4. Entryways into College
Reading
This is a special edition textbook
that must be purchased through
the bookstore.
You will have weekly assignments
from the book. These may not be
turned in late; however, I will drop
one of your homework
assignment grades.
5. Entryways into College
Reading
You will also take five quizzes from the
book, and you will not be able to make
the quizzes up regardless of the
circumstances.
As with the homework, I will drop the
lowest grade; therefore.
6. Connect Reading 2.0 Lab
Your textbook comes with the access code
for the lab.
Next Tuesday, 9/3/13, we will go to the
Learning Center Lab where we will register for
Connect Reading 2.0 and have an
orientation on the program.
If you haven’t purchased your book by
Tuesday, you will be able to sign up for the lab
with a 2-week pass.
We will be going to the lab on a weekly basis.
7. Binder Dividers
Everyone is required to have a binder in this
class, along with index tabs.
I recommend that you break down your
binder with the following tabs:
Syllabus/Schedule
Essay Packet
Lab Contract
Literature Circle
Writing Handouts/Information
Reading Handouts/Information
8. Essay Packet #1
Educational Autobiography
Distribute
Please place this packet into your 3-ring
binder that you will show me by next
Thursday, 9/5/13.
Let’s review the packet.
9. Essay Units
In this class (16 weeks) you will write 6 (six)
essays.
We will be doing lots of writing; however,
you will be given time to complete some
of this writing in Computer Commons A.
Essay #1 will be due on Monday, 9/16/13.
This essay will be submitted via
Turnitin.com. Mrs. Long will be
demonstrating how to use this website.
10. The Essay
Prior to turning in you essay, you will also
have it reviewed by a mentor or teaching
in the Learning Center Lab.
This first essay will be an educational
autobiography.
You will tell the story of your educational
history.
You will also include ideas you will receive
from the readings.
11. The Blog
Page 4 of packet.
Each week you will write a blog entry from
the questions given.
This will be done via Moodle, and Mrs.
Long will be showing your how to do this.
13. Rubric
Page 8/9
You will want to continually refer to this
rubric as you write your essay.
By doing this, you will be able to keep
track of all the requirements for your
essay.
14. Vocabulary
Each week you will receive a new
vocabulary assignment.
The words chosen have been taken from
your readings.
For example, the first list comes from
“Brainology” which you will be reading
this week.
15. The Readings
As you can see by the packet, we are
going to be doing lots of reading this
semester.
You will need to pay close attention to
your schedule, along with the agenda to
know which articles you will be reading.
We will be learning several reading
strategies that will help with the readings.
16. Breaks & Last Hour
We will take a short break about 1/3
through the class.
We will take another break at 1:45 p.m.
Starting next week, on Thursdays, we will
go to the Learning Center Lab after the
second break. You will work on Connect
Reading 2.0 during this time.
17. Breaks & Last Hour
On Tuesdays, you will be allowed to work
on anything you would like as long as it
pertains to English 83R.
This means you can work on assignments
from me, or assignments from Mrs. Long.
You may not use this time to work on
assignments from other classes, go on the
phone, etc.
Okay, let’s take a five-minute break.
18. How Much Do You Know
About Vocabulary?
The February 14, 2000, issue of Time
magazine reported some disturbing news:
in 1950 the average 14-year-old had a
vocabulary of 25,000 words. By 1999, the
average 14-year-old's vocabulary had
dropped to only 10,000 words, less than
half.
19. Reading Inventory Interview
Distribute
Pair up with someone that you do not
know.
Please answer the questions honestly!
20. This is disturbing because a person's
vocabulary reflects his or her overall general
knowledge.
This is why I.Q. tests (intelligence tests), college
entrance exams, and many other tests
contain vocabulary sections.
Think of people whom you consider to be
smart.
The odds are they have good vocabularies. (If
you speak more than one language, you have
two vocabularies.
This gives you an advantage over people who
speak only a single language.)
21. Why should I spend time
improving my vocabulary?
Did you know that the amount of money
you earn in your lifetime is related to the
size of your vocabulary?
Decades of research by the Johnson
O'Connor Research Foundation, an
independent, nonprofit scientific research
and educational organization, confirm that
income and vocabulary size are correlated.
22. Think of every word you add to your
vocabulary as being like a deposit you make
in your bank account.
A powerful vocabulary allows you to express
your thoughts clearly and precisely.
It enhances the impression you make at job
interviews.
For better or worse, people will make
judgments about you based on the size of
your vocabulary and how accurately you use
words.
Doesn't it make sense to turn your vocabulary
into an asset, a tool that works for you?
23. Here's some happy news:
vocabulary knowledge is not an aptitude
(a natural ability or special talent).
Anyone can learn words and expand his
or her vocabulary.
It's never too late to improve your
vocabulary.
Most people develop their vocabularies
by reading widely and by paying
attention to new words they see and
hear.
24. A strong vocabulary allows
you to…
understand more of what you read;
understand more of what you hear;
paraphrase (put into your own words)
information you read and hear;
speak more intelligently and precisely;
communicate more effectively in writing;
25. A strong vocabulary allows
you to…
score higher on tests, especially essay tests;
feel more confident about your speaking and
writing;
create a positive impression at job interviews;
advance on the job and earn more money
over the course of your lifetime.
Like anything of value, developing your
vocabulary requires time and effort, but the
rewards are great.
26. In each of your college courses, you will learn
a wealth of specialized terms.
Along with learning academic terms, you
should also make an effort to add general
words to your vocabulary.
Most people's vocabularies are weakest in
verbs.
Do you use the same handful of colorless
verbs--such as got--over and over again?
Are you aware that there is always a better,
stronger, more interesting, and more precise
verb than got ?
If you want to see a dramatic improvement in
your vocabulary, add verbs.
27. What are passive and active
vocabularies?
When you are learning new words, you might
find yourself thinking, "Who uses these words? I
never hear anyone using them!"
People do, in fact, use them.
The reason you don't hear them is because
the words don't mean anything to you.
Once you know their meaning, you start
seeing and hearing those words everywhere!
They were always there, of course, but now
you hear them because you recognize them.
28. Passive vs. Active Vocabulary
Everyone has an active vocabulary that consists
of words the person actually uses when speaking
and writing.
Everyone also has a larger passive vocabulary.
A person's passive vocabulary consists of words
the person understands when he or she reads and
hears them but doesn't actively use.
One goal of yours should be to move words from
your passive vocabulary into your active
vocabulary.
You do that just the way you would expect: by
using those words in your own speaking and
writing.
29. What is the size of the typical
person's vocabulary?
How many words are there in the English
language?
More than a million!
The most complete English dictionary, The
Oxford English Dictionary, has about
750,000 entries (words, abbreviations, and
names that are defined).
30. What about the size of a
person's vocabulary?
It is difficult to measure vocabulary size accurately.
Total vocabulary size varies greatly from person to
person, but people typically use about 5,000
words in their speech and about twice that many
in their writing.
A college-educated speaker of English could
have a vocabulary as large as 80,000 words.
Shakespeare, whose body of work is considered
the greatest in English literature, used more than
33,000 words in his plays.
This is an astonishing number, especially
considering that he was writing 400 years ago.
31. Vocabulary growth varies
greatly among students.
Many students whose culture differs from
the mainstream one add vocabulary at
slower rates than other students.
This means that over time, the gap
between their vocabularies and other
students' vocabularies grows increasingly
large.
If you are behind in vocabulary, now is
the perfect time to begin closing the gap!
32. Let’s Review
1. Between 1950 and 2000, the average 14-
year-old's vocabulary
A) decreased significantly.
B) increased significantly.
2. A person's vocabulary reflects his or her
A) overall general knowledge.
B) college exam scores.
33. Let’s Review
3. Most people's vocabularies are weakest
in
A) nouns.
B) verbs.
4. Which type of vocabulary contains more
words?
A) a person's active vocabulary
B) a person's passive vocabulary
34. Let’s Review
5. The English language contains
A) more than 750,000 words, but less than a
million words.
B) B) more than a million words.
35. If it is 1:45 we will take a break.
If not, let’s look at the Vocabulary
Assignment for this week.
Flash cards
Vocabulary Word Maps
36. Vocabulary Assignment #1
10th page of the Essay packet
These words come from your first reading
assignment “Brainology” (which follows right
after the vocabulary list).
You will need to look up all of these words in a
dictionary.
You may use an on-line dictionary or hard copy.
I recommend the following on-line dictionary:
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/
37. Flash Cards
Definition: To continue trying to
do something even though it is
very hard.
Antonym (or synonym): to give
up
Part of Speech: Verb
Jackie Robinson
39. Thursday’s Assignments
Vocabulary Assignment #1
Also make at least one flash card and one word
map (this will give a total of four).
When you come to class on Thursday, you will
do one of two things:
1. Write the definition/part of speech of one of
your words on the white board
2. Write your sentence on the white board.
“Brainology” Read with a Purpose Assignment
(see page 5 of your essay #1 packet).
