Synopses & Reviews
Organized around high-interest contemporary themes, A Community of Readers presents college-level reading skills in the context of current and real-life issues relevant to students. A Community of Readers offers guided, in-depth instruction in all segments of the reading and learning process: reading, discussing, writing, and critical thinking. The authors use a unique system to teach the reading process called PRO (Prepare to Read, Read Actively and Reflect, and Organize to learn), which gives students a concrete learning device to follow. Each chapter introduces a key reading skill (main idea, vocabulary, inference), with all readings in that chapter centered on the same theme; this thematic organization helps students develop schema while improving their reading skills. The Fourth Edition emphasizes basic reading skills as well as higher level, critical reading skills, examining fact and opinion, understanding bias, and thinking critically.
About the Author
Dr. Roberta Alexander has taught Reading, Composition, Literature, Chicano Studies, and Black Studies as well as English as a Second Language courses for the San Diego Community College District since 1974. In that time she has served as Department Chair of English at San Diego City College as well as Academic Senate President. She is the author of a series of college reading textbooks.
Table of Contents
To the Instructor. To the Student. Part I: SKILLS INSTRUCTION AND THEMATIC READINGS. 1. The Reading Process: Joining a Community of Readers. Prepare to read. Reading 1 "Becoming a Student: Joining a Study Group" Barbara Jordan. The Reading Process: Pro. Preparing to Read. Determining Your Purpose. Previewing. Previewing a Section. Using Previous Knowledge. Predicting What You Will Learn. Reading 2 "Use the Tools for College Success!" Jesse Cunningham. Reading Actively and Reflecting. Reading Actively. Reflecting. Reader's Tip: Form a Study group. Organizing and Using What You Have Read. S: Selecting the Facts and Concepts You Need to Know. U: Using the Material You've Selected. R: Reciting the Information. E: Examining Your Learning Periodically. Reading 3 "Suburb High, USA: School or . . ." Marley Peifer. Reader's Tip: How to Use a Textbook. Write About It. Chapter Review. Put It Together: The Reading Process. Critical Reflections in the Classroom Community. Extend Your Thinking. Work the Web. Master Test 1A "Take Your Memory Out of the Closet" Dave Ellis. Master Test 1B "What Is Collaborative Learning" Toni Haring-Smith. 2. Working with Words: Living with Technology. Prepare to Read. Reading 1 "Can You Hold Please? Your Brain is on the Line" Elijah James. Working with Words. Reading and Vocabulary. Context Clues. Definition and Synonym Clues. Example Clues. General Information Clues. Contrast Clues. Reading 2 "Living with Digital Technology" George Beekman and Michael J. Quinn. Word Parts. Prefixes. Roots. Suffixes. Suffixes and Parts of Speech. The Dictionary. Parts of a Dictionary Entry. Choosing the Correct Meaning from the Dictionary. Reading 3 "The Robot Soldiers" Tim Weiner. Reader's Tip: Textbook Aids and Specialized Vocabulary. Write About It. Chapter Review. Put It Together. Critical Reflections in the Classroom Community. Extend Your Thinking. Work the Web. Master Test 2A "A Ring Tone Meant to Fall on Deaf Ears" Paul Vitello. Mastery Test 2B "Security, Privacy, Freedom and Ethics: The Delicate Balance" George Beekman and Michael J. Quinn. 3. Topics and Main Ideas: Our Food, Our Culture. Prepare to Read. Reading 1 "Oh, the Flavor of Your Fries" Eric Schlosser. Topics and Main Ideas. Topics. Main Ideas. Stated Main Ideas in Paragraphs. Reader's Tip: Identifying. General and Specific Information. Restating Main Ideas. Implied Main Ideas in Paragraphs. Main Ideas in Short Passages. Main Ideas and Thesis Statements in Long Passages. Reading 2 "Celebrations of Thanksgiving: A Marriage of Contrasting Traditions" April Reynolds. Reading 3 "Table Rituals" Laurie Tarkan. Write About It. Chapter Review. Put It Together. Critical Reflections in the Classroom Community. Extend Your Thinking. Work the Web. Master Test 3A "Behind the Counter" Eric Schlosser. Master Test 3B "Eating: Why We Do It When We Do" Douglas A. Bernstein and Peggy W. Nash. 4. Support for Main Ideas: Staying Well. Prepare to Read. Reading 1 "Wellness: The New Health Goal" Paul M. Insel and Walton T. Roth. Supporting Points. Major Supporting Points. Minor Supporting Points. Distinguishing Between Major and Minor Supporting Points. Organizing to Learn. Marking Texts. Making Bulleted Lists. Outlining. Summarizing. The Process of Summarizing. Reader's Tip: Paraphrasing the Main Idea in Summaries. Reading 2 "Exercise for Health and Fitness" Paul M. Insel and Walton T. Roth. Reading 3 "Stressed Out" National Institutes of Health. Write About It. Chapter Review. Put It Together. Critical Reflections in the Classroom Community. Extend Your Thinking. Work the Web. Mastery Test 4A "A Personal Stress Survival Guide" Dianne Hales. Mastery Test 4B "Drugs: The Truth" Dave Ellis. 5. Patterns of Organization: Where We Live, Our Communities. Prepare to Read. Reading 1 "American Cities One Hundred Years Ago" Robert A. Divine, T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, and R. Hal Williams. Patterns of Organization. Chronological Order and Narration. Transitions and Clues. Organizing to Learn: Creating a Time Line. Definition and Classification. Transitions and Clues. Organizing to Learn: Creating a Vocabulary List. Exemplification. Transitions and Clues. Organizing to Learn: Creating an Outline and Map. Cause and Effect. Transitions and Clues. Organizing to Learn: Creating a Chart. Comparison and Contrast. Transitions and Clues. Organizing to Learn: Creating a Circle Diagram. Process. Transitions and Clues. Organizing to Learn: Creating a Flowchart. Reading 2 "Gated Developments: Fortresses or Communities?" Heather Eudy. Combined Patterns of Organization. Problem and Solution. Transitions and Clues. Organizing to Learn: Creating a Chart. Argument. Transitions and Clues. Organizing to Learn: Using Many Options. Reading 3 "'My Blood Runs Silver and Black': Raiders Fans and Community Jim Miller and Kelly Mayhew. Reader's Tip: Summary Chart of Transitions and Clues for Patterns of Organization. Write About It. Chapter Review. Put It Together. Critical Reflections in the Classroom Community. Extend Your Thinking. Work the Web. Master Test 5A "Life and Death in an Indian City" Joan Ferrante. Mastery Test 5B "Sociological Perspectives on Urbanization and City Life" Alex Thio. 6. Inferences and Reading Literature Dealing with Gender. Prepare to Read. Reading1 "Sex and Gender" William E. Thompson and Joseph V. Hickey. Inferences. Inferences from Visual Aids. Inferences in Textbooks. Inferences in Autobiographies. Reading 2 "Sex, Lies, and Conversation" Deborah Tannen. Inferences from Words. Connotations. Irony. Reading Literature. Imagery. Similes. Metaphors. Poetry. Fiction. Reader's Tip: Key Questions for Reading Fiction [[feature]]. Reading 3 "The Chase" Alberto Moravia. Write About It. Chapter Review. Put It Together. Critical Reflections in the Classroom Community. Extend Your Thinking. Work the Web. Mastery Test 6A "Black Men and Public Space" Brent Staples. Mastery Test 6B "The Men We Carry in Our Minds" Scott Russell Sanders. 7. Facts and Opinions: Living in a Diverse Society. Prepare to Read. Reading 1 "Identity in Transformation" Yasmin Ahmed. Fact and Opinion. Fact. Opinion. Recognizing Fact and Opinion. Evaluating Facts. What Are the Sources of the Facts? Which Facts Are Included? Reading 2 "Colorblind: When Blacks and Whites Can See No Gray" Alex Kotlowitz. Evaluating Opinions. What Are the Author's Worldview and Point of View? What Is the Author's Purpose? Is the Author Biased? Reader's Tip: What Is the Author's Tone? Reading 3 "Signing for a Revolution: Gallaudet University and Deaf Culture" Heather Eudy. Write About It. Chapter Review. Put It Together. Critical Reflections in the Classroom Community. Extend Your Thinking. Work the Web. Mastery Test 7A "Rage" Mart?n Espada. Mastery Test 7B "Spanish at School Translates to Suspension" T. R. Reid. 8. Critical Thinking: Science, Society, and Disease. Prepare to Read. Reading 1 "'This Is the End of the World': The Black Death" Barbara Tuchman. Critical Thinking. Analysis. Synthesis. Evaluation. Using Critical Thinking to Solve Problems. Reading 2 "Pathology of the Black Death" John P. McKay, Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler. Scientific Method. Ethics. Reading 3 "With Every Epidemic, Tough Choices" Lawrence K. Altman, MD. Evaluating Arguments. Examine the Evidence. Consider the Structure. Check for Fallacies. Make Ethical Decisions. Reader's Tip: Guidelines and Key Questions for Evaluating Arguments. Reading 4 "As Sick As It Gets" Rudolph Mueller, MD. Write About It. Chapter Review. Put It Together. Critical Reflections in the Classroom Community. Extend Your Thinking. Work the Web. Mastery Test 8A "Putting a Plague in Perspective" Daniel Halperin, MD. Mastery Test 8B "Making Well People 'Better'" Pat Mooney. EXTEND YOUR THINKING: ADDITIONAL READINGS AND EXERCISES. For Chapter 1, Joining a Community of Readers: "Understanding Emotional Intelligence" Skip Downing . For Chapter 2, Living with Technology: "Looking Into Your Brain" Mauricio Medina. For Chapter 3, Our Food, Our Culture: "The National Eating Disorder" Jamal Jackson. For Chapter 4, Staying Well: "Creativity and Longevity" Norman Cousins. For Chapter 5, Where We Live, Our Communities: "Curitiba, Brazil--A City with a Sustainable Vision" Daniel D. Chiras. For Chapter 6, Dealing with Gender: "Shame" Dick Gregory. For Chapter 7, Living in a Diverse Society: "The War Prayer" Mark Twain. For Chapter 8, Science, Society, and Disease: "Ethical Issues Surrounding End of Life Choices" John J. Macionis. Cumulative Mastery Tests. A "The Pill" Paul S. Boyer, Clifford E. Clark, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, Neal Salisbury, Harvard Sitkoff, Nancy Woloch. B "Drug-Abusing Mothers-To-Be: Are They Criminals?" Danuta Bukatko and Marvin W. Daehler. Part II: A READER'S TOOLKIT. 1. Reading Visual Aids. Maps. Graphs. Tables. Pie Charts. 2. Note Taking: The Cornell Note-Taking System. Record. Reduce. Reflect. Recite. Review. Use the Cornell Method. 3. Test Taking. Overcome Test Anxiety. Anticipate Test Questions. Follow Directions. Understand the Types of Questions. Objective Questions. Essay Questions. Vocabulary Clues for Test Taking. In Objective Questions. In Essay Questions. 4. Writing Tips for Readers. 5. Evaluating and Navigating Web Sites. Source. Currency. Table II.3: Domain Names and Reliability. Usefulness. The Elements of a Web Site. 6. Reader Response Journals. 7. Reading Circles. Get Organized. Reading Circle Meetings. Final Presentation (optional). Role Assignment. Sheets. Summarizer. Discussion Leader. Passage Selector. Researcher/Connector. Illustrator. Vocabulary Finder. Anonymous Reading Circle Evaluations (sample). 8. Poster Sessions. Preparing Your Topic. Preparing Your Poster. Content. Visual Appearance. Preparing Your Oral Presentation. Giving Your Presentation. Poster Session Peer Evaluations. How Poster Sessions Are Graded. 9. Suggested Reading for Book Projects. Text Credits. Photo and Art Credits. Index. Note: Each chapter concludes with a Chapter Review which includes a Reader's Checklist, Critical Reflections, Writing Activity, Classroom Community, Extend Your Thinking, and Work the Web.