In his Reading Comprehension course, Joel Gonzaga helps you ace the standardized tests as well as gain a lifelong appreciation for reading. Joel's style reflects his years of experience teaching both native English speakers and ESL students. Joel also makes his course as entertaining as possible with topics covering Nikola Tesla to zombies, all the while dispensing useful tips and tricks. Everything is covered from root words, themes, and plays, to skimming and standardized testing. Lessons come with assignments to help students solidify the latest lessons, as well as downloadable compositions.

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Table of Contents
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I. Introduction
	Introduction to Reading Comprehension			16:15
		Intro		0:00
		Reading Comprehension		0:08
			Who Says That Reading Is Important?	0:20
			Who Think It Is Not Important?	2:36
			Who is Taking This Course?	2:55
		Reading Goals?		5:01
			What Are Your Goals?	5:12
		Reading Comprehension: College		7:06
			Entrance Exams	7:11
			Grades in High School	7:30
			What is Life in College Like?	7:50
		Reading Comprehension: First Job		8:05
			You're Judged by How You Speak	8:10
			Your Boss is as Literate as Your High School Teachers	8:37
			Some Jobs Have More Reading Than Others	8:56
			Millionaires Read One Non-Fiction Book a Month	9:36
		Reading Comprehension: Democratic Ideals		9:44
			Life in a Democratic Society	9:47
			Right to Self-Govern	10:38
			Ability to Self-Govern	10:59
		Reading Comprehension: Goals		11:45
			Goals By the End of This Class	11:51
		Getting Prepared		12:41
			Needs for This Class	12:47
			To Be Successful	14:16
		Assignment		15:52
	Kill Your TV			11:30
		Intro		0:00
		The Cable Guy		0:09
		Hazards of Television		1:25
			Harms the Growth of Your Brain	1:47
			Sucker for Advertisements	2:50
			Correlates with Obesity	4:00
		Great Things About Television		4:49
			Positive Social Change	4:54
			Creative and Artistic Expression	6:21
		Why Do We Enjoy TV?		7:16
			Who Do We Like on TV?	7:24
			How Did They Get As Good as They Are?	8:09
		Assignment		8:57
			Chart Your TV Time	9:11
			Write Down These Answers	10:24
II. Vocabulary
	In The Beginning: The Big Words			13:23
		Intro		0:00
		Why Big Words? Reason 1		0:07
			All Areas of Specialization Have Their Own Vocabulary	0:17
		Why Big Words? Reason 2		1:03
			Sample Question From a College Entrance Exam	1:13
		What Do We Do with Big Words?		2:02
			First Instinct	2:12
			What We Should Do	2:37
		A Sample Sentence		2:58
			Definition of Ontologically	3:15
		Using a Dictionary		3:21
			Ontological Definition	3:30
		Using Root Words		4:13
			Logy	4:18
		Using Context Step 1		4:53
		Using Context Step 2 and Step 3		5:31
		Why Context is So Important: Reason 1		7:06
			One Word, Several Definitions	7:26
			Example	7:37
			Example Solutions of How to Use 'Book'	7:45
		Why Context is So Important: Reason 2		8:16
			Denotation	8:28
			Connotation	8:52
			Similar Denotation, Different Connotation	9:13
		Wrap Up		11:30
			Best Way to Increase Your Reading Ability	11:36
			More Important to Attempt Steps 1 and 2 Than to Get the Answer Right the First Time	12:23
		Assignment		12:56
	Latin Root Words			11:08
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:09
		What is a Root Word?		0:37
			Previous Lesson	0:43
			Today's Lesson	1:04
		Why Latin Roots?		1:20
			Makes it a Lot Easier to Understand Big Words	1:24
			Which is Easier, 24 Root Words/ Prefix or 300 New Vocab Words?	1:31
			Memorizing Root Words Makes Guessing on Exams Easier	1:51
		Examples		2:58
			English Words	3:57
			Latin Equivalents	4:06
		Prefixes and Roots		4:33
			Prefix 'Ex' or 'E'	4:39
			English Words	4:44
			Root Word: 'Ject' or 'Jec'	5:15
			English Words	5:30
			Latin Word: Frater and Soror	6:35
			English Words	6:40
		Prefixes as Examples		7:01
			Bene, Bone vs Mal, Male	7:15
			Ex vs In	7:50
		Root Words Examples		8:20
			Vol	8:23
			Fic, Fect, Fact	8:29
			Dic, Dict	8:37
			Patria, Pat	8:46
			Vita, Vit	8:54
			Mor, Mort	9:01
		Sample Exercises		9:22
		Assignment		10:28
	Greek Root Words			9:23
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:08
		A Few Words You Know		0:40
			Sympathy	1:11
			Thermometer	1:27
			Megaphone	1:39
		Greek Root Examples		2:01
			Cracy/ Cratic	2:13
			Where It Comes From & Examples	2:57
			Philo	3:26
			Where It Comes From & Examples	4:11
			Mis	4:49
			Where It Comes From & Examples	5:29
			Phobia	6:04
			Theos/ The	7:06
			Chroma (Color)	7:49
		Assignment		8:24
	Scientific & Technical Terms			18:50
		Intro		0:00
		Scientific & Technical Terms		0:12
			Plan	0:13
			Why?	0:51
		Technical Words		2:46
			Equivocate	2:56
			Definition of Equivocate	3:38
			Extrapolation; Extrapolate	4:46
			Definition of Extrapolate	5:27
			Non Sequitur	6:11
			What Does Non Sequitur Mean?	7:01
		Science Words and Concepts		7:32
			Science Words Easily Defined	8:01
			Science Words That Refer to Concepts	8:41
		Science Words		9:31
			Phenomenon	9:54
			Definition of Phenomenon	10:45
			Theory	11:37
			How Do We Get from Phenomena to Theory	12:49
			Observable, Measurable, Phenomena	12:56
			Geocentric Theory	14:04
			Observable, Measurable, Phenomena That Did Not Fit with Theory	15:28
			Heliocentric Theory	16:21
		Lesson Wrap Up		16:56
		Assignment		18:05
III. Literature
	Reading a Short Story			11:50
		Intro		0:00
		Scientific and Technical Terms		0:09
		Hollywood Three Act		0:23
			Part 1	1:10
			Part 2	1:26
			Part 3	1:57
			Act 1	2:39
			Act 2	3:37
			Act 3	4:25
		Literature Terms		5:09
			Exposition	5:50
			Rising Action	6:55
			Climax	7:46
			Falling Action and Denouement	8:28
		Assignment		10:16
	Characterization			13:51
		Intro		0:00
		Scientific and Technical Terms		0:08
		Dr. Flannigan vs. the Zombies		0:36
			Part 1	0:40
		Character Types		1:59
			What is a Protagonist	2:00
			How Do We Recognize the Main Character	2:26
		Dr. Flannigan vs. the Zombies, Part 2		3:51
			Story Continued	4:12
		Character Types?		4:51
			What is a Foil?	4:54
		Dr. Flannigan vs. the Zombies, Part 3		5:29
		Character Types?		6:26
			What is an Antagonist?	6:29
			The Anti-Hero	7:12
			Example: The Anti-Hero	8:35
			The Tragic Hero	10:08
			Examples	10:37
		Finishing the Lesson		12:15
		Assignment		13:21
	Short Story Recap: The Veldt			12:04
		Intro		0:00
		About the Author		0:13
			Ray Bradbury	0:23
		About the Short Story		1:12
			The Veldt, aka The World Children Made Better	1:18
			Cost	1:28
			Influence	2:06
			Hollywood Three Act	2:19
		The Veldt: Act One, Part 1		2:52
			Part 2	3:50
			Part 3	5:06
		The Veldt: The First Doorway		5:57
			Protagonist	6:42
		The Veldt: Act 2, Part 1		6:56
			Part 2	8:21
			Part 3	9:19
		The Veldt 3		10:23
		Assignment		10:53
	Short Story Recap: The Most Dangerous Game			18:58
		Intro		0:00
		About the Author		0:07
		About the Book		0:31
		Opening Prelude, Part 1		1:57
			Opening Prelude, Part 2	2:48
			What is Important About this Conversation?	3:23
		The First Door Way		4:00
		End of Act 1		5:27
			What Do We Know About the Rainsford?	6:01
		Beginning of Act 2, Part 1		7:14
			Beginning of Act 2, Part 2	8:29
			Beginning of Act 2, Part 3	9:45
			Beginning of Act 2, Part 4	10:40
			What is Civilization According to Zaroff?	11:20
			Beginning of Act 2, Part 5	11:36
			Beginning of Act 2, Part 6	13:52
			What Are Some of Zaroff's Values?	14:06
			Would You Trust This Guy?	15:10
			Beginning of Act 2, Part 7	15:20
		The Antagonist		16:38
			Protagonist	16:44
			Antagonist	16:51
			The Villain as the Hero's Shadow	17:02
		Assignment		18:00
	Settings & Themes			16:26
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:12
		Settings: Basics		0:35
			Basic Questions	0:43
			Short Stories	0:52
		Settings: Social Conditions		1:10
			Other Questions	1:23
			Example	1:19
			The Veldt: What Are Their Social Conditions?	2:05
			The Most Dangerous Game: Social Conditions	3:07
		Settings: Questions		4:01
			Nationality?	4:10
			Social/ Economic Status?	4:16
			Government?	4:24
			Religion?	4:42
			Values?	4:49
		Example of a Theme From Movies		5:41
			'The Village' M. Night Shyamalan	5:50
			Theme: Fear	6:32
		Example of a Theme From Books		6:45
			'The Lord of the Rings' J.R.R. Tolkein	6:46
			Theme: Friendship	7:16
		Example of a Theme From Books		7:27
			'Lost'	7:30
			Theme: Survival	8:09
		Other Stories with Theme		8:45
			Theme of Survival	8:52
		What is a Theme?		9:33
		Recognizing a Theme		10:58
			Opening Exposition and Preludes	11:04
			Recurring Symbols	12:33
			Character Relationships, Roles, and Back Story, Traits	13:13
			Recognize a Theme by Setting	14:17
		Themes in Stories So Far		14:54
			The Veldt	14:59
			The Most Dangerous Game	15:12
		Assignment		15:46
	Types of Narration			12:41
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:11
		Narration Examples		0:29
			Doc Flannigan Versus the Zombies	0:39
		Narration Types		1:24
			First Person, Major Character	1:27
			First Person, Minor Character	2:37
			Third Person - Observer	3:45
			Third Person - Omniscient	4:45
		What Type of Narration?		6:38
			Practice 1	6:49
			Practice 2	8:29
			Practice 3	9:34
		Assignment		11:35
	Scripts & Plays			13:23
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:10
		Plays and Theater on Exams		0:47
			Roles of Plays on Exams	0:55
		What is a Soliloquy?		1:22
			Hamlet Example	1:44
		Uses of Scripts		2:15
			Why Would We Use a Script?	2:27
		Scripts Compared to Short Stories		3:17
			Novel/ Short Story	3:26
			Theater Scripts and Screenplays	4:40
			Most Dangerous Game Passage as a Short Story	6:11
			Most Dangerous Game Passage as a Short Story, Continued	6:59
			Written as a Script	7:50
		Jargon in Screen Plays		9:16
			Int. Serenity - Bridge 4	9:59
			Jargons You Will See	10:30
		Assignment		11:45
IV. Basics of Reading Essays
	Skimming & Scanning			10:26
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:10
		Big Chunk of Text		0:36
			Example of Scanning	0:41
			Example of Skimming	1:05
		Why Do We Skim		1:40
			To Keep on Reading	1:47
			We're Busy	2:18
			To Understand the Author's Outline	2:50
			To Remember Important Points	3:23
			To Help Us to Research	3:42
		Skimming Techniques		4:15
			Highlight Repeated Words	4:25
			Note Paragraph Breaks	4:56
			Highlight Words You Don’t Know	5:56
			Highlight Keywords	7:10
		Review		7:55
		Skimming Techniques		8:50
		Assignment		9:49
	Finding the Thesis			11:49
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:10
		What is a Thesis?		0:36
			Topic is Broadest	0:52
		What is a Topic?		1:00
			Stated in a Single Word or Short Phrase	1:09
			Find it in Introduction	1:30
		What is a Thesis?		1:53
			Often Describes What Will Come Next	2:07
			Often Has an Opinion	2:17
			Supported by Major Details Later	2:26
			Not Always Directly Stated	2:32
		Sample Paragraph		2:44
			Continued	3:38
		How Do You Find a Thesis?		5:35
			Sample Exercise 1	6:09
			Sample Exercise 2	7:56
			Sample Exercise 3	9:45
		Assignment		11:01
	Details			15:44
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:08
		What is a Thesis?		0:36
			Major & Minor Details	0:44
		The Big Questions		1:01
			Example 1: Who, What, When , Where, Why, How	1:30
			Major Details	2:17
			Minor Details	3:10
		Keywords		3:52
			Major Details	4:09
			Minor Details	5:47
		Example 1		6:12
		Example 2		8:34
		Annotation		11:29
			What is Annotation?	11:32
			Why Annotate?	12:05
			What Should You Annotate	13:05
		Assignment		14:55
	POO - Listing / Definition			11:29
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:18
		Listing and Classification		0:44
			What Does Listing and Classification Do	0:50
			Sample Essay 1	1:52
			Sample Essay 2	2:30
			Key Words	4:00
		Definition and Illustration		4:36
			Definition	4:43
			Illustration	4:52
			Sample Essay 1	6:24
			Sample Essay 2	8:05
			Definition Keywords	10:00
			Illustration Keywords	10:37
		Assignment		10:58
	POO - Compare, Contrast & Chronological			8:42
		Intro		0:00
		Compare/ Contrast		0:13
			Sample Essay 1	1:15
			Sample Essay 2	2:20
			Compare Keywords	3:48
			Contrast Keywords	4:08
		Chronological		4:26
			What Does Chronological Order Do?	4:40
			Sample Essay 1	5:33
			Sample Essay 2	6:18
			Chronological Keywords	7:09
		Assignment		8:01
	POO - Cause and Effect, & Process			17:41
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:11
		Four Causes		0:36
			Something Caused by Humans: The Cabin	1:12
			The Idea	1:16
			Material	1:32
			Efficient	2:02
			Purpose	2:29
			Effect Example: The Painting	3:19
			Something Caused by Humans: The Painting	3:54
			Causes in Science and the Natural World. Example: A Tree	5:16
		What is a Factor?		6:42
			Simple Cause and Effect	7:15
			More Complex Causes	7:44
			The Definition of a 'Factor'	8:59
		What is a Process?		9:46
			What a Process Is	9:54
			Cause/Effect + Chronological = Process	10:05
		Cause and Effect Examples		10:37
			Sample Essay 1	10:42
			Sample Essay 2	12:39
		Keywords		16:24
			Process Keywords	16:28
			Cause Keywords	17:00
		Assignment		17:22
V. Discourse and Technical Books
	Reading Non-Fiction: Introduction			17:08
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:14
		Why Read Non-Fiction?		0:56
			Practicing for Placement Tests	1:00
			Getting Through High School Better	1:55
			Getting the Skills for Jobs	3:25
			Researching and Critical Thinking	5:03
		Well Read vs. Widely Read		5:56
			Example: Widely Read	6:08
			Example: Well Read	7:18
			Widely Read	8:41
			Well-Read	9:17
		Reading as an Interactive Medium		10:36
			Non-Interactive Mediums	10:45
			Interactive Mediums	12:08
			The Pitcher and the Catcher	13:06
			What is the Role of the Catcher?	14:15
		Overview for the Next Lessons		15:37
		Assignment		16:06
	The Demanding Reader			24:36
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:17
		Judging a Book by Its Cover		0:43
			Introduction	1:47
			Table of Contents & Chapters 2-4	2:26
		The Job of the Catcher		3:40
			The Questions for the Essays	3:54
			The Questions We Ask About a Book	4:17
		Book Questions		5:29
			What is This Book About as a Whole?	5:33
			Getting the Answer	6:20
			What is Being Said in Detail	7:10
			Getting the Answer	8:17
			What Important Concepts are Defined Early On?	8:40
			What Background is Given?	9:38
			Is the Book 'True' in Whole or in Part?	10:29
			How Do We Judge Whether a Book is True?	11:54
			Different Books; Different Rules	12:20
			What Of It?	14:24
			What Of It? Well a Good Book is Hard to Read…	15:38
		Making a Book Your Own		16:41
			Annotating	16:48
			Making a Book Your Own	17:11
			Why Do We Annotate	17:41
		The Skills		18:45
			Underlining, and Margin Lines, and Circles	18:49
			Numbers and Margin Notes	20:10
			The Types of Note Taking	21:47
		Assignment		23:35
	Pigeon Holing a Book			20:57
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:20
		Kinds of Non-Fiction		0:43
			The Deathly Hallows Lectures	0:47
			The Structure of Scientific Revolutions	1:05
			How to Win Friends and Influence People	1:38
		Why Pigeon Hole?		2:08
			Number 1: Understand How to Judge a Book, Part 1	2:24
			Number 1: Understand How to Judge a Book, Part 2	3:31
			Different Books Have Different Rules	4:36
			Number 2: Understand the Author's Goals	5:09
		Theory and Practice		5:56
			Theoretical vs. Practical	6:03
			'Influence' by Dr. Robert Cialdini	6:34
			'Covert Persuasion' by Kevin Hogan	7:41
			Not Just Academic vs. Popular	8:39
			Why Theoretical?	10:38
			Why Practical?	12:55
		Various Books Considered		13:39
			Science Books	13:51
			History Books	14:47
			Political Books	16:49
			Literature	18:17
		Assignment		19:43
	X-Raying a Book			12:00
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:15
		What is an X-Ray?		0:40
			The Skeleton of Written Essay	0:44
			Skeleton for Book Answer the Following Questions	1:29
		Examples of Stating 'Whole'		2:16
			Example: 'This is Your Brain on Music'	2:25
			'How to Win Friends and Influence People'	3:10
			What is 'The Whole'	3:54
		Dividing the Whole into Its Parts		5:41
			'How to Win Friends and Influence People'	5:50
			'This is Your Brain on Music'	6:19
			How Do We Divide It Into Parts	7:11
			Steps to Consider when Outlining	8:44
		Assignment		11:05
	Terms with an Author			13:08
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:21
		Definitions from Context		0:56
			One Word, Many Definitions	1:02
			How Do We Find Definitions	1:35
		Words vs. Terms		2:22
			The Big Problem with Language	2:25
			What is a Word	3:30
			What is a Term	3:46
			A Word May Have Several Terms	5:06
			A Term May be Referred to with Several Words	5:41
		How to Find Important Words/ Terms		6:00
			Is a Word Unfamiliar to You? Is it Giving You Trouble?	6:23
			The Author Spends chapters Explaining Terms, Example 1	7:23
			The Author Spends chapters Explaining Terms, Example 2	8:27
			Typographical Devices	9:28
			Typographical Devices, Continued	10:10
			Appeal to the Subjects Vocabulary	10:46
		Assignment and Wrap Up		11:45
	Propositions, Reasons & Evaluations			22:16
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:30
		Proposition		0:53
			What is a Proposition?	0:57
			Brain on Music	2:23
			What Would Google Do?	3:25
			Machiavelli's 'The Prince'	4:52
		Arguments, Reasons and Evidence		7:03
			Arguments and Reasons	7:13
			Presentations	8:02
			How to Find Arguments, Evidence and Reasons?	9:34
			Evidence in Science	10:45
			Evidence in History	12:22
			Evidence in Literature	13:45
		Evaluating a Book		14:31
			Before You Evaluate a Book	14:45
			Important Questions to Ask	18:01
		Assignment		21:31
VI. Test Preparation
	Standardized Tests: Don't Panic			14:58
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:38
		Before the Standardized Test		1:16
			What You Will Be Tested On	1:25
			Long Before a Standard Test	2:29
		Caffeine		5:41
			Why Every Student Will Drink Caffeine	6:26
			Caffeine and Memory, and Activity	7:09
			On the Day of the Test, You Will Need	8:49
		General Test Taking Tips		10:04
			On the Day You Take the Test	10:09
			During the Test	11:11
			Assignment	13:54
	Standardized Tests: Short Reading Questions			20:35
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:16
		What's On The Test		0:37
			Four Kinds of Passages You Will Read	0:41
			What Kind of Questions Will You Be Asked?	2:04
		General Tips		3:58
			Skim	4:02
			Find the Topic	4:08
			Watch for Keywords	4:16
			Find the Author's Proposition	4:21
		Example 1		5:07
			Question Number One	6:38
			Question Number Two	8:31
		Example 2		10:18
			Question Number One	11:42
			Question Number Two	13:56
		Example 3		15:51
			Question Number One	17:07
			Question Number Two	17:48
		Lesson Wrap Up		19:31
			When Reading	19:37
			When Answering	20:04
	Standardized Tests: Word Games			19:32
		Intro		0:00
		Lesson Overview		0:19
		Structure of the Word Games		0:45
			Example 1	0:49
			Example 2	1:14
		Tricks to Find the Answer		1:53
			Find Clue Words in the Sentence	1:58
			Predict What Word 'Might' Fit in the Blank	3:24
			Eliminate Even Any Incongruent Words	5:09
			Use Root Words and Prefixes to Help Guess Well	7:16
		Exercises		9:02
			Problem 1	10:42
			Problem 2	12:04
			Problem 3	14:57
		Wrap Up		18:44
VII. Final Words
	Addendum: For A Few Readings More			8:34
		Intro		0:00
		Overview for the Entire Course		0:25
		Reading Comprehension: Goals		1:05
			Prepared for Entrance and Exit Exams	1:11
			Introduced to Short Fiction	1:25
			Learn New Words	1:39
			Have the Tools to Find Books You Need	1:48
		A Few Recommended Books		2:41
			What College Will You Get Into	2:46
			Adjusting to a Social World	3:56
			Manage Your Time and Stress	5:35
			Where Else Can You Find What You Need?	6:49

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English: Reading Comprehension
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English: Reading Comprehension
with: Joel Gonzaga

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