| Introduction to Reading and Writing |
 his course is designed for students seeking to improve basic reading and writing skills. There are six levels of reading skills addressed by this course. Each level combines dozens of high interest literary selections that motivate students at different stages of reading, understanding, interpreting and writing about great literature. The instructors, most Ivy College trained, draw students into each selection while teaching them the strategies necessary to become active readers and effective writers. Both skills are essential in maximizing SAT Critical Reading and Essay Writing scores and, after matriculation, for college-level reading and writing.
The course builds key reading skills. It begins with previewing the text at hand and asking key questions about the material and its purpose. This, in turn, focuses the reader on the material, thereby gaining more comprehension. Good readers are fully engaged, active, critical and reading with a true purpose. This program is constantly seeking responses to the literature at hand. Reading becomes a dialogue, not a mere rote task of absorbing another’s thought process on paper. Vocabulary, roots, origins and textual deciphering are also a mainstay of the course. As one improves reading skills so writing improves as well. This program connects the two activities. A critical reader’s natural outlet is writing; initially a few paragraphs, then more structured essays are produced. The objective is to create critical readers with expressive, clear writing skills. |
