TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preparing for College Reading I Students............................................................... 2

Outcomes Matrix................................................................................................ 3

Outcome #1: Read on a Regular Basis, Sample Assignment(s), and Rubric(s)............... 5

Outcome #2: Apply Reading Strategies, Sample Assignment(s), and Rubric(s).............. 9

Outcome #3: Expand Vocabulary, Sample Assignment(s), and Rubric(s)..................... 16

Outcome #4: Employ Resources, Sample Assignment(s), and Rubric(s)....................... 24

Outcome #5: Use General Knowledge, Sample Assignment(s), and Rubric(s).............. 29

Outcome #6: Strengthen Core Competencies, Sample Assignment(s), and Rubric(s).... 31

Before-During-After-Reading Strategies................................................................. 37

Suggested Reading for PCR I Students………………………………………………………40

Preparing for College Reading I Students

Placement

During orientation students take a computerized placement test (CPT), which determines the reading level and placement into Preparing for College Reading I (score of 45 or below on the CPT), Preparing for College Reading II (score of 46-67 on the CPT), or exempts students (score of 68 or higher on the CPT) from the reading courses. The Board of Higher Education mandates the CPT test and determines the cut-off scores. Retesting is allowed.

Age

Massasoit Community College students tend toward two extremes: recent high school graduates and more mature students returning to college. These two groups often differ with regards to maturity, anxiety and motivation.

Ability

Because Massasoit Community College has an open admissions policy, any student with a high school diploma or GED certificate is accepted. Thus some students with low ability or weak backgrounds enter, but may not achieve success with academic work. PCR I and II make it possible for many at-risk students to succeed.

Motivation

Motivation or desire to learn is one of the most important factors contributing to success in PCR I. Many students who are underachievers in K-12 become achievers after completing PCR I. All professors of these courses must maintain a positive outlook themselves and encourages students to develop confidence as learners.

Learning Disabilities

An additional factor affecting achievement is learning disabilities. Some learning disabled students were in special education throughout their schooling; others were included in regular classrooms. Some students learn the skills in a single course (PCR II) and others require two courses (PCR I and PCR II). Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in the classroom are encouraged to contact the Learning Disability Coordinator, Andrea Henry, at extension 1805, or Disability Counselor, Stan Oliver at extension 1464, as soon as possible, in order to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

English as a Second Language

ESL students vary greatly depending on background and education in their native country, time and education in the USA. The typical sequence for ESL students is College ESL I and II, ESL Reading, and Conversation and Pronunciation. After completing Reading for ESL, students may enter PCR I. It is expected that the ESL sequence will provide the students with the ability to read and discuss standard college materials and write brief essays. Students who complete ESL courses with good grades (B or above) and speak English apart from classes tend to succeed in PCR I. Students with lesser skills may have to repeat PCR I.

Academic Resource Center (ARC)

The ARC and Writing Center are strong allies of students and professors, especially the professors of PCR I. The ARC offers individual tutorial appointments as well as open tutorial hours. The open hours may be used for group assignments, discussions, or make-up work.

OUTCOMES BASED LEARNING MATRIX

Course: Preparing for College Reading I Department: English

Catalog Description: This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to improve their reading comprehension, to increase their vocabulary, and to expand their general knowledge. An additional one-hour lab in the Academic Resource Center may be a required part of the course. NOTE: Credits earned in this course cannot be applied toward graduation.

At the end of the course, At the end of the course, At the end of the course,

students should be able to students and faculty will participate in faculty will evaluate

COURSE OUTCOMES	OUTCOMES ACTIVITIES	ASSESSMENT TOOLS
read on a regular basis with increased comprehension, speed, and confidence;	· sustaining silent reading (R, CT) · engaging in reading circles (R, CT) · engaging in class discussions (R, CT, OC)	· reading attitude survey (R,CT,QS) · oral and written answers to open-ended comprehension questions (R,CT,OC,TS) · reading journal (R,CT,W,TS) · reading log (R,CT,W,TS,QT)
apply various reading skills and strategies (previewing, detecting main ideas and related details, summarizing, skimming, scanning, and reviewing) in order to comprehend oral and written material presented in the various college disciplines;	· previewing textbooks, articles and other reading passages (R, CT, TS) · mapping a reading or lecture to show the relationship between main ideas and supporting details (R, CT, W) · summarizing a reading (R, CT, W, OC) · reviewing a textbook chapter or other reading and present to the class (R, CT) · gaining familiarity with college-level textbooks by skimming (R, CT) · locating information by scanning (R, CT)	· written or oral assignment demonstrating pre, during, and post reading activities such as SQ3R, mapping, outlining, Venn diagrams, semantic feature analysis, summary etc. (R,CT,OC,W,TS,QS)
use word structures, word meanings, contextual clues, and dictionary skills in order to expand vocabulary and improve reading comprehension;	· developing a familiarity with a dictionary by locating items such as word origin, synonyms, parts of speech, and/or antonyms (R, CT, TS) · identifying and defining unknown words in a passage using context clues (R, CT, OC) · identifying and defining unknown words in a passage using word parts (R, CT, OC)	· concept maps (R,CT,W,TS) · word structure maps (R,CT,W,TS,QS) · scavenger hunt checklist (R,CT,OC,W,TS) · quizzes on context clues, dictionary skills, and word structures (R,CT,OC,W,TS,QS) · self and/or peer assessment guides for individual and group activities (R,CT,OC,W,TS,QS) · written evaluation of group discussions (R,CT,OC,W,TS,QS)
employ a variety of the college’s human, print, and electronic resources in order to meet course expectations and meet academic challenges as confident, independent learners;	· touring the library (CT, TS) · analyzing, evaluate, and recording pertinent research (R, CT, W, TS) · integrating related information from several sources (R, CT, W) · making appointment with advisor (OC, CT)	· post-reading end products such as a map or summary (R,CT,OC,W,TS) · oral presentations such as skits, speeches, panel discussions (R,CT,OC,W,TS,QS) · multi-media scavenger hunt (R,CT,OC,W,TS,QS) · library tour checklist (R,CT,OC,W,TS,QS)
acquire and use general knowledge to enhance comprehension and to promote connections to the world around them;	· analyzing point of view (R, CT) · assessing consistency of current events reporting from multiple media sources (R, CT, W) · in groups, reading a newspaper article about a current social problem and develop a practical solution for it (R, CT, OC, W) · reporting on a current news topic seen on a newsmagazine show such as 60 Minutes, 20/20 or Dateline (CT, W, TS) · interviewing and reporting on a person who is in a career in which students are interested (CT, OC, W) · reinforcing, refining, and extending general knowledge with customized trivial pursuit or jeopardy type games (CT, OC)	· oral and written report (R,CT,OC,W,TS,QS) · graphic organizers (R,CT,OC,W,TS,QS) · oral feedback on groups (CT,OC,W) · self and/or peer assessment guides for individual and group activities (R,CT,W,TS) · written evaluations of group discussions (R,CT,OC,W,QS)
strengthen Core Competencies* in order to increase academic and workplace success.	· referenced above	· referenced above

*Core Competencies: Critical Thinking (CT); Technology Skills (TS); Oral Communication (OC); Quantitative Skills (QS); Reading (R); Writing (W)

Outcome #1

At the end of the course, students should be able to read on a regular basis with increased comprehension, speed, and confidence.

Sample Activity:

7-Step Reading Journal

Purpose: To practice reading strategies, develop the habit of reading, increase reading stamina, and improve reading comprehension. The reading journal is designed to allow students to customize and to think more deeply about their reading. The journal will help students to remember what they have read, highlight important moments from the reading, think through the reading and to find their interest in the reading. In order to be successful in this endeavor, students must spend time with their reading. They must be able to remember what they have read and think critically about the reading. Critical reading means students are able to synthesize, evaluate, analyze, apply, interpret, and translate their reading.

Directions:

1. The title of the article, date of publication, publisher, and author of the article.

2. Evidence of previewing: a couple sentences addressing what you think the article is going to be about and what you hope to learn from the article. Look at the title, subtitle, pictures, captions, first sentence of each paragraph etc. What do they suggest?

3. A statement (in 1-2 sentences) of the main idea. Read the selection more than once to determine the main idea. The main idea is the main point, central focus, gist, controlling idea, central thought or thesis of the reading. It is not the topic, but rather it includes the topic.

4. A brief list of the main supporting points. Supporting points develop, prove, and explain the main idea. Supporting evidence may include reasons, incidents, facts, examples, steps and definitions.

5. A one-paragraph summary. Summaries contain no opinion, but do contain the main idea and supporting evidence and are written in your own words. Use complete sentences and paragraphs. After completing the summary, reread it to see if it makes sense.

6. A one-paragraph reaction, analysis, and or/criticism. React, criticize and/or analyze what you have read. Analyses means to break the reading into parts and then reassemble to discover each part’s significance or meaning. Take time to explore the meanings behind a theme, character, symbol, plot, or image. What is significant to you? What is your perspective on what you have read? If you read carefully, and skeptically as with a questioning mind, you cannot help but react to the reading. This level of reading is often emotional (angry, sad, happy) or associative (oh, that reminds me of…). For a journal entry of this type, simply record your emotion and explain what in the text inspired it or write down your association and what in the text inspired that. Criticism is an evaluation of your feelings -- either positive or negative -- about a particular analysis. Feel free to vent your emotions but only after an analysis of a part of the reading that impacts you.

7. Definitions of at least five vocabulary words (you should list all words that you either you don’t know or could not explain well to someone else). You should use context clues, word structure, dictionary skills, and/or decoding skills.

Rubric:

Excellent	All seven steps are complete. The main idea and supporting evidence are correct. The summary is thorough, well written, and is written in the students own words. Reaction is thoughtful and contains evidence of critical reading.
Satisfactory	All seven steps are complete. The main idea and supporting evidence are essentially correct. The summary is essentially correct but is not entirely stated in the student’s own words. Reaction is thoughtful and contains some evidence of critical reading.
Unsatisfactory	All seven steps are not complete. The main idea and supporting evidence are not correct. The summary does not follow the rules of summary writing: e.g., in your own words, contains most important information. Reaction is too brief, superficial, and does not contain evidence of critical reading.

Sample Activity:

Outside Reading Journal

Purpose: To practice reading strategies, develop the habit of reading, increase reading stamina, and improve reading comprehension. The reading journal is designed to allow students to customize and to think more deeply about their reading. The journal will help students to remember what they have read, highlight important moments from the reading, think through the reading and to develop an interest in the reading. In order to be successful in this endeavor, students must spend time with their reading. They must be able to remember what they have read and think critically about the reading. Critical reading means students able to synthesize, evaluate, analyze, apply, interpret, and translate your reading. See attached sheet for more information.

Directions:

On your sheet:

1. State the name and the author of the book you are reading.

2. Every time you read write down the date, number of pages read, and the amount of time you spent reading: e.g. 11/27/01, 10 minutes, 6 pages.

3. At the end of the week, total the number of pages you have read. You should be reading a minimum of 30 pages a week.

4. Write a summary of what you read. Your summary should include major events and characters. Summaries do not contain opinion and should be written in complete sentences. Reread you summary to make sure it makes sense.

5. Respond to what you have read. You may respond in a variety of ways but do not simply summarize what you have read. You may tell why you liked the reading or why you didn’t like it. You can tell what you are learning about the characters in the novel. You can make a connection between this section of the reading and something else that you noticed in the novel. You may make predictions based on the ideas in the selection. You may ask questions about parts that you don’t understand or about why characters are acting in a certain way. You can tell how the passage made you feel. Or you may relate a story in your life that is similar to something from that section. Remember: comment, predict, relate, question, but don’t summarize.

Good ways to begin your response are

I think This passage is I remember I agree

I like This seems This passage reminds me

I don’t like I guess I don’t understand I don’t agree

I wonder This shows that I am surprised I predict

Rubric:

Excellent	All parts of reading log are complete. A minimum of 30 pages read every week. Log is turned in on time. The summary is thorough, well written, and is written in the students own words. Reaction is thoughtful and contains evidence of critical reading.
Satisfactory	All parts of reading log are complete. A minimum of 30 pages is read every week. Log is turned in on time. The summary is essentially correct but is not entirely stated in the student’s own words. Reaction is thoughtful and contains some evidence of critical reading.
Unsatisfactory	All parts of reading log are not complete. Fewer than 30 pages have been read. Log is not turned in on time. The summary does not follow the rules of summary writing: e.g. in your own words and contains most important information. Reaction is too brief, superficial, and does not contain evidence of critical reading.

Outcome #2

At the end of the course, students should be able to apply various reading skills and strategies (previewing, detecting main ideas and related details, summarizing, note taking, outlining, skimming, scanning, and reviewing) in order to comprehend oral and written material presented in the various college disciplines.

Sample Activity:

Chapter Notes Student and Instructor Assessment Sheet

1. The notes are understandable and may be used as a study guide.

Student______________________________________________________

Instructor____________________________________________________

2. The notes are complete as follows:

a. Include main ideas with strong support and one clear example per idea.

Student______________________________________________________

Instructor ____________________________________________________

b. Accurately use terms and definitions.

Student______________________________________________________

Instructor ____________________________________________________

3. The notes are organized as follows:

a. Have a 2-1/2” margin with both literal and exploratory questions.

Student______________________________________________________

Instructor ____________________________________________________

b. Indicate major and minor points via indenting and spacing.

Student______________________________________________________

Instructor ____________________________________________________

4. Other considerations include use of your own words, abbreviations, legibility, numbering, lettering, underlining, caps, highlighting, asterisks, etc.

Student______________________________________________________

Instructor ____________________________________________________

Rubric:

“A” Range	The notes are organized. The notes include main ideas. The notes include strong supporting points. The notes include one clear example per idea. The notes accurately use terms and definitions. The notes include both literal and exploratory questions. The notes are understandable and may be used as a study guide.
“B” Range	The notes are somewhat organized. The notes include some main ideas. The notes include supporting points. The notes include some examples. The terms and definitions are basically clear. The notes include both literal and technical questions. The notes are understandable and may be used as a study guide.
“C”	The notes are disorganized. The notes do not distinguish between main ideas and details. The definitions are incomplete or do not demonstrate the student’s understanding of term. The notes include only literal questions. The notes are incomplete.
“D”	The notes are unorganized, unclear, and confusing. The main ideas are missing. Some definitions are missing. Questions are sometimes missing. The notes are incomplete.

Sample Activity:

Read a recent newspaper article and answer the questions – Who? What? Where? When? How? Why? How much? How many?

Then summarize the article and present an oral report to the class.

Rubric:

Excellent	Summary demonstrates comprehension of passage. All unknown words are researched through word structures, context clues, decoding or dictionary usage. Main ideas and major details of the reading selection are identified by marking the text. The main ideas and major details marked in the text are rewritten in the students’ own words and depict the relationship between facts and ideas. The main idea of the selection is the most important sentence of the summary. Important words are emphasized and unimportant words are omitted. The summary uses connecting words that bring together related ideas, facts, or examples in an organized manner that follows the meaning of the original.
Satisfactory	Summary essentially demonstrates comprehension of passage. Most unknown words are researched through word structures, context clues, and decoding or dictionary usage. Main ideas and major details of the reading selection are essentially identified by marking the text. The main ideas and major details marked in the text are essentially rewritten in the students’ own words and depict the relationship between facts and ideas. The main idea of the selection is one of the most important sentences of the summary. Most important words are emphasized and most unimportant words are omitted. The summary essentially uses connecting words that bring together related ideas, facts, or examples in an organized manner that follows the meaning of the original.
Unsatisfactory	Summary does not demonstrate comprehension of passage. All unknown words are not researched through word structures, context clues, decoding or dictionary usage. Main ideas and major details of the reading selection are not identified by marking the text. The main ideas and major details marked in the text are not rewritten in the students’ own words and depict the relationship between facts and ideas. The main idea of the selection is not the most important sentence of the summary. Important words are not emphasized and unimportant words are not omitted. The summary does not use connecting words that bring together related ideas, facts, or examples in an organized manner that follows the meaning of the original.

Rubric:

Criteria	3	2	1	0
Had an introduction	Introduced him/herself and noted the source of the information first	Introduced him/herself and noted the source of the information after beginning	Neglected to introduce him/herself or note the source of the information	No Presentation
Had a specific thesis statement	Topic clearly introduced in a thesis statement	Topic introduced without a thesis statement	Topic was not introduced at all	No Presentation
Narrowed the Topic	Stayed focused on same topic	Wandered slightly from topic	Did not stay focused on topic	No Presentation
Made connections or transitions between points	Made appropriate transitions consistently	Occasionally made appropriate transitions	Made no appropriate transitions	No Presentation
Gave concrete examples to support topic	Provided several examples to support topic	Provided a few examples to support topics	Provided no examples to support topics	No Presentation
Showed depth of knowledge	Referred to notes seldom during presentation	Referred to notes often during presentation	Referred to notes consistently during presentation	No Presentation
Offered his/her opinions	Used critical thinking and previous knowledge to provide appropriate opinions	Used some critical thinking and some previous knowledge to provide appropriate opinions	Used no critical thinking and no previous knowledge to provide appropriate opinions	No Presentation
Had a conclusion	Ended presentation with a suitable conclusion	Ended presentation with a partial conclusion	Ended presentation with no conclusion	No Presentation
Clarity	Spoke clearly consistently during the presentation	Spoke clearly during some of the presentation	Spoke unclearly during the presentation	No Presentation
Voice Variety	Maintained voice variety consistently during presentation	Maintained some voice variety during presentation	Maintained no voice variety during presentation	No Presentation
Eye Contact	Made eye contact consistently during presentation	Made some eye contact consistently during presentation	Made no eye contact during presentation	No Presentation

Sample Activity:

Overview

In this lesson, students participate in a Directed Listening–Thinking Activity (DLTA), in which they listen to the story The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe (available at www.poemuseum.org) read aloud and answer prediction questions at designated stopping points during the reading. Students then discuss and write a written response to the story at the conclusion of the lesson, in the form of either an acrostic poem or comic strip.

Student Objectives

Students will

• Improve their listening comprehension and prediction skills by participating in a Directed Listening–Thinking Activity (DLTA)
• Respond to literature read in class by either writing an acrostic poem or creating a comic strip
• Practice strong and effective writing.

The Tell-Tale Heart

Vocabulary Worksheet

Foresight: Thoughtful regard for the future

Dissimulation: Hidden under a false appearance

Vexed: Troubled, distressed, caused agitation

Sagacity: Sound judgment

Hearkening: Giving careful attention

Awe: A mixed feeling of reverence, fear, and wonder

Distinctness: Unmistakable, clearly defined

Over-acuteness: Very keen

Concealment: A means of hiding

Waned: To grow gradually less

Scantlings: Small quantities or amounts

Suavity: Gracefulness, politeness

Bade: Urged, compelled

Audacity: Bold courage, daring

Reposed: To lay at rest

Derision: Contempt, ridicule

THE TELL-TALE HEART

ASSIGNMENT SHEET

Directions: Choose one of the following options for your response to The Tell-Tale Heart. You will be asked to share your written response to the story with the class on _______________.

1. Use the COMIC CREATOR at

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/comic/ to create a comic strip

with at least six blocks that summarizes a portion of the story

The Tell-Tale Heart.

2: Use the ACROSTIC POEMS online tool at

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/acrostic/ to create an acrostic

poem that summarizes the events of the story. You can use the term

“Tell-Tale Heart” or “Narrator” as the basis for your poem.

ASSESSMENT RUBRIC

	10	7	4	1
Ideas	The poem or comic strip accurately reflects events in the story.	The poem or comic strip mostly reflects events in the story. The writer may have added one detail that did not occur.	The poem or comic strip reflects some events in the story. The writer may have added two or more details that did not	The poem or comic strip is complete, but does not reflect the events of the story.
Conventions	There are no spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors.	There are less than five spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors.	There are more than six spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors.	Numerous spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors make the writing hard to read.
Word Choice	Words are carefully chosen to reflect events in the story.	Most words are carefully chosen to reflect events in the story.	A couple of words are carefully chosen to reflect the story, but many of the words used are not descriptive.	Words are not carefully chose and they do not reflect the events presented in the story.

PREDICTION QUESTIONS

FOR THE TELL-TALE HEART BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

1. Title: Based on the title, predict what you think this story will be about.

2. First paragraph: Who do you think the narrator is speaking to?

3. Third paragraph: Write down what you think the author means by “the work.”

4. Third paragraph: Why does the narrator treat the old man so well in the mornings?

5. Fourth paragraph: Why doesn’t the narrator leave when he realizes the old man is awake?

6. Fifth paragraph: Would you like to change your original prediction of what this story is about?

7. Sixth and seventh paragraphs: Whose heart do you think the narrator is hearing?

8. Seventh paragraph: In one sentence, predict the ending of the story.

9. Midway through the eighth paragraph: Who is at the door?

10. Ninth paragraph: What is the noise?

11. Tenth paragraph: What is the narrator feeling right now?

12. End of story: Were any of your original predictions about the story correct?

*Adapted from www.ReadWriteThink.org
Outcome #3

At the end of the course, students should be able to use word structures, word meanings, contextual clues, and dictionary skills in order to expand vocabulary and improve reading comprehension.

Sample Activity:

How to Guess the Meaning of Unknown Words

Step 1: Decide if you need to know the meaning of the word in order to understand the sentence or the paragraph. If you do, then try to guess the meaning from context. If you don’t, then SKIP OVER the word. Forget it.

Because of the heat, Martin collapsed.

What happened to Martin?

Do you need to know the meaning of this word?

Yes! If you do not know, you will not know what happened to Martin.

Because of the heat, Martin decided to collapse on the couch instead of going outside.

What happened to Martin?

Do you need to know the meaning of this word?

No. Martin decided not to go outside. He is going to stay on the couch. That is all the reader needs to know about
Martin. So there is no need to understand what "collapsed" means.

Step 2: If there is a word that you don’t know BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO UNDERSTAND the sentence or the paragraph, you should imagine that there is a blank line there. Then substitute a word that you know in the space. This word will probably be similar in meaning to the word that you don’t know, as long as the sentence still makes sense.

In the following paragraph, some words have been left out. Read all the sentences; then go back and fill in the words you think belong in the blanks.

When Columbus made his second  to the new   in 1494, he sailed too far south, missing Hispaniola, and reaching Jamaica. He went ashore to find fresh water for his , discovered a lake within walking distance, and ordered his sailors to fill the casks with fresh  . He knew it was fresh for he had  it himself.

You probably had little trouble choosing words to fill in the blanks to make sense of the sentences because of the help you got from the context. 

The words are: voyage, world, crew, water, tasted.

When you see an unfamiliar word in your reading, just pretend there is a blank there instead of a word and fill it in with a word of your own that makes sense in the sentence. In many cases, the word you choose will be close in meaning to the word you don't know. 

Direct Context Clues

(1) Many U.S. companies are downsizing -- or reducing the number of employees -- order to say money and increase the amount of profit that the companies can make.

(2) Sports are universal, and very few people have not succumbed, or given in, to their lure at one time or another.

(3) The restaurant specializes in European gourmet foods such as paella (a rice based dish from Spain), crepes (an egg based food from France), and torte (a fruit pastry dish from Germany).

These sentences contain an unfamiliar word, but also include a word or phrase which directly explains or defines the word. These words or phrases are called DIRECT CONTEXT CLUES. They may be set off by dashes (as in example 1), or commas (as in 2), or by parentheses (as in 3) or other punctuation. 

Indirect Context Clues

Sometimes there are no direct context clues; that is, there is no explanation or definition given in the sentence. But you may still be able to guess to meaning of the word that you do not know. For example, have you ever been on a diet? If you have, then you have personal experience that may help you to guess the meanings of some of the following words.

1) You've been on diet and after diet yet still haven't shed those unwanted pounds, or -- worse -- your weight it actually going up!

In this sentence, the best meaning for shed is:

a) taken in c) put on 
b) taken off d) put in

Remember to use the substitution method -- especially if you are given multiple choice questions. Put each answer in place of the underlined word and decide which one makes the best sense.

You've been on diet after diet yet still haven't taken in those unwanted pounds, or -- worse -- your weight it actually going up!

You've been on diet after diet yet still haven't taken off those unwanted pounds, or -- worse -- your weight it actually going up!

You've been on diet after diet yet still haven't put on those unwanted pounds, or -- worse -- your weight it actually going up!

You've been on diet after diet yet still haven't put in those unwanted pounds, or -- worse -- your weight it actually going up!

As you can see, only one answer, "b" makes sense when substituted in the sentence.

2) The problem could be your metabolism -- your body's "operating speed" -- which determines the rate at which you burn calories.

Metabolism is:

This context clue is:

a) direct b) indirect

3) If you have fast metabolism, you'll burn calories quickly and easily. If your metabolism runs slowly, no matter how little you eat, a greater portion of the calories you consume will be stored as fat.

The best meaning for portion is:

a) quality c) amount
b) particle d) bigger

The best meaning for consume is:

a) contain c) condition
b) eat d) have

These context clues are:

a) direct b) indirect

4) But don't give up. Recent research shows it's possible to rev up a sluggish metabolism so you can burn calories and lose weight faster.

Sluggish means:

a) quick c) lazy
b) strange d) slow

5) In addition to slow metabolism, other essential factors can make or break your diet.

Essential means:

a) important c) eager
b) unnecessary d) eating

6) Take temptation for instance. Is it impossible for you to stick to a diet because you can't resist eating too many of the wrong things?

Temptation comes from the verb tempt, which means:

a) to test, try c) to overeat
b) to tell, say d) to react

Resist means:

a) pertain c) react
b) withstand d) avoid

Keep in mind that you may not need to guess the meaning of every word that you see. As you begin to read faster, you should guess the meaning of words that you do not know by using the context clues given. It takes too long to look up many words in the dictionary. But there are times when you do not need to guess the meaning of a word either -- you can skip over the word completely.

When to Use Context Clues, When to Use the Dictionary and When to Skip Over a Word

There is no rule! You -- the reader -- must decide whether a word is important to the meaning of what you are reading or not. If the word is important, then you should first try to guess its meaning. If that doesn’t work, then you must look the word up in the dictionary. On the other hand, if the word is not important, then skip over the word completely.

So how do you know if a word is important or not? Here are a few guidelines to help you decide.

• If you cannot understand the Main Idea without understanding a word, then it is important.
• If the word is in the title or one of the subtitles, it is probably important.
• If the word is the subject or main verb of a sentence, it may be important.
• If the word is repeated several times, it may be important.
• If you do not feel comfortable without knowing a word, then it is important to you, so guess at it!

Practice:  Is the underlined word in the following sentences important or unimportant? Do you need to understand the word in order to understand the entire sentence?

Leo ate so much fettuccini that he could not eat another bite. He felt like his stomach would explode.

Is fettuccini important?

a) yes
b) no

What can you guess about this word? It must be a kind of food because we know that Leo ate so much of it, but do you need to know what kind of food it is? No -- so this is not important.

Is explode important?

a) yes
b) no

What can you guess about this word? How does Leo’s stomach feel? How would your stomach feel if you ate "so much" of something? You may not know the meaning of this word, but you can guess that Leo’s stomach is full of food and he feels uncomfortable because of that. In this case, the word explode is important in order to understand how Leo feels, so you need to guess at the meaning of this word.

Context Clues or the Dictionary?

Once you have decided that a word is important to understand the meaning of the sentence or paragraph, you must either use context clues or use the dictionary. Start with context clues because it is faster and easier to guess -- especially if a direct context clue is given. Use the dictionary only if it is impossible to guess from the context because consulting the dictionary will cause you to stop reading completely to look up a word.

Context Clues help you guess the meaning of unknown words as you read, to save you time, effort and trouble - no one has time to look up every word in the dictionary! You should be able to tell when the context gives you enough clues to guess the meaning, and when the context is not enough. Not all unfamiliar words will have adequate context clues. At times, you may HAVE to consult the DICTIONARY!

 Sample Activity:

1) I took the tome off the shelf and opened it to page 94. Then I began to read.
What does tome probably mean? A) some food B) a bad dream		C) a cigarette D) a book
2) Hurricanes and tornadoes are treacherous. Only a very foolish person would go out during that kind of weather.
What does treacherous probably mean? A) exciting B) dangerous		C) delirious D) safe
3) Many ships have vanished during hurricanes. No survivors from the lost ships have ever been found.
What does vanished probably mean? A) arrived B) departed			C) returned D) disappeared
4) By anticipating the robber's next move, the police were able to arrive at the bank before the next robbery happened. Now the robber is in jail.
What does anticipating probably mean? A) thinking ahead, expecting B) drawing, painting			C) horrifying, amazing D) strange, unusual
5) I'm really hungry! That apple didn't appease my hunger. I want a sandwich now.
What does appease probably mean? A) frustrate B) increase			C) satisfy D) confuse
6) The dispute about marijuana in California will probably never be resolved.
What is a dispute? A) theory, rule B) argument, debate			C) agreement D) a type of medicine
7) This virus has really sapped my energy. I get tired just walking across the room. I hope to get better soon because I need to return to work.
What does sap probably mean? A) give, increase B) make slow				C) take away, drain D) enhance
8) Some people think that discussing the dangers of cigarette smoking obscures the real issue. They believe the real issue is that smokers are discriminated against.
What does obscure probably mean? A) to shorten  B) to challenge				C) to make obvious D) to hide, conceal
9) Students! Students! Please stop chattering and listen to me. Class has begun.
What does chattering probably mean? A) sleeping B) talking				C) working D) typing
10) The little girls began to giggle when they saw the boys walk by. When the boys heard the giggling, they pretended not to notice.
What does giggle probably mean? A) work B) sleep				C) cry  D) laugh
	You havecorrect answers out of 10

Rubric:

Excellent	Understands contextual clues and applies the clue to define a new word Uses dictionaries and glossaries to find the correct definition Understands words have various meanings Uses word parts to determine the meaning of unknown words
Satisfactory	Understands contextual clues and applies the clue correctly sometimes Uses dictionaries and glossaries correctly most of the time Understands words have various meanings, but does not always apply the correct meaning to the context Knows roots and prefixes meanings but does not always apply the skill correctly
Unsatisfactory	Knows the contextual clues but cannot apply the skill to content Does not use dictionaries or glossaries Does not understand that words have various meanings and cannot apply correct meaning to content Knows the meaning of roots and prefixes but cannot apply to content.

Outcome #4

At the end of the course, students should be able to employ a variety of the college’s human, print, and electronic resources in order to meet course expectations and meet academic challenges as confident, independent learners.

Sample Activity: The Year I Was Born: An Autobiographical Research Project In this autobiography with a twist, students conduct interviews and research online and at the library to find details on what was going on internationally, nationally, locally, in sports, music, arts, commercial, TV, and publishing during the year that they were born. After they've gathered their research, students weave the detail into a paper that they publish as a newspaper or booklet. Student Objectives Students will: conduct research, using a variety of resources including personal interviews, primary documents, and online research. evaluate resources to find those best for the project. demonstrate an understanding of point of view by adopting the voice of a family member or another adult. write an autobiographical research paper. 1 - Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works. 2 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes. 3 - Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience. 4 - Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge. 5 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Research Project: The Year I Was Born

What happened the year that you were born? What was going on in your town? Were there important events going on in your state or country? For this project, you’ll find out all the answers!

To find out what happened the year you were born, you’ll interview family members and adults, search for information at the library, and look for details on the Internet. Once you’ve gathered your information, write a paper telling the story of what happened the year you were born.

Since you were just a tiny baby, you won’t be able to tell the story yourself. Instead, write the story of the year you were born from an older family member’s or another adult or friend’s point of view. You’ll publish your story as a booklet.

Procedure:

1. As you complete your research, record your information using the research form. Include all information you will need to prepare a Works Cited page.

2. Interview your family and other adults about your birth and first year of life. If available, look through photo albums, baby books, and so forth. Before your interview, brainstorm a list of questions to ask. You can include questions about your parents’ occupation, other members of the family and community, pets, significant family and community events (in addition to your birth), activities family and friends were involved in, extended family members, favorite music, book, or sports team, and so on.

3. Choose a storyteller. The only qualification is that the person has to be older than you so he or she will know about the year you were born. It can be a family member such as an older sibling, a parent or grandparent, or an aunt or uncle. It can also be a family pet, a friend, or a community member or adult. A religious leader or neighbor, for instance, could also be a storyteller.

4. If possible, interview your storyteller about the year you were born. Ask the person about feelings and memories related to your first year.

5. In the library, consult periodicals such as Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report for the month and year you were born. As you conduct your research, you can look for commercials, slogans, births, deaths, sports news, movies, books, plays, music, financial, national news, international news, and religious events.

6. Search for your birth date on the Internet, using the sites listed below. Many of these sites give information for your birth date throughout history. To find more details for the month and year you were born, search your birth date and the following days for one month and choose only those events that occurred in your birth year.

http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/index.html

http://www.inthe80s.com/movgross.shtml

http://www.calendarhome.com/tyc/

http://www.olywa.net/blame/cal/index.htm

http://www.scopesys.com/anyday/

http://www.yahooligans.com/docs/tdih/

http://features.yahoo.com/history/0222.html

http://www.elibrary.com/

http://dmarie.com/timecap/

http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade80.html

http://inthe80s.com/movgross.shtml

6. Weave all of the information you find together into an interesting story and include a works cited page.

7. If desired, add a picture of yourself as a baby.

Links to Web Sites

The History Channel Link

http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/index.html

This Day in History

In The 80s

http://www.inthe80s.com/

Profiles music, movies, fads and other details on the

decade. There are also links to the 70s and 90s.

Calendar Home.com

http://www.calendarhome.com/clink/history.html

Historical Calendar Links

Uncle Woody’s Almanac

http://www.blamepro.com/cal/index.htm

What happened today in history?

Scope Systems

http://www.scopesys.com/anyday/

Historic events and birthdays for every day of the year

Yahooligans! Link

http://www.yahooligans.com/docs/tdih/

This Day in History

Yahoo! Link

http://features.yahoo.com/history/0222.html

This Day in History

dMarie Time Capsule

http://dmarie.com/timecap/

On This Day in History

Kingwood College Library

http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade80.html

Rubric:

	1 Does Not Meet	2 Partially Meets	3 Does Not Fully Meet	4 Meets	5 More Than Meets	6 Exceeds
Content	Writing is extremely limited in communicating knowledge, with no central theme.	Writing is limited in communicating knowledge. Length is not adequate for development.	Writing does not clearly communicate knowledge. The reader is left with questions.	Writes related, Quality paragraphs, with little or no details.	Writing is purposeful and focused. Piece contains some details.	Writing is confident and clearly focused. It holds the reader’s attention. Relevant details enrich writing.
Organization	Writing is disorganized and underdeveloped with no transitions or closure.	Writing is brief and underdeveloped with very weak transitions and closure.	Writing is confused and loosely organized. Transitions are weak and closure is ineffective.	Uses correct writing format. Incorporates a coherent closure.	Writing includes a strong beginning, middle, and end, with some transitions and good closure.	Writing includes a strong, beginning, middle, and end with clear transitions and a focused closure.
Word Choice	Careless or inaccurate word choice, which obscures meaning.	Language is trite, vague or flat.	Shows some use of varied word choice.	Uses a variety of word choice to make writing interesting.	Purposeful use of word choice.	Effective and engaging use of word choice.
Voice	Writer’s voice/point of view shows no sense of audience.	Writer’s voice/point of view shows little sense of audience.	Writer’s voice/point of view shows that sense of audience is vague.	Writer uses voice/point of view. Writes with the understanding of a specific audience.	Writer has strong voice/ point of view. Writing engages the audience.	Writes with a distinct, unique voice/point of view. Writing is skillfully adapted to the audience.
Sentence Fluency	Frequent run-ons or fragments, with no variety in sentence structure.	Many run-ons or fragments. Little variety in sentence structure.	Some run-ons or fragments. Limited variety in sentence structure.	Uses simple compound, and complex, sentences.	Frequent and varied sentence structure.	Consistent variety of sentence structure throughout.
Conventions	Parts of speech show lack of agreement. Frequent errors in mechanics. Little or no evidence of spelling strategies.	Inconsistent agreement between parts of speech. Many errors in mechanics. Limited evidence of spelling strategies.	Occasional errors between parts of speech. Some errors in mechanics. Some evidence of spelling strategies.	Maintains agreement between parts of speech. Few errors in mechanics. Applies basic grade level spelling.	Consistent agreement between parts of speech. Uses correct punctuation, capitalization, etc. Consistent use of spelling strategies.	Uses consistent agreement between parts of speech. No errors in mechanics. Creative and effective use of spelling strategies.

Adapted from www.readwritethink.org

Outcome #5

At the end of the course, students should be able to acquire and use general knowledge to enhance comprehension and to promote connections to the world around them.

Sample Activity:

Class discussions of current events read about in a variety of sources

Rubric:

Areas of Assessment	Listening and Responding	Learning and Sharing	Connecting and Evaluating
Excellent	Consistently demonstrates active listening by respectful responding and/or questioning.	Consistently provides feedback relevant to points of discussion. Consistently willing to consider new ideas and/or perspectives. Consistently willing to share and exchange ideas/critiques.	Consistently able to state connections between present and previous works. Thoughtfully evaluates connections with regard to societal and personal issues.
Satisfactory	Demonstrates active listening by responding.	Provides feedback. Usually willing to consider new ideas and/or perspectives. Shares and exchanges ideas/critiques	Usually states connections among works. Usually draws connections to societal and personal issues.
Unsatisfactory	Active listening skills and respect for others are needed.	Participation skills need practice. Openness to new ideas is needed. Respectful sharing and exchanging ideas /critiques are needed.	Needs to recognize and draw connections. Needs to recognize connections to societal and personal issues.

Sample Activity:

Research an event from a non-fiction piece of reading from class, e.g. The Perfect Storm or Night.

The Perfect Storm

The Boston Globe

Find The Boston Globe for the dates of October 27 - November 2 1991. Find at least three articles on the No-Name Storm. Write down the title(s), author(s), and page number of those articles, and summarize each article.

As your syllabus states, plagiarism is presenting the work of to others as if it is your own. It is a form of cheating and of theft and will result in failure with no opportunity to rewrite the assignment.

Night/The Rescuers

Throughout Europe, there were some non-Jews who risked their own safety to help Jews escape Hitler’s plan of mass murder. Elie Wiesel writes of these individuals. “And so we must know these good people who helped Jews during the Holocaust. We must learn from them, and in gratitude and hope, we must remember them.” (Foreword to The Courage to Care)

Use library resources to find out about a group or an individual rescuer and answer the following questions: How did people save Jews and what kind of courage did they need to do it? How did they make the moral choice to risk their own lives? Tell their story. Your paper should be approximately one-two pages. See the back of this sheet for a list of web sites which will lead you to people and groups of people who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Rubric:

“A” Range	The directions for the assignment were followed. The assignment is written in the student’s own words. The assignment is well organized. The assignment demonstrates critical reading. The assignment is carefully proofread.
“B” Range	The directions for the assignment were essentially followed. The assignment is written in the student’s own words. The assignment is organized. The assignment demonstrates critical reading. The assignment is proofread.
“C” Range	The directions for the assignment were not followed carefully. The assignment is written mostly in the student’s own words. The assignment is not well organized. The assignment does not clearly demonstrate critical reading. The assignment is not carefully proofread.
“D” Range	The directions for the assignment were not followed. The assignment is not written in the student’s own words. The assignment is not organized. The assignment does not demonstrate critical reading. The assignment is not proofread.

Outcome #6

At the end of the course, students should be able to strengthen Core Competencies in order to increase academic and workplace success. Core Competencies are reading, writing, oral communication, technology skills, and critical thinking.

Sample Activity: Internet Career Library Project

Select three careers that appeal to you and research them on the Internet for the following information: skills and education requirements, current entry salary ranges, and projected five-year salary ranges. Find and print three appropriate job ads for each career choice in classified sections of newspapers located on the Internet. Finally, summarize each career you selected. Pick one of your careers to share with the class in a five minute oral presentation. As your syllabus states, plagiarism is presenting the work of others as if it is your own. It is a form of cheating and of theft and will result in failure with no opportunity to rewrite the assignment.

Rubric for Summary of Research:

“A” Range	The directions for the assignment were followed. The assignment is written in the student’s own words. The assignment is well organized. The assignment demonstrates critical reading. The assignment is carefully proofread.
“B” Range	The directions for the assignment were essentially followed. The assignment is written in the student’s own words. The assignment is organized. The assignment demonstrates critical reading. The assignment is proofread.
“C” Range	The directions for the assignment were not followed carefully. The assignment is written mostly in the student’s own words. The assignment is not well organized. The assignment does not clearly demonstrate critical reading. The assignment is not carefully proofread.
“D” Range	The directions for the assignment were not followed. The assignment is not written in the student’s own words. The assignment is not organized. The assignment does not demonstrate critical reading. The assignment is not proofread.

Rubric for Oral Presentation:

Criteria	3	2	1	0
Had an introduction	Introduced him/herself and noted the source of the information first	Introduced him/herself and noted the source of the information after beginning	Neglected to introduce him/herself or note the source of the information	No Presentation
Had a specific thesis statement	Topic clearly introduced in a thesis statement	Topic introduced without a thesis statement	Topic was not introduced at all	No Presentation
Narrowed the Topic	Stayed focused on same topic	Wandered slightly from topic	Did not stay focused on topic	No Presentation
Made connections or transitions between points	Made appropriate transitions consistently	Occasionally made appropriate transitions	Made no appropriate transitions	No Presentation
Gave concrete examples to support topic	Provided several examples to support topic	Provided a few examples to support topics	Provided no examples to support topics	No Presentation
Showed depth of knowledge	Referred to notes seldom during presentation	Referred to notes often during presentation	Referred to notes consistently during presentation	No Presentation
Offered his/her opinions	Used critical thinking and previous knowledge to provide appropriate opinions	Used some critical thinking and some previous knowledge to provide appropriate opinions	Used no critical thinking and no previous knowledge to provide appropriate opinions	No Presentation
Had a conclusion	Ended presentation with a suitable conclusion	Ended presentation with a partial conclusion	Ended presentation with no conclusion	No Presentation
Clarity	Spoke clearly consistently during the presentation	Spoke clearly during some of the presentation	Spoke unclearly during the presentation	No Presentation
Voice Variety	Maintained voice variety consistently during presentation	Maintained some voice variety during presentation	Maintained no voice variety during presentation	No Presentation
Eye Contact	Made eye contact consistently during presentation	Made some eye contact consistently during presentation	Made no eye contact during presentation	No Presentation

Sample Activity:

Biography Project: Research and Class Presentation Overview This lesson sets the stage for high-interest reading with a purpose. As a class, students brainstorm about famous people and each selects one to research. Each student finds information about the famous person by reading a biography and doing Internet research, then creates a graphic organizer (a web) to teach the class about the person's life. Students evaluate themselves and their classmates by using a rubric during the research and web-creation process and by giving written feedback on each other's presentations.

Some biography Websites:

• Bartleby.com. Provides students, educators, and the intellectually curious with unlimited access to books and information on the Web, including 17,000 up-to-date biographical entries
• Biography.com. Features a searchable biographical database of 25,000 famous names
• Biographical Dictionary. Contains information on 19,000 notable people from ancient times to the present day; the dictionary is searchable by names, keywords, and dates
• Black History Month: Biographies. Presents the biographies of significant African-American individuals
• Distinguished Women of Past and Present. Includes biographies of women who contributed to our culture, such as writers, educators, scientists, heads of state, politicians, civil rights crusaders, artists, entertainers, and others
• Images of Greatness. Focuses on 12 famous individuals selected and researched by a class of fourth- and fifth-grade students
• Lives: The Biography Resources. Provides links to thousands of biography-related sites including autobiographies, journals, letters, diaries, memoirs, biography collections, etc.

Web Rubric

Name of project and author: _________________________________________________

Name of person filling out rubric: ______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

(0 – very poor, 1 = poor; 2 = adequate; 3 = good; 4 = excellent)

1.	Web has categories that fit with the information written about the person and are easily understood by the reader.	0 1 2 3 4
2.	Each category has supporting information that helps the reader understand the details of the person's life.	0 1 2 3 4
3.	The writing is clear with no spelling or grammatical errors.	0 1 2 3 4
4.	Each bubble gives brief, clear information.	0 1 2 3 4
5.	Web shows the main achievements of the person's life based on the student's interpretation.	0 1 2 3 4

Oral Presentation Rubric

Performance Element	Distinguished	Proficient	Apprentice	Novice	Possible	Actual
Awareness of Audience	Significantly increases audience understanding and knowledge of topic; Effectively convinces an audience to recognize the validity of a point of view.	Raises audience understanding and awareness of most points; Clear point of view, but development or support is inconclusive and incomplete.	Raises audience understanding and knowledge of some points; Point of view may be clear, but lacks development or support.	Fails to increase audience understanding or knowledge of topic. Fails to effectively convince the audience.
Strength of Material, Organization	Clear purpose and subject; Pertinent examples, facts, and/or statistics; Conclusions/ideas are supported by evidence; Major ideas summarized and audience left with full understanding of presenter's position.	Has some success defining purpose and subject; Some examples, facts, and/or statistics support the subject; Includes some data or evidence which supports conclusions or ideas; May need to refine summary or final idea.	Attempts to define purpose and subject; Weak examples, facts, and/or statistics, which do not adequately support the subject; Includes very thin data or evidence in support of ideas or conclusions; Major ideas may need to be summarized or audience is left with vague idea to remember.	Subject and purpose are not clearly defined; Very weak or no support of subject through use of examples, facts, and/or statistics; Totally insufficient support for ideas or conclusions. Major ideas left unclear, audience left with no new ideas.
Delivery	Relaxed, self-confident and appropriately dressed for purpose or audience; Builds trust and holds attention by direct eye contact with all parts of audience; Fluctuation in volume and inflection help to maintain audience interest and emphasize key points;	Quick recovery from minor mistakes; Appropriately dressed; Fairly consistent use of direct eye contact with audience; Satisfactory variation of volume and inflection.	Some tension or indifference apparent and possible inappropriate dress for purpose or audience; Occasional but unsustained eye contact with audience; Uneven volume with little or no inflection.	Nervous tension obvious and/or inappropriately dressed for purpose or audience: No effort to make eye contact with audience; Low volume and/or monotonous tone cause audience to disengage.

Oral Presentation Peer Feedback Form

Your Name: _____________________________________________Date: _______________

Name of Presenter: __________________________________________________________

Name of Famous Person: _____________________________________________________

Three facts I learned about the person:

1. ______________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________

The main thing the person is famous for:

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Something I liked about the presentation:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Before-During-After Reading Strategies

Before Reading	During Reading	After Reading
Discuss purpose of reading assignment	Take notes	Discussion
Preview	Answer focus questions	Complete and review notes
Activate prior knowledge	Annotate	Summarize
Generate or review focus questions	Work on focus questions	Complete focus questions
Discuss text patterns	Work on Outline	Complete outline
Review study guide	Work on study guide	Complete study guide
Review difficult vocabulary	Work on vocabulary log	Review new vocabulary
Group discussions/ build background	Work on Venn diagrams	Complete Venn diagrams
Brainstorming	Work on semantic feature analysis	Complete semantic feature analysis
Group mapping	Work on mapping	Complete mapping
Anticipation/reaction guide	Work on anticipation/reaction guide	Complete anticipation/ reaction guide
SQ3R	SQ3R	SQ3R
	Compare and contrast	Compare and contrast
	Work on concept circles	Complete concept circles
	Work on timeline	Complete timeline
	Mark text	Review new information or concepts

1. Anticipation/Reaction Guide: These guides test prior and post knowledge. Students mark a series of questions “true” or “false” prior to reading the assignment and repeat the exercise after reading the assignment.

2. Compare and Contrast: This strategy organizes and assimilates knowledge by forcing students to make judgments about concepts in text and the application of those concepts.

3. Concept Circles: This strategy promotes brainstorming. Students fill in a circle labeled with a specific topic with pertinent ideas and information relative to that topic.

4. Define Purpose for Reading: Readers need to be able to explicitly state the purpose for reading. Students are more likely to pick out and retain important information if they are clear about the purpose for the assignment.

5. Graphic Organizers: These are effective tools for understanding the relationships between events or ideas (e.g. anticipation/reaction guides. concepts circles, Venn diagrams).

6. Marking Text: Marking text is an interactive reading activity useful when dealing with texts. It requires students to analyze while they read and make some immediate decisions about he importance of what they are reading. This technique is most effective when students return to the marked section and study it.

7. Identifying Text Pattern: Knowing the format of a text can help students to analyze it. there are five predominant text patterns: description, sequence, comparison-contrast, cause-effect, and problem-solution.

8. Modeling particular strategies by thinking aloud allows students to see the thought process necessary for particular skills. There are five basic steps to modeling: (1) make predictions; (2) visualize those predictions; (2) link new information to prior knowledge by using analogies; (4) monitor comprehension by verbalizing a confusing point; and (5) regulate comprehension by demonstrating fix-up strategies.

9. Note Taking: Students should take enough notes so that they can formulate a useful summary for review purposes. Too many notes will hide important information and too few notes many not be enough to make sense of or trigger information previously read. It is also important to recognize when details are important enough to include in the summary or when they are inconsequential to the overall message.

10. Outlining: This strategy generally consists of using Roman numerals for main concepts, letters for subordinate concepts and numbers for details. Outlining requires students to be able to analyze the structure of the text. Outlining usually requires initial teacher direction.

11. Semantic Feature Analysis: SFA establishes a meaningful link between students’ prior knowledge and words that are conceptually related to one another. the strategy requires students to develop a chart or grid to help analyze similarities and differences among the related concepts. Words related to the category are listed in a column down on the left side of the grid. Features or properties shared by some of the words in the column are spaced across the top of the grid.

12. Mapping: This strategy can be used by a group as an interactive way of obtaining and reviewing information related (indirectly and directly to the text. Semantic maps are created by brainstorming, writing ideas, details down, and then connecting them as they relate by drawing lines between them.

13. SQ3R or variant: here are a variety of reading strategies represented by acronyms. One of the most popular is SQ3R. It includes five different steps: (1) survey the text heading quickly to acquire an overview material to be read; (2) ask questions about the text by turning each heading into a question; (3) read the text with purpose to answer the question; (4) recite by making brief notes about the text or using self-recitation or both; and (5) review by re-reading notes and by generating and asking questions.

14. Study Guides: Study guides keep students on track. Students are able to look more closely at the material while focusing on specific items of importance, i.e. genre, style, author’s assumptions, foreshadowing clues etc. Study guides establish a reading plan for students to focus on while reading -- it gives them a clear purpose for reading.

15. Summary: summarizing involves reducing a text to its main points. To become adept at summary writing, students must be able to discern and analyze text structure. Some basic rules of summarization are do not include minor details, collapse lists, use topic sentences, and integrate information.

16. Story Mapping: This is one way of bringing key elements to the surface. Story mapping is a process of separating parts of a story to organize and understand how they interrelate. Students break the story down into setting, theme, plot and resolution.

17. Timeline: Students can write down sequences of events in an effort to visualize material and distinguish between important and inconsequential facts. A timeline should be one of the first steps in organizing materials, but it is not enough for students to know the sequence of events by they must also be able to recognize the relationships between events.

18. Venn Diagrams: These diagrams are constructed using two overlapping circles to compare and contrast two items. Each circle is labeled with a character or topic. The student lists details, facts or characteristics specific to the topic in the non-overlapping portion of the circles. Information that is pertinent to both topics is listed in the overlapping section. This is especially useful when you are dealing with a lot of complicated interrelated material.

19. Vocabulary Exercises: Pre-reading vocabulary exercises can help alleviate comprehension difficulties due to a lack of vocabulary knowledge. The teacher or student (via skimming the reading assignment) can construct flash cards of key vocabulary words. These words should be discussed immediately prior to reading so they are fresh in the minds of the reader and the reader can visualize these words in context. There a re a variety of ways to enhance vocabulary.

Suggested Reading for PCR I Students

Author	Title	Reading Level
XXXX	A Taste of Salt
XXXX	The Night of Wishes
Abbott, Jennie	Good-bye and Hello
Achebe, Chinua	Things Fall Apart
Alireza, Marianne	At the Drop of a Veil
Armstrong, William	Sounder	5
Ba, Mariama	So Long a Letter
Babbitt, Natalie	Tuck Everlasting	5.7
Baker, Elizabeth	This Stranger, My Son	4.7
Ballard, Robert	The Lost Wreck of the Isis	6
Beattie, Owen & John Geiger	Buried in Ice	4.7
Betancourt, Jeanne	My Name is Brian	5
Bosley, Judith	Don’t Sell Me Short	2.5
Bradbury, Ray	Fahrenheit 451
Byers, Betsy	The Summer of the Swans	5.4
Canfield, Jack	Chickensoup for the Baseball Fan’s Soul
Cather, Willa	My Antonia	8
Connolly, Miles	Mr. Blue	7
Cole, Sheila	The Dragon in the Cliff	6.9
Cooper, J.	Family	7
Cooper, Susan	Dawn of Fear	5.8
Coret, Harriete	Love Letters	3.5
Cormier, Robert	The Chocoloate War
Couch, Dick	The Warrier Elite
Cowan, Philip	Family, Self and Society
Cisneros, Sandra	The House on Mango Street
Craven, Margaret	I Heard the Owl Call My Name	8
Crutcher, Chris	Ironman
Cushman, Karen	The Midwife’s Apprentice	5.9
Dailey, Janet	The Healing Touch	4.4
Danticat, Edwidge	Krik! Krik!
Danticat, Edwidge	Breath, Eyes, Memory
Dickens, Charles	David Copperfield
Dickens, Charles	Oliver Twist
Donahure, John	An Islang Far from Home	4
Donahure, John	Till Tomorrow	4
Donnelly, Judy	Who Shot the President: The Death of JFK	4.9
Durant, Michael	In the Company of Heroes
Ende, Michael	The Night of the Wished
Evans, Nicholas	The Horse Whisperer
Frank, Anne	Diary of Anne Frank
George, Jean Craighead	My Side of the Mountain	5
Gibbons, Kaye	A Virtuous Woman	7
Gibson, William	Miracle Worker
Glancy, Diane	Flutie	6
Greene, Graham	Our Man in Havana
Grisham, John	The Runaway Jury
Hagen, Agnes	Justice on Horseback	3.5
Hersey, John	A Single Pebble
Holm, Jennifer	Our Only May Amelia	5.6
Hurston, Zora Neale	Their Eyes Were Watching God	7
Jacobs, Harriet	Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself	6.7
Juster, Norton	The Phanton Tollbooth
Knight, Michael	In Chains to Louisiana: Solomon Northrup’s Story	5
Lardner, Ring	You Know Me Al: Bush’s Letters	7
Lee, Harper	To Kill a Mockingbird
LeGuin, Ursula	Tombs of Atuan	8
Lessing, Doris	The Grass is Singing
London, Jack	The Call of the Wild	8
Lowry, Lois	Gathering Blue	5
Lowry, Lois	The Giver
MacDonald, Michael Patrick	All Souls
Markandaya, Kamala	Nector in a Sieve
Marsden, John	Letters from Inside	4.7
Martin, Ann	The Babysitter’s Club
Menchu, Rogoberta	I. Rigobera Menchu, an Indian Woman in Guatemala
Merriwether, Louise	Daddy was a Number Runner	7
Morrison, Toni	Sula	8
Murphy, Jim	My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price	4
Myers, Walter Dean	The Journal of Biddy Owen: The Negro Leagues	5.9
Narayan, R.K.	A Tiger for Malgudi
O’Dell, Scott	Island of the Blue Dolphins	9.8
Orwell, George	Animal Farm
Paulsen, Gary	Night John
Pelzer, Dave	A Child Called It
Pelzer, Dave	A Man Named Dave
Pelzer, Dave	The Lost Boy
Potok, Chaim	The Chosen
Preston, Richard	The Hot Zone
Rawls, Wilson	Where the Red Fern Grows
Rodman, Dennis	Bad As I Wanna Be
Rosemary, Harris	Zed
Salinger, J.D.	Catcher in the Rye
Santiago, Esmeralda	When I was Puerto Rican
Shafton, Anthony	Dream-Singers
Shakespeare, William	A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare, William	Hamlet
Shakespeare, William	Othello
Silvia, Matilda	Once Upon an Island
Souljah, Sister	The Coldest Winter Ever
Steele, Danielle	Five Days in Paris
Steele, Danielle	The Ring
Steinbeck, John	Of Mice and Men
Steinbeck, John	The Pearl
Steinbeck, John	The Short Reigh of Pippin IV: A Fabrication
Strasser, Todd	The Wave
Tolkein, J.R.	The Hobbit
Wartski, Maureen	A Boat to Nowhere
Waters, Frank	The Man Who Killed the Deer
Weisel, Elie	Night
Wibberly, Leonard	The Mouse that Roared
Wilde, Stuart	Miracles
Wilder, Thorton	The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Wisler, G. Clifton	Red Cap	5.5
Woods, Teri	True to the Game