New Instructional Materials Available for Tutor-Learner Teams

The next time you visit the Project Read office, take a look at a few titles we’ve added to our FREE collection of instructional books.

• Flipping Phonics, New Readers Press, 1997
  This is an excellent instructional tool for beginning or intermediate level learners who are working on basic phonics skills. By flipping through the letters and adding different beginning and ending consonants to the middle vowel sounds, learners will soon be able to read words more quickly as they begin to understand the sounds of the letters.
• Action Grammar: Fast No-Hassle Answers on Everyday Usage and Punctuation, by Joanne Feirman, Fireside Books, 1995
  This little book answers any questions a tutor-learner team may have about grammar and punctuation. Clear examples are given for each rule, and the appendix includes a section covering the most commonly made mistakes.
• Punctuate It Right! A Complete Quick-reference Guide to Modern Punctuation, by Harry Shaw, Harper-Collins, 1993
  This is a book for tutors who need to remind themselves of the rules of modern punctuation. It is a very comprehensive guide to punctuation; however, the explanations are probably too difficult for adult learners to use successfully on their own.
• Writing with Style: Making Your Writing Stand Out, by Sue Young, Scholastic Books, 1997
  An excellent instructional tool for tutor-learner teams working on higher level writing skills, this book offers information on how to organize ideas before you write, create grammatically correct sentences, arrange sentences for maximum effect, create effective paragraphs, and proofread for mistakes.
• Get Wise! Mastering Reading Comprehension Skills, by Nathan Barber, Thompson-Peterson’s, 2000
  This book is full of exercises and techniques that can help any reader improve basic comprehension skills. Although written humorously for middle and high school students, the techniques are still effective and the entertaining style could make it fun for a tutor-learner team to use.
• Barron’s Pocket Guide to Study Tips, by George Ehrenhaft & William Armstrong, Barron’s Educational Series, 2004
  This book is an excellent resource for advanced level Project Read learners who are now, or soon will be, taking classes at the college level or preparing for the G.E.D. exam. It is full of techniques and strategies to improve time management, note taking, reading comprehension, working with individual learning styles, writing with clarity, and many more important topics.

Project Read Learner Wins Writer to Writer Competition

(Leona--left--working with her tutor Carol)

On May 11th, the California State Library and California Center for the Book announced the winners of the Writer to Writer Challenge for adult learners. Project Read's Leona Whytus was chosen as the winner in the category of beginning level learner. Leona submitted a letter she wrote to Mildred D. Taylor, author of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This was a book Leona read, along with other members of the Wednesday Night Readers book club, in February of this year.

The winners and finalists will be honored at the "Books Change Lives" Ceremony, hosted by the California Center for the Book, at the Santa Monica Public Library on June 3rd. Their letters will be posted onto the Center's website (www.calbook.org) and the California State Library will also publish a booklet of their letters.