Www.spps.org



GED Language Arts: Reading?Course Description:??Learners can expect instruction, discussion, and practice in interpreting reading selections from a variety of fiction (novels, short stories, poetry, and drama) and nonfiction tests (essays, articles, speeches, biographies, business documents, and reviews).??The main emphasis will be on four different types of reading and critical thinking skills (comprehension, application, analysis, and synthesis) needed to successfully read seven passages and answer 40 multiple choice questions on the GED Reading test.??Throughout the course, learners will also develop test-taking skills which they can apply and assess through practice exercises and practice testing.?Prerequisite:?TABE 8, Completion of Language Arts 3, or Advanced?Reading?Content Areas:??Selected readings from the areas of nonfiction, prose fiction, poetry, and drama?????????????????????????????????????????NONFICTION????25%?Informational Nonfiction????????????????????????Workplace and community documents????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Speeches????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Magazine/newspaper/journal articles????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Editorials????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Research reports?Literary Nonfiction????????????????????????????????????Biographies/autobiographies????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Essays????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Diaries????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Memoirs????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Letters?Critical Reviews of Visual andPerforming Arts????????????????????????????????????????????????????Dance????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Theater????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Film/TV????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Computer Art????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Painting/sculpture????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Photography??????????????????????????????????????????????FICTION?????75%???????????Prose Fiction:??????????????????????????????????????????Excerpts from novels andshort stories: (before 1920, 1920-1960,??????and after 1960)?Poetry:??????????????????????????????????????????????????Complete poem or excerpts from poemsDrama:????????????????????????????????????????????????????Passages from plays?Reading?and Critical Thinking Skills:??Questions on the GED Language arts, Reading Test are based the four critical thinking skills:??comprehension (20%), application (15%), analysis (30-35%), and synthesis 30-35%).Reading?and Interpreting Nonfiction: acquire the skills needed to understand and draw conclusions about a paragraph or passage.1.???????(Comprehension) understanding the literal meaning of a selection????Identify the directly stated main idea???????Recognize supporting details (examples, reasons, facts, and descriptions)????????????????????????????????????????Discover meaning of word/term from context????????????????????Determine fact versus opinion???????????????????Summarize/restate information2.???????(Application) applying information and ideas from a passageTransfer concepts from a passage to a related situationTake information from the passage and put it into action3.??????(Analysis) analyzing content, style, and structure and drawing inferences from a part of the passageApply information to a specific context???????????Make inferences based on details from a single passage????????????Draw conclusions from supporting details????????????Interpret figurative language????????????Examine the effects of the language used in a passageDetermine how an author organizes information (time order, classification, and cause/effect4.??????(Synthesis)?making connections between separate sources of nformation and drawing multiple inferences from an entire passageInterpret how a passage is organizedInterpret overall tone, point of view, or purpose of passageMake multiple inferences and connections between separate sources of???information.Integrate information from outside the passage with information from??????withinReading?and Interpreting Prose Fiction:?acquire the skills needed to analyze and interpret passages from two types of prose fiction: the novel and short storySelect and use pre-reading strategies appropriate to text (discussion,?????????making predictions, brainstorming, generating questions, and previewing)Apply a variety of response strategies including rereading, note-taking,?????summarizing, and outliningIdentify the main ideas (stated and implied) and supporting details in individual paragraphs (comprehension)Identify and define elements of prose fiction (setting, plot, tone, point of view, characterization, figurative language, and theme) (comprehension)??????Transfer a concept/situation to a different historical context (application)Analyze characters by what they do, say, and think, as well as what other characters say about them (analysis)Draw valid conclusions about a person, place, or situation from phrases or sentences that point to information not directly stated (analysisInfer from figurative language what the author intentionally compares, exaggerates, or distorts to emphasize a feeling or idea (analysis)Analyze the two of the elements/techniques that affect an author’s style: diction and tone (analysis)Analyze through cause and effect the “how and why” something happened (analysis)Recognize when an author is organizing a passage to analyze similarities/differences – balancing one feature with another as in development of character?(synthesis)Determine narrator and point of view chosen by the author to tell the story (synthesis)Link the ideas of the paragraphs so that they logically build to the author’s intended purpose (synthesis)Integrate information from outside a passage with information from within the passage to draw conclusions (expanded synthesis)Reading?and Interpreting Poetry:?acquire the skills needed to analyze and interpret the language, form, sound, emotions, and themes of selected poems??????????Read the poem aloud, listening to the sound and rhythm of the wordsIdentify the effects of rhythm, rhyme, repetition, and alliterationInterpret figurative language (metaphors, similes, personification) - comparisons the poet relies on to describe observations, ideas, and feelings????????????????????????Identify and interpret symbols and imagesDetermine the literal meaning of the poemInfer the suggested meaning of the poem if one existsApply part of the poem that is understood to the parts that seem more difficultIdentify and interpret the wide variety of themes/subjects that poets imaginatively portrayReading?and Interpreting Drama: acquire the skills needed to interpret the content of drama and analyze its elementsReview the definitions of story elements in prose fiction as they apply to drama (setting, plot, characterization, and theme)Recognize and define the parts of a script (acts, scenes, cast of characters, stage directions, and dialogue)Experience a sense of dramatic action by accepting the role of a character in the play and reading his/her lines of dialogue aloudCompare/contrast drama and prose fiction (storytelling method and??????format)Interpret the literal meaning of the speaker’s statementsAnalyze if and how the speaker’s tone of voice and actions emphasize or change the literal meaning of the spoken wordsAnalyze the motivation behind the characters’ actions and dialogue (comments about themselves and other people, responses to other’s comments, and reactions to events) to better follow the plot and understand the meaning of the playInterpret the characters’ performance (actions and words) to determine a general theme about life or human behaviorASSESSMENTS:GED mini-tests: ten-minute practice testsPre- and posttests (with performance analysis charts) from the?GED Language Arts,?Reading?textbooks and exercise books - Contemporary and Steck-VaughnOnline practice tests - McGraw-Hill (), Steck-Vaughn (), and PBS Literacy LinkOfficial GED Practice TestsGED TESTRESOURCES:Textbooks and exercise books:?GED Language Arts,?Reading?published?by McGraw Hill (Contemporary) and Steck-VaughnAdditional print materials: newspapers, magazines, employee handbooks, business documents, selections from poetry and short story anthologies etc.GED PBS Connection Series (Video Tapes with textbook)Teacher-developed materials and lesson plans including on-line links (, LINCS, and National Institute for Literacy)Mindquest?AcademyMcGraw Hill Online?Learning?CenterPlato (Reading 2, Vocabulary/Reading)Public Libraries ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download