Course Description:
Our SAT course is designed to facilitate the student’s understanding of the critical reading and writing sections. The topics of our course, totaling six hours, include reading and time management strategies for tackling the Reading section, a review of Standard English Conventions for the Writing & Language section, and an overview and lesson designed to maximize essay scores. Our critical learning approach allows for each strategy we to be directly applicable to every topic on the test. A more comprehensive overview of the course includes but is not limited to: a breakdown of each sub-score graded by the test, identifying sentence errors, recognizing similar question types across text sections, analyzing passage-based reading, and critical writing, reading, and test taking strategies not limited to the SAT. Every step taken is done with the intention of maximizing our students’ success, but the commitment must be bilateral; the instructor provides useful concepts, frameworks, strategies, constructive criticism, and meaningful feedback while the student listens, actively participates, and diligently engages class-work and homework.
Outline
Section 1: Introduction to the Test
- Test Section Breakdown
- Time Management Strategies (Breaking down time per passage)
- Cross Section Questions (Words In Context/ Command of Evidence)
- Reading Section Lecture #1 (Passage Types)
- Example Passage
- Reading Section lecture #2 (Strategies)
- Guided Passage
Section 2: Reading Section Bootcamp
- Passage Practice for each of the first three genres (Some done as HW)
- The Double Passage Lecture
- Review and Discussion
Section 3: Writing & Language
- Little Picture Lecture with example Q’s (Grammar, Punctuation, Word Choice)
- Big Picture Lecture with example Q’s (Command of Evidence, Paragraph Transitions, Words In Context)
- Guided passage Practice + HW: Identifying the rules based on answer choices.
Section 4: Writing & Language #2
- Passage Practice
- Review and Discussion
Section 5: The Essay
- Components of a Rhetorical Analysis
- Assessing Paul Bogart’s Let There Be Dark
- Thesis and Sample Outline workshop.
- Dana Gioia’s Why Literature Matters for HW.
Section 6: Review and Q&A
- Grade HW essay and compare to sample essays.
- 1 timed passage from each section
- Review/ Student Questions