This publication has been produced on behalf of the national training system. It was funded under the Adult Literacy National Project administered by the Australian National Training Authority until 24 August 2005 and subsequently by the Commonwealth of Australia from that date. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Australian National Training Authority or State and Territory Training Authorities. © Commonwealth of Australia 2006 This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source and it is not used for commercial use or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those indicated above require the prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and copyright should be addressed to the Branch Manager, Technology and Information Services Branch, Industry Skills Development Group, Department of Education, Science and Training. GPO Box 9880 Canberra City, ACT, 2601. TAFE NSW – Access and General Education Curriculum Centre 68 South St Granville NSW 2142 Ph (02) 98468101 Fax (02) 98468195 Email: [email protected] ISBN: 1 920716 9 Literacy Face to Face LITERACY FACE TO FACE Literacy Face to Face is a resource to assist volunteer adult literacy tutors and others who want to help someone improve their literacy. It may also be useful to support the delivery of adult literacy tutor training programs. This resource has been developed by Pamela Osmond, author of So you want to teach an adult to read (1985), and draws on her wide experience in the field of adult literacy and volunteer adult literacy tutor training. © 2006 Commonwealth of Australia i Literacy Face to Face Acknowledgements Writer Pamela Osmond Reading Writing Hotline TAFE NSW Access and General Education Curriculum Centre Publishing team Jenny McGuirk TAFE NSW Editor Heather Christie TAFE NSW Desktop publishing Jasper Somerville-Collie Elemental Arts Design Project Manager Sue Roy Access and General Education Curriculum Centre TAFE NSW Project team Stephen Goldberg Reading Writing Hotline TAFE NSW Pamela Osmond Reading Writing Hotline TAFE NSW Sue Roy Access and General Education Curriculum Centre TAFE NSW ii © 2006 Commonwealth of Australia Literacy Face to Face National Reference Group We would like to acknowledge the support and valuable input from members of the project team and also the teachers and tutors who work in their programs who contributed significantly to the development of this resource. Reference group members Marcia Barclay Kathy Earp Read Write Now Adult Multicultural Education Services Western Australia Victoria Monique Brunello Sally Emerson Northern Sydney Institute Southside Community Services TAFE NSW Australian Capital Territory Pat Cook Bernadette Kennedy Volunteer Tutor Program Riverina Institute TAFE Queensland TAFE NSW Janine Crawford Annette Rae TAFE Tasmania Volunteer Tutor Program TAFE Queensland © 2006 Commonwealth of Australia iii Literacy Face to Face Section 1 Read this first Read this first 1 How do we read 3 The adult learner 9 Assessing your student’s needs and progress 14 Section 2 The Beginning Reader/Writer The language experience approach 4 Social sight words and environmental print 8 Letter sound relationships 10 Cluster analysis 12 Cloze 14 Just reading 17 Case studies and lesson plans 20 Useful references 26 Section 3 The Intermediate Reader/Writer Just reading 3 Comprehension 5 Reading fluency 8 Cloze 12 Cluster analysis 15 Case studies and lesson plans 17 Useful references 23 iv © 2006 Commonwealth of Australia Literacy Face to Face Section 4 The Vocational Student 3 Reading for understanding Reading fluency 8 Writing - exam and assignment questions 12 Study skills 20 Case studies and lesson plans 24 Useful references 30 Section 5 Writing and Spelling Writing 2 • The writing process 3 • What to write about 12 Spelling 14 • The problem with spelling 14 • Learning to spell routine 17 • Some more helpful hints for learning 20 to spell Some spelling rules or patterns 26 Handwriting 28 Useful references 31 Section 6 Does Your Student Have a Disability? Section 7 Is Your Student From a Non-English Speaking Background? Section 8 Everyday Numeracy Section 9 Getting Started on the Computer Glossary Some Useful References © 2006 Commonwealth of Australia v Literacy Face to Face Who is this written for? This resource is written for anyone who wants to help another adult improve their reading and writing skills. It presents some practical suggestions which are based on an understanding of how we, as efficient readers and writers, use our literacy skills. It offers suggestions which are relevant to adults with a wide range of literacy needs and abilities - from the beginning reader/writer to the person who reads reasonably well but has little confidence in their spelling ability. It is also relevant to people from a non-English speaking background, provided their spoken English is sufficiently developed to carry on a simple conversation. As adults, we use our literacy skills in diverse contexts – in using an automatic teller machine, sending a text message on a mobile phone, reading stories to the children or leaving notes for fellow workers…etc. This resource will suggest ways of helping your student to develop reading and writing skills which are appropriate to the context of their lives, whatever they may be. The resource is basically a practical set of how-to’s. It is not a complete literacy tutor training course. Ideally, the person using this resource will have some background in language learning and/or adult learning. The brief sections on those topics are included as a refresher for someone who has studied these topics before and as a reminder of the theory which underpins the teaching/learning strategies which follow. How to use this resource You probably don’t need to read all of this resource. However you will need to read most of this first section. Even if you have previously been trained as an adult literacy tutor, you should read the sections on How do we read? and The adult learner as a refresher. You should also read Assessing your student’s needs. The main part of this resource has been divided into four: The Beginner Reader/Writer, The Intermediate Student, The Vocational Student and Writing and Spelling. Read the descriptions below to decide which one most suits your student. © 2006 Commonwealth of Australia Section 1 Page 1 Literacy Face to Face The beginner reader/writer A beginning reader is not necessarily someone who cannot read anything at all. That may be what they say, but this is rarely the case. In this resource, the term also refers to someone who may know the names of all, or most, of the letters in the alphabet, may be able to recognise or work out a few simple words and write a few words such as their name and address. They may have had some schooling in Australia or be from a non-English speaking background. However, it is assumed that they can speak English well enough to carry on a simple conversation (National Reporting System Level 1 and less). The intermediate student In this resource, an intermediate reader can recognise most of the words in a short newspaper item and can try to sound out a word with an understanding of most letter/sound relationships. They will, however, probably read slowly with loss of comprehension and will have limited word attack skills to draw on when they reach a problem word (National Reporting System Levels 2 and 3). The vocational student This is a student who is enrolled in a vocational course such as a TAFE course and who is struggling with the reading and writing demands of the course. The main focus is on the reading and writing they need to do for that course. Writing and spelling This section is of relevance to all adult literacy tutors whether your student is a beginner, an intermediate student, a vocational student, or just wants to improve their writing and spelling. This section can be read in conjunction with any of the above three sections or may be used by itself for the student who only wants to improve their spelling. The remainder of the resource is comprised of sections which may or may not be relevant to your student. Look through the Contents page and decide which ones you need. Section 1 Page 2 © 2006 Commonwealth of Australia