of Portugal d) the King of Italy
4.
__________________ was the main country to settle Canada in the
early years soon after the first European exploration of it.
a) Italy
b) England
c) Spain
d) France
5.
Napoleon sold ____________ to President Jefferson of the United States.
a) Canada
b) the Louisiana Territory
c) Haiti
d) the Rocky Mountains
II.
Written Questions on Streams to the River
Directions: Choose one of the following three questions to write a well-developed
paragraph about. Refer to the novel, which you can use in the exam, for examples to
support your ideas. Write you answer below.
33
a.
Why was Sacagawea so important to the success of the Lewis and Clark
expedition that she has become a famous figure in history? What skills and
talents did she contribute to the expedition?
b.
Do you believe that Captain Clark really loved Sacagawea, based on the historical
fiction we read in this novel? Or was he using her for his own purposes to help
his expedition? Give evidence from the book.
c.
The relations between Native Americans and European whites who wanted to
settle in North America had many ups and downs in the 17th, 18th, and 19th
centuries. Describe some of the relationships between Indians and Europeans
from different countries on both the east and west coasts during that time period.
You can explain the attitude and behavior of Lewis and Clark toward the Native
Americans they met as part of your answer.
III.
Vocabulary Study
Directions: find each of these words on the page given in Streams to the River. Then
write (a) its part of speech and (b) its meaning as it is used in the sentence on that page.
Use the American Heritage dictionary to find the answers.
1.
stir, p. 76
a) part of speech:
b) meaning:
2.
clutch, p. 48
a) part of speech:
b) meaning:
3.
hides, p. 107
a) part of speech:
b) meaning:
4.
pried, p. 127
a) part of speech:
b) meaning:
5.
peaks, p. 141
a) part of speech:
b) meaning:
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IV.
Word Forms
Directions: From the three word forms given, choose the correct one for each sentence.
Write the word in the space provided. Keep in mind both the meaning and grammar of
the sentence.
A.
invent, invention, inventor
1. Among his other talents, Ben Franklin was an ________________.
2. The lightning rod was probably his most famous ______________.
3. He used his practical skills to _______________ many useful
things.
B.
defensive, defend, defense
1. Mother animals usually _______________ their children against
attacks.
2. Don’t be so _______________; I’m not attacking you!
3. The warriors joined together in a ________________ against
their village.
C.
attract, attraction, attractive
1. A magnet _______________ iron.
2. Advertising tries to create an ________________ to a product.
3. Politicians in the television age must look ________________.
35
Harriet Tubman: Questions for Reading and Discussion
Ch.1
(crop, timber)
1. In your own words, tell about the area where the Brodas plantation was located.
2. What does this chapter tell us about the lives of the planters? The slaves?
3. Why were the slaves so afraid of being sent farther south?
4. Who was the Georgia trader? How did slaves learn quickly of his arrival?
5. What was Harriet’s nickname?
Ch.2 (insurrection)
1. Who was Denmark Vesey? Why was he important?
2. Why did slaves have to be careful which songs they sang?
3. Why was there “fear on both sides” in the south?
Ch. 3 (significance)
1. What was the significance of the North Star to the slaves?
2. In your own words, describe the slaves’ food and clothing.
3. What was the importance of the Declaration of Independence to the slaves?
Ch. 4 (weaver)
l. What were Harriet’s duties at the Cook home?
2. Why did Harriet return home the first time? The second time?
Ch. 5 (crop)
1. Why did Harriet’s parents worry about her?
2. What were the Master’s problems?
3. How did his problems affect the slaves?
4. What was the original crop on the plantation?
5. What were later crops?
6. What were Harriet’s problems at Miss Susan’s? What was her solution? Did it
work?
Ch. 6 (bandanna)
l. What was the significance of Harriet’s bandanna?
2 Who helped slaves on the underground railroad?
3. Who were Tice David and Nat Turner?
Ch. 7 (shuck)
1. How did Harriet become involved in another slave’s escape?
2. What was the result for Harriet?
3. What did Brodas decide to do with Harriet when she got better?
4. What was Harriet’s reaction to the news about Brodas?
Ch. 8 (mob, hanging, irony/ironic, guilt, defy/defied, audacity)
1. Why was Harriet not a desirable slave?
36
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What were the permanent results of her head injury?
What skills did Ben teach Harriet? Why?
Why did the mob try to hang Garrison?
Why was Garrison put in jail?
How did Garrison use irony in the words he wrote in his jail cell?
Ch. 9 (wellbeing, beckon, guilt, patchwork, trousseau, hoard, stringent, fugitive)
l. What did the lawyers tell Harriet about Old Rit?
2. How was the price of cotton related to the slaves’ wellbeing?
3. Why was John against the idea of going north? Why did he prefer their situation in
Maryland?
4. What did John say he would do if Harriet escaped?
5. What was Thomas Farrett’s reaction to his court conviction?
Ch. 10
1.What was Harriet’s greatest fear about leaving?
2. Why did she finally go alone?
3. What did Harriet learn about the underground railroad?
Ch.11 (indifferent, grope, intuitions, thee, dinghy)
1. Who were William Still and J. Miller McKim?
2. How was Harriet able to receive news of her family?
3. What was the Fugitive Slave Law? Why did it create new fear?
Ch. 12
1. Why was Harriet no longer safe in Philadelphia?
2. Why was it even more dangerous for her to return to slave territory?
3. What news did John give Harriet?
Ch. 13 (infidelity, rescue)
1. How did Harriet’s view of her work change after she saw John?
2. What freedoms did Harriet. enjoy in her life in Philadelphia?
3. What decision did she make for her future work?
4. What did the new Fugitive Slave Law mean for runaway slaves? How did Harriet
respond to it?
Ch. 14
1. What careful plans did Harriet have to make to get the slaves away?
2. What did Harriet do to try to keep up the spirits of her ll “passengers”?
Ch 15
1. How and why did Harriet threaten the slave who wanted to turn back?
2. In what ways did Harriet encourage and help the group of ll fugitives?
3. What did Harriet discover in Canada about the meaning of freedom? Do you agree?
Why or why not?
37
Research: Tubman
Pick three of the following topics and write a half-page summary including the most
important information about the person, place, thing or event.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Ann Petry
The Underground Railroad
Missouri Compromise
Quakers
John Brown
Denmark Vesey
The Middle Passage/Slave trade
Theodore Parker
Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of Independence
Henry Clay
Freedom’s Journal
Nat Turner
William Lloyd Garrison
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Amistad
The Fugitive Slave Law/Compromise of 1850
Frederick Douglass
John C. Calhoun
Daniel Webster
Abolitionists
Dred Scott Case
Commentary about the English 083-093 Unit on Harriet Tubman
1. Reading and discussion questions as well as new vocabulary focus are provided
for the first fifteen chapters. The questions are assigned along with the given
chapter(s). Answers may or may not be requested in writing. Small group
discussion may be based on the questions.
2. Questions for the remaining chapters are written by the students. They also write
answers to their questions. Students are advised that some of their questions will
be used on quizzes (an incentive to write good questions.)
2. Additional activities in this unit include:
38
a. examining a facsimile of Franklin’s petition against slavery
b. looking at maps, both contemporary and modern, of underground
railroad routes
c. finding and reporting on websites related to the underground railroad
d. reading about current issues related to slavery in newspapers, magazines,
etc. (teacher’s file from Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, etc.)
e. possibly visiting the Johnson House in Germantown, a stop on the
underground railroad
f. discussing the ethical issues and economic rationale of slave trade
g. in the library, looking up biographical information about some of the
important historical figures mentioned in Petry’s biography of Tubman
4. The exam for this unit is intended as a final integrative activity. Students are
asked to imagine that they have escaped via the underground railroad and to
write about their “experience” in the first person—including details about
their motivation, route, means of travel, risks, who helped them along the
way, etc.
39
Mural Project for Suzanne K’s 083 Class
Mexico City and some other cities around the world are well-known for their wall
paintings, or murals. Now Philadelphia is becoming famous for murals in many parts of
the city. The city government of Philadelphia pays artists and art students to make these
murals. First they talk to people in the neighborhood to find out what the residents want
to see in the murals. Neighbors have chosen subjects about sports, heroes, important
historical and political events, or beautiful scenes for their local mural. Then the artists
plan the mural in its different parts and begin to paint it little by little.
There are four outstanding murals right in the CCP area. I’d like you to choose
one of them to visit and write about (extra credit for more than one). They are in the
following locations:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Broad and Spring Garden Streets, near the northeast corner
Callowhill Street between 18th and 19th Streets
17th and Wallace Streets
17th Street two blocks north of Wallace (I don’t know the street name), on
the left side going north.
Your writing project about the mural you choose to visit should contain the
following:
I.
A short introduction - Which mural you are writing about and
where.
II.
A description of the mural’s appearance (mostly in simple present)
A. Who is in it? What are they doing? Does the mural
seem to tell a story?
B. Where is the setting? – countryside, the neighborhood, etc.
C. What important objects are there in the mural, if any?
Describe them.
D. Colors – bright, light, dark, solid, etc.
E. Any other important aspects of the design that you notice –
shapes, textures, impression of movement, where your
attention goes first.
II.
Conclusion – The effect the mural has on you. Does it give you
any particular feeling? Do you think there is a meaning that the
painter is trying to communicate with this mural? Since the
themes of many Philadelphia murals were suggested by people
who live nearby (and whose portraits sometimes even appear in the
mural!), what might be the message that the community wants you
to get from this mural?
40
Guidelines for Peer Review, English 093
Directions: Exchange papers with your partner and follow these guidelines.
First, read your partner’s paper several times to get a general understanding of
what topic he/she is writing about and what position or point the writer is trying to make.
After the second or third reading, begin to respond to the paper.
Please give very specific comments (not “It’s nice” or “I don’t understand it”).
Always begin with a positive comment, then talk about areas that could use
improvement. The purpose of this exchange is to help each other improve your
compositions. By criticizing another writer’s paper in terms of its strengths and
weaknesses, you will develop more ability to evaluate your own writing too.
After taking notes on your responses to the questions, discuss the paper with your
partner. One partner should give all his/her responses first; then the other partner will
respond.
Questions
1. What did you like best about the paper (for example, use of certain vocabulary,
choice of examples, overall organization, the conclusion, etc.)?
2. Are there any words, phrases, or sentences in the paper that are unclear to you?
Are any specific words repeated too often? Draw a wavy line under the problem
words.
3. What is the topic or subject of the whole composition? What point or comment is
the writer making about it?
4. Did the introduction get your attention with a hook? If so, how did it involve
you?
5. What do you think the important idea of the introductory paragraph is? Is there
one sentence in the introduction which tells the main point of that paragraph (its
topic sentence)? Copy it here if you see such a sentence.
41
6. The topic sentence of the introduction should also contain the main point or idea
of the entire essay. Do you see this main point developed in some related from in
the other paragraphs of the essay? Write down the main ideas of the other
paragraphs in this essay.
Are their any sentences throughout the composition which seem unrelated
to the main idea in the introduction, or even contradictory to it?
7. Do you see some kind of organization of the ideas in this paper (for example, by
time, by listening, by reasons, by advantages and disadvantages, by differences
and similarities)?
8. Do signal words introduce new examples, reasons, or points, especially
at the beginning of a new paragraph?
9. Does each example, reason, or point include supporting details or information?
What additional information do you feel needs to be included?
10. Does this paper use some dependent clauses in sentences (especially
adjective or adverb clauses)? Or, are most of the sentences simple
independent clauses?
11. Is there a conclusion that brings together the whole composition at the
end instead of abruptly cutting off the ideas? Does the conclusion give
a summary of the ideas or express a final related thought that grows out
of the body (but not a completely new idea)?
Do you have any suggestions for improving the conclusion?
12. Finally, did you enjoy reading this paper? Did it keep your attention?
Was its main point presented in an understandable way? Explain
your reaction.
42