Statewide Public Awareness Campaign for Library Literacy Programs

(California Library Literacy Services Billboard at the corner of Van Ness & Turk)

During 2005 and 2006, the California State Library conducted a statewide survey of library literacy program participants in order to determine the most effective ways of promoting our services. One of the results of this research is now visible on streets and highways throughout California. We have already received a few calls directed to our office from the statewide referral number shown on the billboards. So keep an eye open for these billboards as you stroll or drive through the city or around the state.

New Instructional Materials FREE for Tutor-Learner Teams

We have added some new books to our collection of instructional materials which are available in the Project Read office. Tutors and learner teams may have these materials free of charge to use in your tutoring sessions and keep.

Help Yourself: How to Take Advantage of Your Learning Styles by Gail Murphy Sonbuchner

This book is written for the adult leaner who is seeking to discover his or her own learning strengths and the strategies to successfully take advantage of those strengths. The chapters cover topics such as organization and time management, memory, listening, reading comprehension, writing, and test taking skills.

Filling Out Forms published by New Readers Press

This book introduces a wide range of forms and applications that we are all faced with filling out from time to time in our daily lives. Excellent background information is included as well as generic examples of forms used in banking, education, health care, driving, citizenship, and voting.

Spelling Smart!: A Ready-to-Use Activities Program for Students with Spelling Difficulties by Cynthia M. Stowe

This is a comprehensive (414 page) workbook which introduces concepts of phonics and progresses to cover spelling rules for the English language.

Reading Smarter!: More than 200 Reproducible Activities to Build Reading Proficiency by Patricia Osborn

For the advanced level Project Read learner, this is an excellent collection of exercises and activities designed to improve comprehension and critical reading skills.

Writing Smarter!: Over 100 Step-by-Step Lessons with Reproducible Activity Sheets to Build Writing Proficiency by Keith Manos

This collection of writing activities and exercises is designed for a tutor-learner team working on higher level writing skills. Chapters include information on sentence analysis, editing, writing formal letters, writing poetry, and even writing news stories.

Notes from March 6 Tutor Round Table

The March 6 Tutor Round Table meeting was attended by both experienced tutors as well as a tutor who had just been matched with her adult learner. Here are some of the topics which were discussed:

• A tutor who is working heavily on writing skills with his learner mentioned that the free instructional workbooks available in the Project Read office have been extremely helpful. He specifically mentioned Write All About It (student book and teacher's manual) which he found useful in teaching basic grammar skills using a very structured approach.
• Another tutor mentioned that the specific writing skills which need to be taught really depend on the goals of the learner. Her learner's writing goals are limited so she and her learner are not currently working on the higher level grammar skills.
• One tutor in attendance mentioned that her learner may have some learning differences which make decoding individual words even more challenging. It was suggested that patience, repetition, and the use of multi-sensory instructional techniques are the keys to assisting these learners. She went on to say that her learner does feel that he is making real progress and she can see it too.
• There was also a discussion of how to effectively praise an adult learner. One tutor mentioned the importance of varying your response. As an example, here's a link to a great list called 101 Ways to Say "Good Job" http://www.bozeman.k12.mt.us/humanresources/sub/101ways.html . It was also suggested that a tutor's praise could be focused on specific things the learner is doing right. For example, if your learner spells a contraction correctly for the first time, point to the word and mention that he/she did a great job so that the correct spelling is reinforced.
• Finally, there was a discussion of where to obtain news and current event articles that are accessible for adult learners. Some suggestions included: USA Today (written at a slightly easier reading level than other newspapers, and with more pictures), News For You (a weekly newspaper published for adult learners, available in Project Read office), Readers Digest, and the California Distance Learning Project link on the Project Read computer lab homepage - http://www.cdlponline.org/ - which includes articles and comprehension exercises on a wide range of topics.

First Ever Saturday Tutor Round Table!

On Saturday, March 31, Project Read tutors are invited to attend a specially scheduled Tutor Round Table meeting in the Project Read office from 1:00 to 2:30 PM.

Join your fellow Project Read tutors and staff to share ideas, instructional strategies, and tasty pizza. This is the first ever Saturday meeting of the popular Round Table, so come on by and take advantage of this great opportunity to collaborate and sharpen your tutoring skills.

Please call the Project Read office at (415) 557-4388 if you plan to attend.

Project Read Instructional Resources Page

Howdy Tutors, Adult Learners, and Other Interested Folks,

We have been hard at work for the last few months collaborating with the SFPL Web Team to post Microsoft Word and PDF versions of a pretty hefty assortment of original Project Read curricula and administrative forms. We have lots of fabulous things there so please poke around and let us know if this is helpful.
All you need do is click on the image below.

Please keep an eye out for some additional posts coming your way which will highlight some of the neat things contained there.

All the best, Brian

Notes from Poetry Workshop

If you missed the February 15th Continuing Education Class for Project Read tutors, you can simply click on the title page above to view the entire PDF presentation. This is part of our efforts to provide valuable tutoring curricula and materials, in down-loadable format, through the Project Read website (http://www.projectreadsf.org/.)

Tips for Tutors from the February Round Table

Here are some of the topics discussed at the February Tutor Round Table meeting:

A tutor discussed the challenge of helping her learner break some old habits which were developed over many years of trying to get by with limited reading skills. For example her learner often guesses at words rather than taking the time to decode them.

• The tutor mentioned that she often simply reminds her learner that it's okay to slow down and not be in a rush to finish a piece of reading material. In doing this, her learner is paying more attention to what is being read and doing less guesswork.

We also discussed the use of a structured workbook to teach basic reading skills.

• One tutor mentioned that she wasn't sure how her learner would respond to working with the Patterns in Spelling series. She was happy to find that the learner enjoyed the structured lessons and the ability to look back at previous exercises to see what had been accomplished. Using the workbook also gave the tutor some needed support in teaching some very basic skills.

There was also a discussion of which dictionaries are easier for learners to learn to use.

• A few tutors commented that the more advanced dictionaries were often overwhelming to beginning readers, especially all the abbreviations indicating derivation and parts of speech which often follow the word.


• Two dictionaries, available to all learners, which are slightly easier to use are:

Beginner's Dictionary of American English which not only has examples of the word used the context of a sentence. The downside of this dictionary is that it's missing many words found in other, more advanced dictionaries.

Webster's New World Portable Large Print Dictionary which is easy on the eyes but heavy in the backpack or book bag. It has simply written definitions with less detail than dictionaries having regular size font.

Wednesday Night Readers Book Club

Tutors: are you looking for a way to help your learner discover the pleasures of reading and to encourage him/her to read more away from your tutoring sessions? If so, talk with your learner about joining the Wednesday Night Readers Book Club... and you can join, too!

Members of the book club receive FREE copies of the selected book and adult learners can also pick up a FREE unabridged audio book. Then on the last Wednesday evening of the each month, we all come together for a friendly and engaging book discussion. The discussions are facilitated by two longtime Project Read volunteers who are talented at creating a nurturing and non-threatening environment for the free expression of ideas. It's a great experience for both learners and their tutors.

Here is a list of books which we will be reading and discussing over the next few months:

February 28 meeting -- Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
(book available now)

March 28 meeting -- The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
(book available on or after Feb. 28)

April 25 meeting -- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
(book available on or after March 28)

May 30 meeting -- Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
(book available on or after April 25)

Feel free to call the Project Read office (415-557-4388) for more information. We look forward to seeing you there!

Continuing Education Class for Tutors - Feb. 15

Using Poetry to Enrich Basic Literacy Instruction
Presented by Randy Weaver — Project Read Manager

Join us for this fun and interactive workshop where you will
discover how poetry and song lyrics can be used to teach basic
skills while adding variety and excitement to your tutoring sessions.

Thursday, February 15, 2007
6:00 — 7:30 p.m.
Main Library—Latino-Hispanic Meeting Room—Lower Level

Please call (415) 557-4388 if you plan to attend.

Tutor Round Table Meetings 2007

Tutor Round Table meetings are informal gatherings of tutors and staff for the purpose of sharing ideas and offering new strategies for instruction.

Join us at a Round Table meeting in 2007 -- they are held in the Project Read conference room and refreshments are provided.

Tuesday, January 2 -- 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 6 -- 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 6 -- 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 31 -- 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 3 -- 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 1 -- 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 7 -- 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 7 -- 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 8 -- 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 2, -- 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, November 6 -- 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

No Round Table meeting scheduled for December

Tips for Tutors from the November Round Table Discussion

At the monthly Tutor Round Table discussion, tutors had a lot to say about the following topics:

On encouraging their adult learners to write...
One tutor said her learner showed immediate interest in writing in a Response Journal. The learner's first entry was a page long! The tutor and learner will pass the journal back and forth responding to what each other have written. The tutor was careful to remind the learner that what she writes in the journal doesn't have to be perfect; spelling and grammar are not as important as just getting thoughts down on paper as a first step.

Another tutor at the meeting mentioned that his learner is quite comfortable taking risks when writing, which of course is a great way to learn. His learner turns in as many as 3 or 4 pages of written material which the tutor-learner team then goes over to look for random mistakes and patterns of errors. His learner is highly motivated to start working on punctuation and grammar.

A third tutor at the meeting said that her learner is less comfortable sharing the very personal things that she writes about in her journal. She keeps her journal writings to herself and uses what she writes as a way to deal with life's challenges. Everyone agreed that writing as often as possible, even when material is not shared with the tutor, is a step in the right direction.

On improving comprehension skills...
A tutor at the discussion asked about methods she could use to help her learner improve her comprehension skills. The importance of working on pre-reading activities was discussed. Ideas that were shared included: using a Mind Map to brainstorm vocabulary that the learner already knows regarding the topic he/she is preparing to read about; asking specific literal comprehension question before the learner reads so that he/she stays focused while looking for the answer to the question; using photos accompanying a book or article to generate a pre-reading discussion of what the material might be about; scanning the reading material to locate words that might be difficult for the adult learner--this can be done beforehand by the experienced tutor who knows the vocabulary that is likely to challenge the learner or together as a tutor-learner team before the material is read by the learner.

News for You -- a weekly newspaper for adult learners available in Project Read office

News for You, a weekly newspaper written for adult learners and published by New Readers Press, is now available in the Project Read office. This four-page newspaper contains easy-to-read stories about national events, sports, famous people, as well as special features. New Readers Press has complied a list of instructional tips for tutors/teachers using News for You with their learners.
Follow this link http://www.news-for-you.com/teachers/index_headlines.html then click on "Teaching Tips" on left side of web page.

Notes from October Tutor Roundtable Meeting

Two topics dominated the discussion at the Tutor Round Table Meeting on October 3rd.

• One tutor asked why his learner may still be having trouble decoding simple sight words even after the tutor points out the error.

A discussion followed about the importance of repetition and ongoing reinforcement of basic skills in the tutoring sessions. For most learners, it is not enough to address an error on a one-time basis. Instead, the problem words should be worked on at each session until the tutor is convinced that his/her learner can successfully decode and spell the word. In this effort it's important for the tutor to utilize multi-sensory techniques so that the learner is not only seeing the word on flash cards but also hearing it, and working with it in a kinesthetic, or tactile way (Scrabble tiles, tracing letters on desk or in the air, etc.). As tutors we sometimes forget that learners have a lifetime of making the same errors over and over because they never learned the basic skills necessary to be successful readers and writers. We can't expect them to learn these skills if we only address them once in a while during the tutoring sessions. It's the tutor's responsibility to create a lesson plan based on the needs of the learner and to follow through with that plan, providing the necessary repitition and reinforcement, at each meeting.

• Another tutor at the Round Table asked for ideas she can use to address her learner's goal of reading for pleasure.

One tutor suggested that she talk with her learner about getting involved in the Wednesday Night Readers Book Club. Even if some of the books being read are a bit challenging for the learner, she/he can also listen to the recorded book (also provided FREE to all learners) and still participate in the monthly book discussion. The learner-friendly environment of the book club is a wonderful opportunity for learners to express their thoughts about what they have read and hear differing opinions from their fellow learners. The book club experience can really enhance the reader's enjoyment of a book. Previous book club selections, both books and tapes, are also available in the Project Read office to be checked-out by tutor-learner teams. For the October 25th Wednesday Night Readers meeting, learners and tutors are reading Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (books & tapes still available in the office). For the November 29th meeting, the group will be reading God Rest Ye Merry Soldiers: A True Civil War Christmas Story by James McIvor.

Continuing Ed. Class for Tutors

UNCOVER THE ROOTS!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Main Library - Latino/Hispanic Room - Lower Level

Tutors are invited to this interactive workshop where you will learn new strategies to help your learner break down those difficult l o n g words by identifying the roots, prefixes and suffixes of the word.

Presented by Lucille Cuttler, Reading Specialist & Project Read Tutor
Please call the Project Read office @ 415.557.4388 if you plan to attend.

Tips for Tutors from the September Round Table Meeting

At the Tutor Round Table meeting on September 5, those attending engaged in a lively and informative discussion. These are some of the topics that were covered:

• A tutor discussed the difficulty she has with putting together a long-range instructional plan when at each session her learner seems to have a reading or writing task that must be addressed immediately--often work-related.

One excellent suggestion was to keep track of the basic skills that these work-related tasks involve and at some point sit down with the learner, look at the list, and prioritize which skills are most important to the learner and which ones he or she would like to start working on first. Then create a long-range plan to teach those skills and work through that plan at each tutoring session.

• Another tutor brought up the challenge of motivating his learner to set goals and stay focused on those goals from session to session.

A tutor suggested this simple mental exercise that might help the learner understand the commitment needed to reach his or her personal goals. The suggestion was to ask the learner if she or he has ever decided to learn or accomplish something, worked hard at it, and ultimately been successful. This can include just about anything in life--learning to play an instrument, learning to fix a car engine, completing a rehab. program, etc. Then ask them to describe what they did to be successful--what commitment did they make, and how much time did they devote to reaching this goal? Then, the learner can think about applying the same time and commitment to the reading and writing goals that he or she has set.

• A tutor asked for ideas for helping his learner organize his thoughts so that he will be able to write as clearly as he speaks.

One creative suggestion was to have the learner record himself as he tells a story, and then ask the learner to use the recording as a basis for completing a writing exercise. And don't forget to praise the learner for his excellent vocabulary and speaking skills. Spoken language, after all, is the starting point for all writing.

The September Round Table discussion was a great example of just how helpful and informative these sessions can be. Everyone attending offered their suggestions, based on their own tutoring experience, and helped their fellow tutors find new ways to address a variety of instructional challenges. So come by and join the discussion at one of these upcoming Tutor Round Tables -- October 3 and November 7 (6:00 PM in the Project Read Conference Room).

Notes from Project Money Workshop for Tutors

On Thursday, August 17, Project Read presented a continuing education workshop for volunteer tutors on the subject of helping adult learners achieve their financial literacy goals. This workshop focused on the learner-developed information (handbook and website) created by the Project Money team.

Highlights from the evening's workshop included:

A discussion of the barriers which prevent tutor-learner teams from working on financial goals. An excellent resource on this topic can be found on the Project Money website - www.projectmoney.org - in the Teaching Tools section. It's called "Feeling Comfortable Talking About Money" and it reviews reasons why adult learners may be sensitive about financial issues, and what tutors can do to make the learner feel safe in order to promote an open discussion of the topic. You can view this document at the following link: http://www.projectmoney.org/teaching/talking.html

We also discussed tools available on the website to help tutor-learner teams assess what the learner already knows about banking, credit, savings, etc., and what they need to learn: http://www.projectmoney.org/teaching/gettingstarted.doc (MS Word document) is a link to "Getting Started, a Self Assessment Tool". After working through this resource, you can go on to the next step of putting together a "Project Money Learning Plan": http://www.projectmoney.org/teaching/learningplan.doc (MS Word document).

Remember, the Project Money website has easy to understand information on many financial literacy topics. The information included on the site was researched and edited by adult learners themselves with the expert assistance of community advisors from financial institutions as well as volunteer tutors who then road- tested the instructional material.

Tips for Tutors from August Tutor Round Table

A newly-trained tutor from the July tutor training class joined the round table for the first time on Tuesday, August 1st. This turned out to be an excellent opportunity for her to get some great advice from the more experienced tutors at the table--exactly what the Tutor Round Tables are designed to do! Here are some of the questions she posed and the excellent responses she received.

• How did you break the ice with your learner during your first meeting? One experienced tutor mentioned that it's always a good idea to talk a little bit about yourself and what brought you to Project Read as a volunteer. Another good suggestion was to bring the learner's Goals Sheet, which you received from the office, and have a discussion about which goals are most important to the learner and need to be worked on first.
• How will I learn which instructional techniques work best for my learner? The experienced tutors all said that patience is the key. It doesn't happen overnight, but after a few sessions, you will get to know how your learner learns best and the techniques that resonate with his/her learning strengths.
• How do I encourage my learner to use the computer lab, especially if he/she has never used computers before? One tutor mentioned that the process by which a new learner receives a Lab License is designed to make any learner comfortable with the hardware and software found in the Project Read computer lab. This step-by-step introduction to the lab can be completed with the help of a staff member, or with the tutor there as a coach. Another tutor made the comment that the computer lab is there to reinforce what you are already doing in your tutoring sessions, and learners that have the motivation and time to utilize the lab in between tutoring sessions can make even more progress towards their goals. There are adult learners who do not regularly use the lab, so it is not absolutely necessary to the one-to-one instructional program. A tutor at the Round Table mentioned that she and her learner had not yet gotten around to working in the lab, but she was intending to go to the lab with him at an upcoming tutoring session.

Continuing Education Workshop for Tutors

Thursday, August 17, 2006

6:00 - 7:30 PM

Latino-Hispanic Meeting Room

Main Library, Lower Level

TIPS FOR TUTORS FROM PROJECT MONEY

Join us to discover instructional strategies and tools to help your adult learner work on his or her financial literacy goals. We will cover both the outstanding web-based and print materials created by adult learners themselves as part of Project Money. Please call our office at (415) 557-4388 if you plan to attend.

Schedule of Tutor Round Table Meetings -- July through November 2006

Tutors: make plans to join your fellow Project Read volunteers and staff at an upcoming Tutor Round Table meeting. You'll find these informal get-togethers to be both educational and fun.

Here are the scheduled meeting dates for the rest of 2006:
Tuesday, July 11
Tuesday, August 1
Tuesday, September 5
Tuesday, October 3 and
Tuesday, November 7

The meetings take place in the Project Read Conference Room and begin at 6:00 PM. We provide some tasty pizza and beverages.
These informal discussions normally last one to one and a half hours depending on the number of tutors who attend. Please call our office at (415) 557-4388 if you plan to attend a Round Table meeting.

Tips for Tutors: Topics from the Tutor Round Table Meeting on June 6th

At the Tutor Round Table meeting in June we discussed some common challenges faced by Project Read tutor/learner teams.

• One tutor at the meeting mentioned that her learner has difficulty understanding how and why punctuation is used. This problem occurs when reading and writing.

One suggestion offered involved using the technique of DUET READING to help the learner understand how punctuation is used to add meaning to any style of writing. As you recall in duet reading the tutor and learner read a text simultaneously. In this way, the learner can begin to hear how punctuation influences the flow of reading and the meaning of what is being read.

To help beginning writers understand the nuances of grammar and punctuation we have handy FREE books available in the Project Read office. Two that might be hepful are: Punctuation Power: Punctuation and How to Use it, and Write All About It.

• We also discussed the challenge of teaching an adult learner about the structure of writing and how important it is to express oneself clearly in order for others to undersand what you've written.

It is always important to get the adult learner writing as much as possible. Even if the writing is done in a personal journal which is not shared with the tutor, this is still a valuable exercise for the leaner because it helps him or her become comfortable getting their thoughts down on paper. Other writing strategies you might try include dialog journals that are passed back and forth between the tutor and learner, and response writing in which the learner is writing his or her thoughts in response to a picture from a newspaper, magazine, or photo album.

• Another tutor spoke about the word substitutions her learner often makes when reading aloud. The word substituted will often have just one incorrect letter which of course creates an entirely different word. For example the word blend may be substituted for the word bend.

It was suggested that the tutor might ask that the learner read the sentence again and hope that the mistake is corrected using the contextual clues in the sentence. Also, the tutor can isolate the misread word and create a quick word pattern exercise to show the difference between the correct word and the word that was read.

Join us for the next Tutor Round Table Meeting on Tuesday, July 11, from 6:00 - 7:00 pm in the Project Read Conference Room.