Reading Course Day 1: In today's lesson, you will
In this part of today's lesson, you will be presented with important study pointers to acquaint you with with reading fluency and vocabulary building strategies.
The more you read, the better you
will become at reading. As a result, you should read extensively each day. Reading
each day will help to build your vocabulary, which will allow you to spend less
time in trying to understand words in context. Ultimately, you will spend more
time on accurate reading.
It is also important to read challenging
material. Stephen Crane's The Red Badge
of Courage will accomplish this purpose. As you read, you should be asking
yourself who the main characters are, what the plot is, what the setting is,
what the key facts are about the writer and the book. Asking questions about
the book as you read will help you to read more critically.
To help you approach reading this
Online novel more critically, it is recommended that you keep a journal. The
following are some instructions on how to keep a response journal:
You should have your response journal beside you as you read Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage and you need to make regular weekly entries in it. Its purpose is to assist you in becoming an active rather than a passive reader of English. Furthermore, the response journal will help prepare you for the midterm and the final exam for this course.
Reserve either a separate notebook
or a section of a loose leaf notebook for the response journal for this course.
Draw a vertical line down the middle of each page. The right-hand side of the
page is for your summaries of each assigned chapter in Stephen Crane's The
Red Badge of Courage. The left-hand side is for your response to what
you have read as you read. Please note also that the journal is not designed
as finished, presentation writing, and hence need not be edited for form.
When you come across a word you do not know in The Red Badge of Courage, quickly write it down onto a 3 x 5 inch notecard (use one word on each notecard). However, since you will be able to understand many words through context of the passage, you should continue reading until the end of that chapter. Then, after you have finished that chapter, on the back of the notecard, write down the meaning of the word and any other information (i.e., pronunciation, part of speech, sample sentence, origin of word) that might help you to remember that word.
You can build your vocabulary by
studying your notecards regularly. Write sentences using the new words. Add
synonyms and antonyms to your notecards everyday. Little by little you will
begin to increase your knowledge of informal, formal, and academic vocabulary.
These vocabulary words are listed
by order of their appearance in chapter 1- 24. You will need to purchase some
notecards so you can write these down. It is recommended that, after looking
the unfamiliar words up in a dictionary, you write
down the meaning, pronunciation, part of speech, sample sentence, and origin
of word onto your notecards, with one word being used on one notecard.
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Chapters 1-8: hilarious, mournful, assemblage, impregnable, ecstasy, seminary, vivacious, expenditure, speculate, oblige, dexterous, ceaseless, ominous, perception, vindication, convulse, pilfer, indignant, babble, pontoon, spatter, skirmish, recede, encounter, totter, crescendo, straggler, flank, scamper, appall, quake, prominence, exquisite, shrill, incessant, interval, divinity, rueful, exultant, repulse, leer, scrutinize, affable, luster, proverbial, zeal, impending, paean, commendable, aggravate, menace, clangor, transfix, enshrine, gawk, sullen, melancholy |
Chapters 9-18: repel, propel, anguish, battery, imp, tatter, wriggle, persistence, vigilance, sinuous, calamity, piteous, vindication, virtuous, sham, invincible, mutilation, gauntlet, remonstrance, munitions, audacious, ethereal, foliage, languor, condemnation, perceive, blatant, glee, swagger, deprecate, persistent, rejoice, condescension, pompous, retribution, desecration, conjure, compelled, reverberation, omen, valor, illuminate, ruthless, contemplative, tousle, grope, wrathful, delirious, gesticulate, reposefully, engross, assent |
Chapters 19-24: lurid, crimson, delirium, ominous, cower, ironical, incomprehensible, berate, indignation, obstinate, ludicrous, harangue, treachery, whim, impetus, gaunt, exertion, reproach, intention, prodigious, jaunty, denounce, clamor, grotesque, retaliation, ominous, jaded, exhilarate, frenzy, concussion, disdain, dwindle, quiver, contrivance, stoic, perfunctory, intermittent, debris, deflection, gilded, reproach, brood, assertive, tranquilly, sultry |
The Red Badge of Courage is a story which takes place during the Civil War. If you do not know what this American war was about, when it took place, or who won the war, you should do some Online research now so that you have some background knowledge before reading the novel. This will help you to have better comprehension. Go to www.yahoo.com, type in "history or the civil war" and see what you find.
The Red Badge of Courage is not only about the Civil War, but also about a young man and his personal struggle with courage and fear under severe adversity. Go to http://www.word@merriam-webster.com and type in the word "courage" and then type in the word "fear." What is the relationship between these two words. As you read this novel, you will be exploring and clarifying your own beliefs and feelings regarding courage and fear.
Additionally, you can do the following activities to prepare you for your reading:
1) Interview a relative or friend who has been in combat and ask him/her about courage and fear.
2) Listen to music that was popular during different wars and write down the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
3) Explore Internet sites for drawings
and photos of Civil War soldiers and battles. The following site is a good place
to start: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwphome.html)
If you have not already done so, be sure to complete
the Get ESL Diagnostic Reading Pre-Test