College and Career Readiness-Language I Syllabus for 2021-2022
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Instructor Information

Office Location

<p>Ware 307 and Zoom (by appointment)</p>

Office Hours

Varies. Please email me to set up an appointment.

Course Information

COVID-19 Protocols

Recording Policy

Disability Statement

If you have a disability (learning, mental, physical) that affects your ability to participate effectively and have access to any program or service at Amarillo College please contact Disability Services at (806) 345-5639 . Our offices are located in the Student Service Center office 112. More information may be found at www.actx.edu/disability.
Disability Services facilitates access to all programs and services according to the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as well as other federal and state laws.

Amarillo College Web Accessibility Policy Statement

Amarillo College is committed to providing equal access to all programs and services, including all working, learning, and service environments that affect equal access for persons with disabilities. This commitment to provide equal access and opportunity for persons with disabilities is in compliance with federal and state law. Amarillo College also strives to provide Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) that are accessible to all authorized users.

If you find you are unable to access material in an accessible format please contact the Disability Services Office at (806) 345-5639 . This office will work in conjunction with other campus resources to address and accommodate your issue in a timely manner.

Statement for Mental Health and Advocacy & Resource Center:

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc

Amarillo College Tutoring for Success Policy:

The Tutoring for Success policy applies to any student whose grade or performance in the course falls below a departmentally determined minimum threshold. In either of those cases, the instructor will direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. Under this policy, the instructor will follow specific departmental guidelines governing the use, duration, and grade component of the tutoring need.

Administrative Drop Policy

Students who do not attend class on or prior to the census date will be administratively dropped. Effective Fall, 2016

Student Withdrawal Procedures

Students who wish to withdraw from a course must complete all steps indicated on the Academic Withdrawal Request form by the course withdrawal deadline.

NOTE: Students who are attending Texas institutions of higher education, for the first time fall 2007 and later, may not withdraw from more than six courses during their academic career. This withdrawal limitation does not include dual credit or developmental classes (Senate Bill 1231 Rule 4.10.) For more information on Drop and Withdrawal Policies, please visit the Registrar's Office Web site.

Privacy Statement

The Amarillo College Privacy Policy is found at https://www.actx.edu/-amarillo-college-privacy-notice , and applies to all Amarillo College students.  If you have questions about this privacy statement or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent, send email to humanresources@actx.edu .

Course

AERW-0051-120 College and Career Readiness-Language I

Prerequisites

Course Description

Intro to a workforce training course that assists with basic skills for developing critical reading and writing skills for ABE levels 2-6. Practice in writing compound and complex sentences; mastering subject-verb agreement and pronoun usage; using all punctuations marks and overcoming major spelling problems. Emphasis on reinforcing paragraph skills and writing short essays in Standard American English. Special emphasis on workforce training in a career cluster.

Student ResourcesStudent Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:

Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me

You can also contact the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.

Hours

(0 sem hrs)

Class Type

Online Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

All curriculum is provided online via Blackboard. You will log in to Blackboard through Amarillo College’s AC Connect page with your AC email address and password.

Supplies

  • Notebook and pen/pencil
  • Internet access (at home or at a computer lab—please inform your instructor if internet access will be difficult)
  • AC Student ID (physical or digital ID is fine)
  • Computer/Laptop (Computer labs on each campus are open to students with a current student ID. Also, laptops are available for rental from the AC bookstore for $65 a semester)

Student Performance

 

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

COURSE MATERIAL DESCRIPTIONS

Online Lessons and Assignments
The online lessons and assignments are the core part of the course. The lessons will provide instruction, tutorials, and practice on language arts topics. Then, you will be given assignments to demonstrate what you learned.

Weekly Zoom Meetings
Each week, you must attend a one-hour online Zoom meeting with your online class and instructor. Your camera must be turned on and you must be present and interactive. Be sure to have a quiet place where you can attend the meeting so that you and your classmates can focus. These meetings will focus on practicing language arts concepts in fun and interactive ways.

Writing e-Journal                                                    
There will be a short writing assignment each week that you must complete and submit in a digital writing journal.

Midterm Exam & Final Exam
Your midterm will be taken online. The final exam will either be online or taken at an Amarillo College computer lab on the dates according to the Course Calendar. Tests must be taken on the assigned dates or with special permission before the assigned date. No retakes.

A GED-Ready (practice) test can be taken in place of the midterm and the final exam. Please contact your instructor for more information.


No outside material, phones, or help from another person allowed during the exams. No cell phones may be used. No outside material or help from another person allowed during the exams.

GED TESTING


GED Tests and GED Ready (Official Practice Tests) can be taken at any time the student is ready. A score of 145 is passing. A score of 150 on the GED Ready (Official Practice Test) can earn the student a voucher to pay for up to two GED exams.


Once the GED Language Arts Test is passed, the student will have officially passed the class, even if the course is not over, and the student does not need to return to the math class and will receive a passing score.

ACCESSING YOUR GRADES ONLINE


To view your current course grades:
Go to
www.actx.blackboard.com and then log in using your AC ID and password.
Click on your course.
Click on My Grades on the menu to the left.

LANGUAGE ARTS TUTORING

Writing Center

Located on the Washington Street Campus Ordway Hall, Room 104.

The lab is open Monday--Friday 8am--5pm. You can also reach them at (806) 345-5580.

To schedule an online appointment, visit: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904084aa5af2fa3fa7-writing

Success Center
Located on the Washington Street Campus on the 3rd floor of the Ware Student Center.

The lab is open Monday-Thursday, 8:30am—8:30pm and Friday 8:30am—12 pm. You can reach them at 806-345-5542.

When using the Success Center, you are required to scan in and out with your Amarillo College I.D. and you must have your homework/workbook with you. Tutors will not give you answers but will reinforce concepts taught in class to help you answer the homework questions yourself. Tutors cannot help on any quizzes.

West Campus Tutoring

Located on the West Campus, Building B, Lab 112.

The lab is open Monday—Friday, 8am—8pm and Saturday 10am--5pm. You can reach them at (806) 356-3651.

Grading Criteria

COURSE GRADING CRITERIA

Grading Scale
>90% = A

80-89% = B

70-79% = C 

60-69% = D

< 60% = F

Late Work and Missed Meetings

After the first two weeks in the course, a late penalty will be applied to any work submitted late. Additionally, there is no way to make up missed Zoom meetings. However, if a major life event occurs that causes you to miss a meeting or submit late work, please contact your instructor.

There are no grade recovery options in this course and there is no extra credit.

Automatic Pass Policy
Any student that passes the GED Reasoning Through Language Arts Test at any point during the course AND has attended 12 or more hours will automatically receive a passing grade in the class.

A failing grade will be earned for any of the following reasons:

You complete the course with an overall average below 60.
You do not complete the course and do not withdraw from the course in time to receive a grade of “W”.
You violate the cheating and plagiarism policy.

Grades will be weighted as follows:
Online Lessons and Assignments: 35% 

Weekly Zoom meeting attendance: 20% 

Writing e-Journal: 15%
Midterm Exam: 15%
Final Exam: 15%

Attendance

ATTENDANCE

Career Ready You Departmental Attendance = Success Policy

Only students who complete 12 or more direct hours in the CRU program are considered to be official students. Regular attendance is necessary for satisfactory achievement. Therefore, it is your responsibility as a student to attend class and be on time for daily attendance check. Nonattendance will be recorded as an absence and no differentiation will be made as to excused or unexcused absences. Repeated leaving class early or coming in late will be counted as an absence. 

After dropping or stopping out of the course twice, you may not be allowed to attend CRU courses until the next school year.

Calendar

COURSE CALENDAR

Language Arts (Online) Fall 2021 Schedule

Week 01

9/7-9/11

Elements of Fiction

Week 02

9/12-9/18

Poetry and Drama

Week 03

9/19-9/25

Elements of Nonfiction

Week 04

9/26-10/2

Theme and Purpose in Texts

Week 05

10/3-10/9

Elements of Persuasive Writing

Week 06

10/10-10/16

Parts of Speech, Phrases, and Clauses

Week 07

10/17-10/23

Punctuation, Capitalization, and Spelling

Week 08

10/24-10/29

Reading Social Studies and Science Texts

Additional Information

Course Objectives

After studying the material presented in this course, you will be able to:

  1. Use comprehension skills, including main idea, inferences, supporting details, drawing conclusions, making generalizations, point of view, and author’s purpose to engage with the text to answer questions.
  2. Recognize and utilize clarity and command of language skills including sentence sense, grammar, and mechanics.
  3. Use critical analysis to read opposing articles and write an extended essay response using evidence from the text, organizational structure, development of ideas and clarity and command of standard English conventions. 
  4. Students will learn to employ academic strategies specific to the Texas high school equivalency test, GED, including test-taking and study skills.

Additionally, after you complete this course and the Math 1 and Math 2 GED courses, you will be prepared to take the GED exam. You can then qualify to start a certificate or degree program with Amarillo College, which can lead to employment.

Syllabus Created on:

09/10/21 12:43 PM

Last Edited on:

09/10/21 12:52 PM