Course Syllabus
Course: ESL 0241
Division: Humanities
Department: English/Second Language
Title: Level 1 Content Based Reading
Semester Approved: Spring 2021
Five-Year Review Semester: Fall 2025
End Semester: Fall 2026
Catalog Description: This eight-week content based reading course is designed to give students the opportunity to develop basic reading skills in English in several content areas. Students will use a variety of authentic reading materials to learn basic prereading and reading strategies. These strategies are designed to improve their reading comprehension. The reading materials will also be used to expand the students' vocabulary.
Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 1.5; Lecture: 3; Lab: 0
Prerequisites: Placement in ESL 0241 through the department
Justification: The ESL Department at Snow College houses the intensive ESL program which is accredited through the American Association of Intensive English Programs (AAIEP). The four-level program provides instruction for students at Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 (elementary through exit levels). This course is a core course for Level 1.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to use reading strategies they have learned in various content areas. Students will have increased their English vocabulary, improved their reading skills, and learned to determine meanings of words by context. They will know how to discuss and summarize what they have read. Students will demonstrate the mastery of these skills through completing reading exercises, quizzes, tests and exam.
Content:
Authentic, unaltered books and other reading materials of an academic nature will be used to introduce students to culturally and politically diverse topics that they will be reading and hearing about in future ESL classes.Students will learn about reading strategies such as determining meaning from context and looking for markers which indicate the major rhetorical patterns in English.Novels or short stories of the instructor's choice, at the appropriate level, may also be used.
Key Performance Indicators:
The following ranges will be used for the purpose of assessment. In order to pass the course, students must demonstrate a B mastery of course materials. Students who earn a grade below B (85%) will be required to repeat the course.
Attendance and Participation 10 to 15%
Exercises 20 to 25%
Quizzes 15 to 20%
Tests 15 to 20%
Final Exam 25 to 35%
Representative Text and/or Supplies:
This course offers students broad exposure to a variety of readings. Current editions will be used. The following list is illustrative:
Linda Jeffries and Beatrice S. Mikulecky, Basic Reading Power 1, Pearson Education
Rosa Parks, I am Rosa Parks, Penguin Group
Monica Kulling, Escape North! The Story of Hariet Tubman, Random House
Johanna Hurwitz, Helen Keller, Random House
Judy Donnelly, The Titanic: Lost ... and Found, Random House
Monica Kulling, The Great Houdini: World-Famous Magician and Escape Artist, Random House
Pedagogy Statement:
ESL courses consist of students representing diverse cultural, linguistic, and background knowledge which serves as a resource, strength, and benefit. All students are welcomed to share their unique backgrounds and experiences while giving presentations, working in small groups or pairs, contributing to class discussions, or reacting to reading passage content-based conversations with personal insights. Moreover, various learning needs of all students, regardless of their age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, nationality, race, religion, sexuality, and socioeconomic status are acknowledged and accommodated through uses of various types of teaching methods, learning activities, and modes of evaluation.
Instructional Mediums:
Lecture
Online
Hybrid
Maximum Class Size: 20
Optimum Class Size: 10
