On the Job
The On the Job series focuses on specific skills needed to apply, interview, and maintain employment. The reading selections are stories with the character doing the skill, such as filling out an application or going to work on the first day. The passage includes the character’s thoughts and impressions during the various stages of the process as well as his precise actions for each step along the way. It acquaints the reader with vocabulary typical of the workforce. Each lesson then has a second reading selection but with key words learned in the first passage missing, so the reader must fill-in-the-blank the term. This is a very applicable reading resource.
Building Comprehension
Comprehension is an essential aspect of literacy. Each of the strategies listed below helps your learner read a paragraph, figure out how to better understand it and take action to remedy difficulties. Try several suggestions in different strategies until you determine what works best with your student.
- Summarizing
After reading a paragraph, ask your learner to:
Summarize it while scanning it. Summarize it with the book closed.
Cover it up and write down key words he/she remembers. Summarize from the key words.
Underline the key words. Use the key words to make one or two sentences. - Questioning
After reading a paragraph:
Ask a broad question. Answer the question.
Ask a question that can be found “in the text.” “Find” the answer.
Ask a question that can be found “in your head.” “Figure out” the answer. - Clarifying
After reading a paragraph, ask your learner to:
Tell you if it makes sense. If yes, continue reading. If no, re-read to clarify.
Thumb up if you understood it; continue reading. Thumb down if you didn’t understand it. If it is a problem with a word, figure out the meaning. If it is a problem with the whole thing, re-read it.
Tell what it says. Predict what will come next.
- Emotional, Visual and Physical Strategies
After reading a paragraph, ask your learner to:
Tell his/ her personal reaction.
Draw a graph, chart or picture to depict it.
Act it out.
Adapted from Oakland Public Library’s Second Start Adult Literacy Program Comprehension Training.
Paragraphs from Pictures
While tutoring or teaching we try to make things stick for our students. Finding ways for lessons to sink in is often the hardest part of preparation. Utilizing a student’s creativity is one method to help the lesson stick.
Sometimes, while writing, we get into the habit of simply re-writing what we read or are told to write. We often overlook using creativity in writing. We either are trying to write too quickly, or have no room to be creative in the assignment. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to help students be excited about writing from the beginning by letting them use their creativity? Paragraphs From Pictures is a book that helps tutors do just that. It can also help a student begin to write paragraphs.
Paragraphs From Pictures is a workbook that gives a student the ability to make up their own story and then write about it. The book starts each section with a picture. It then asks a number of questions about that picture. The student writes the answers to the questions in sentence format. Then the student can combine all of their answers to create a paragraph. Alternatively, tutors can use this book to help their students be creative. After answering the questions, the student can make up a story about the picture based on what they learned from the questions.
Paragraphs From Pictures can be found in the Project Read Office.
Oral Reading: Getting All the Words Right
Check out these great ideas from Project Read Tutor Roger Williams, and feel free to share your own ideas.
“Cold” Reading
You are asked to read something that you have not seen before. It’s like taking a video driving test. You just know that suddenly there’s going to be a hog in the road. So you’re on alert. You’re careful. You’re reading along pretty well, and there it is: A Hard Word. So you break it up into parts, sounding out the parts. You put it all back together and change the pronunciation a bit to the way we actually say the word, including making one syllable the loud syllable. You check to see that the meaning fits the sentence. Yes. And you continue on.
Nine times out of ten, that works with figuring out hard words. Sometimes it doesn’t. Then try chopping the word up a different way. For example, copilot isn’t cop-i-lot. It’s CO-pi-lot, a guy who helps fly a plane. Suppose trying breaking it up different ways doesn’t work. Then quickly look through the sentence itself to see if you can figure the word out. “His wife dragged him to see a ballet, and he was surprised that he actually enjoyed the dance program.” Ah! You figure out ballet is a kind of dance and must be bal-LAY, one of those tricky French words like bouquet (boo-KAY) and cafe (kuf-FAY).
“Cold” reading can be good practice because you are alert and careful,. Don’t get discouraged. With practice, accuracy and flow will definitely improve.
“Warm” Reading
Sometimes you have time before reading something aloud to study it out first. Look through it. Find the tricky words. Sound them out. Check for meaning.
Be careful, though. Because the pressure is less in the silent reading, you might hurry through it, figuring all the words are easy enough, but when you are reading it aloud, the pressure is on, and some of those easy words are suddenly harder.
So take time to study all the words and sentences carefully before the oreal reading.
“Hot” Reading
You listen to a good recording (or live person) reading something. You follow on your paper copy and see each word as you hear it. You especially notice words that you would have had a hard time with.
Pause every few paragraphs to read those same paragraphs aloud the way you heard them. (Or you could choose to read certain parts aloud.) Write down words that might have been difficult and repeat them a few times. Also write down vocabulary words that were new to you. You can look them up later.
This is an excellent way to learn phrasing and expression.
It’s easy for many people to tune out what’s on the page and just focus on listening to the story or text. Don’t do that. Focus on each word as you hear it.
All three kinds of reading will provide the practice you need to build your oral reading skills.
Holiday Party 2012
