A two-book course which teaches students the reading, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills essential for success in the academic classroom. Students are introduced to reading for academic purposes through challenging unit tasks which require them to synthesize information and draw well-reasoned conclusions. Each unit features thematically grouped authentic readings accompanied by extensive reading strategy instruction, designed to build a set of core reading skills. the books also feature regular vocabulary strategy exercises which teach students how to cope with unknown words and help them build a working academic vocabulary.