[AAACE-NLA] FCE and Workforce Development

[Debbie Yoho]

We also use the Voyager series and prefer it to Challenger, an older New Readers Press series.  However, my take on it is that the activities do not give enough practice utilizing the various new skills, so we supplement it as best we can.  Thanks, George  Best, Debbie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: 
To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAAC
Sent: 3/1/2007 11:56:27 AM 
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] FCE and Workforce Development


Derrick,

We also are using Lexia and have found additional websites as well. For example, try word family sort http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/wordfamily/, a simple program, but one we've found effective as a means of teaching word patterns.

Ca you say more about the Text, "Starting Over?"

With you and Debbie our program works with many learners, as you say, "below equivalent 3rd grade," though some of our students are well beyond that.  Our challenge, then, is to constructs a program that meets a wide array of needs, below, one might say, "GED level.

I addition to Lexia and a broad slew of what we refer to as weblinks, we are going to be working with the New Reader's Press Voyager Series that goes to a Foundational text to a level 8 text.  Their stated range is grade level 0.5-9.  In short, that would be us.  For the past two years we've been using binder collections of materials calibrated at the different levels, which has the advantage of having us create the instructional program through a collage of text at our disposal.   I believe this approach can work, but it takes a understanding of literacy that incorporates meaning making, decoding, and comprehension and a view of literacy as a metaphor for knowledge through the processing and production of print-based texts. 

Our approach with the binders has not been without a fair amount of success  The students like many of the materials and the tutors like the range and flexibility, even as many long for a text.

For too many reasons for me to enumerate here, but one reason is because we have many content-based resources available on-line and in print hat tutors can use at their discretion for supplemental work, we have decided to go with the text.

The Voyager Series has:
A teachers guide 
A placement instrument 
A student book 
A student workbook 
An additional vocabulary workbook
The Foundational Level, Level One and perhaps Level Two would be accessible to your students.
In addition to these features, what I also like is the balance between basic skills and interesting content areas-not as interesting as our binders, mind you, but, given the balance we attempt to achieve of providing structure for our students and tutors and allowing for flexibility through supplemental resources we believe this is the best direction for us at this time.
Perhaps I'll be able to report in next here on how our Basic Literacy program has done with the Voyager seres.
George Demetrion  
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford
www.lvgh.org


----- Original Message -----
From: Derek Albert
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 12:33 AM
To: yohogclc at earthlink.net; aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] FCE and Workforce Development

Debbie,

Your quest to find a program to serve those learners who are reading at "below equivalent 3rd grade," is quite similar to my own.  As the coordinator for an adult literacy program at my community college (going on 18 months), I struggled with what to use with those learners who came to the program and wanted to learn to read.  In using the CASAS, they are starting at the 'beginning literacy' stage.  After hours of researching the topic of reading disabilities, I came across two resources which we are currently using.  The first is a teaching text titled "Starting Over: A Literacy Program," by Joan Knight.  The second is a software program titled Lexia SOS.  Currently, these to resources are the foundation for how we (me and volunteer mentors) work with 'beginning literacy' learners.  Evaluation is ongoing, however, a more thorough review of the success or effectiveness of these resources will be done this December.  The challenges I face at this time are having learners keep a regular schedule and finding volunteers who are comfortable working with learners at the beginning level.  Please let me know if you should have more questions. albertd at witcc.edu 



Derek Albert
WITCC Adult Literacy Coordinator
712-274-8733 or 1-800-352-4649 
ext. 1803
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