Project Read

We've Moved!

2010-07-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

Please update your bookmarks to our new, redesigned blog : http://www.project-read.com/blog/

Math interactive lessons K-8th level

2010-04-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

Hey --

Occasionally it's fun and challenging to hone our math skills. Visit www.aaamath.com. This site features comprehensive sets of interactive math lessons. Unlimited practice is available on each topic and allows enough time to master concepts. Pick from a wide range of lessons (Kindergarten through Eighth grade level) which enables learning or review at each individual's current level.

Sue

National Volunteer Week

2010-04-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

In celebration of National Volunteer Week, Project Read salutes the hundreds of volunteers who make our program possible. We are indeed grateful for the people that are you are and the work that you do. You inspire us and the students we serve every day!

Allwritingideas.com

2010-04-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get stumped coming up with creative writing ideas for your students? Have we got a solution for you! Check out the web site http://allwritingideas.com for picture writing prompts, blogging ideas, journal writing prompts, fiction and poetry inspiration, and more.

For example, here's a recent post with ideas for journal writing prompts about crying:

Write about the last time you cried for a silly reason.

Haven’t you ever cried for a silly reason? Then here’s another journal writing prompt for you: make a list of things that would never make you cry.

You could also reveal how you react when you see someone crying for reasons that you wouldn’t deem worth a single tear.

Most prompts on this site are short, sweet, and to the point, although they do also offer longer articles with general ideas about writing prompts.

Happy writing!

Writing Contest 2010!

2010-04-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

An ancient proverb says, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Regardless of the artist’s original intent, what we see in the picture can be very different from what others see. What words would you use to describe what is happening in the picture? Use your imagination and experience to speculate what the story is about or describe what is happening.

We are once again going to ask you to be creative. We have chosen five pictures (below) for you to use as a springboard for writing. Choose one of the following picture prompts and express yourself in writing. How does the photo make you feel? Write a poem. Write a fiction story about the subjects of the photos. Research the background of the objects in the photos. Or think of an experience you may have had similar to the one portrayed in the photo. Be creative!

Whichever image you choose, explore it from as many perspectives as you can. Be adventurous; surprise yourself. Try to generate as many different associations as possible. We look forward to seeing your work.

Project Read will divide all entries into three categories: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Each student may submit up to one entry per category (maximum: 3 submissions). Please include your name and the category (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) on each submission.

Prizes will be given for the most outstanding entries in each category. Prizes will be awarded at the Project Read Summer Party on Friday, 4 June 2010. Please submit your entry to the Project Read office by Thursday, 20 May 2010 to be considered for the contest.

To download this information as a .pdf, click here. Tutors, click here for specific information regarding rules and regulations.

Good luck!

Help Project Read raise $5,000 in a simple way!

2010-04-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

GoodSearch will donate $1 for every toolbar that is downloaded between April 6th at 9am EST and April 9th at 9am EST up to $5,000!!

Please download the toolbar right now by following this link:

http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/project-read.

Our new Project Read toolbar is free to download and allows you to raise money for our cause every time you search or shop online! Once added to IE or Firefox, each time you shop at more than 1,300 stores (from Amazon to Zazzle!) a percentage of your purchase will automatically be donated to Project Read - at no cost to you (and you may even save money as the toolbar provides coupons and deals as well!). The toolbar also has a search box and each time you search the Internet, about a penny is donated to Project Read!And, please pass this along to all of your friends. The two minutes it takes to add this toolbar to your browser can make a lifetime of difference for our cause!

Understanding the Health Care Law

2010-03-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

With the health care reform vote, and its passage occurring this week, I thought it might be useful to post some resources to better understand what the law entails.

The Wall Street Journal has an interactive program showing the key parts of the bill and when they take effect.

How the health care bill could affect you is an interactive from CNN.

‘The Reality of Reform’: Understanding the Health Care Law comes from The New York Times Learning Network. It includes an excellent lesson plan, adaptable for most Project Read students.

Many students will have heard something about Health Care Reform, and I’m just trying to figure it out all myself. I hope you find some of these links to be helpful and please feel free to add to this list in the comments.

-Emily Holmgren, Project Read Program Coordinator

Computer Literacy

2010-03-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

-Submitted by tutor Emily Allen

Do phrases like these sound familiar to you?

"I didn't know what that word meant, so I Googled it..."
"Visit us online at..."
"What's your email address?"
"You're only a few clicks away from..."
"Look it up on Wikipedia."
"He friend-ed me on Facebook yesterday..."
"Check out our new blog!"

The computer and the Internet are becoming increasingly important parts of our society. It is amazing to see how literacy skills like reading and writing are being used more and more to connect with people and gain information using computers. How many of us go through a week without checking our emails, visiting a friend's blog, or looking something up with an Internet search engine? With these ideas in mind, it is therefore important that as we help our students gain traditional literacy skills, that we also find ways to help them gain computer literacy. Tutoring activities like email pals, online journals, and online typing programs can help our students learn to function in our virtual world. As Nicholas Negroponte, a computer scientist from MIT, so aptly stated, "Computing is not about computers anymore. It is about living."

Here are some great resources that you can use to add some computer literacy skills to your tutoring. Some are targeted for ESL students, but many can be used for all students. Explore! Enjoy!

The Linguistic Funland (http://www.linguistic-funland.com/)

With the catchy slogan “Language is chaos! Language is fun! Language is way cool!,” this website contains various ESL resources mainly directed to teachers, including places to link personal websites, gain information about linguistic departments and various universities, links to online journals, etc.

Stonesoup.com: For young writers and artists (http://www.stonesoup.com/listen)

While this website is not specifically an ESL website, I have used it more than once in my personal ESL tutoring experiences. The website contains stories written and read aloud by children and is primarily for teachers to use to encourage students to do creative writing activities and to showcase student work. This website gave me some great ideas as a tutor about how to encourage writing activities with my ESL student, and the opportunity to listen to young native speakers of the language made for excellent learning opportunities. This website also have links to various childrens’ museums, other resources where young writers are in print, and a link to enable young people to find pen pals, which would make for an excellent learning experience for an ESL student.

Dave’s ESL Café (http://daveseslcafe.com/)

The “One and Only!” Daves’s is a website with resources related to all aspects of teaching ESL. As the site says, “Stuff for teachers…stuff for students…stuff for everyone.” Dave’s ESL Café truly offers a wide variety of resources from job forums to teaching ideas to quizzes on phrasal verbs and everything in between.

About.com: English as a Second Language (http://esl.about.com/)

This website houses links to free online English courses, sign-ups to receive emailed English tips of the day and ideas for lesson plans, as well as vocabulary quizzes, grammar teaching ideas, etc. This site is mainly under the direction of ESL instructor, Kenneth Beare, and his personal ESL blog.

Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page)

Project Gutenberg is a website produced by thousands of volunteers that contains over 30,000 free e-books in online book catalog. With its other partners, affiliates, and resources there are an estimated 100,000 e-books. This website therefore contains a huge collection of free written materials that could be used for all kinds of purposes in ESL classrooms for reading activities, grammar studies, and culture investigations.

The Internet Picture Dictionary (http://www.pdictionary.com/)

This online picture dictionary helps students learn vocabulary by linking the pictures with images. The website is divided into vocabulary lists based on categories like animals, parts of the body, holidays, etc. Various activities are available for students to use to test their knowledge of the vocabulary, including flashcards, fill in the blanks, word scramble, stinky spelling (where they must fix the spelling of the vocabulary words), and straight recall quizzes (where they must type in names of what things are).

Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab (http://www.esl-lab.com/)

Randall Davis is a professor from the University of Utah who organized this website as a place for students to work on interactive ESL activities – more than, as he says, “the static page.” The website focuses on helping students develop listening skills. In addition to a variety of listening activities, videos, and recommended textbooks, the site includes links to Dr. Davis’ ESL blog and other websites he has created, including Daily ESL (dailyesl.com), learning slang (ezslang.com), and Train Your Accent (trainyouraccent.com).

Activities for ESL Students (http://a4esl.org/)

This website mostly has interactive activities for students which include grammar quizzes, vocabulary quizzes, crossword puzzles, and “bilingual” quizzes which help students learn new words based on native language vocabulary. Also included on this website are ESL podcasts, and links to YouTube videos for ESL students.

Interesting Things for ESL Students (http://www.manythings.org/)

This site is organized into different areas based on different ESL skills. The sections on vocabulary and grammar include lists with games and puzzles, crossword puzzles, and matching quizzes. In the listening and reading section there are “listen and read along” stories, American stories, and links to ESL videos. The speaking section includes activities related to listening and repeating pronunciation. My favorite part of this website was the Super Quiz Machine, which is an online quiz that, while it can be taken innumerable times, provides student a different set of 20 questions each time they take it from a bank of other 3,000 questions. Other fun activities on the website included spelling quizzes and activities to learn songs, anagrams, proverbs, and slang.

Talking About (http://www.talking-about.net/)

As it advertises, “Learn English online with Talking-About - Your Free Resources to Better English…English Portal enables you to learn English 24 hours a day 7 days a week.” The most compelling feature of this website is that allows students to sign up for a computerized “tutor” to help them by developing lesson plans and tracking their progress in the language. The website is organized into the study of general or business English, and also contains links to other schools and websites for language learning.

Foreign Born (http://www.foreignborn.com/)

“[This website is] your best resource for entering and living in the USA” advertises this site. It contains

guides for all types of topics individuals new to the United Sates would need to know, including sending money abroad, banking, credit cards, insurance, medical care, social security, driving, and information on schools for adults and children. The section “Study in the US” gives info specifically to ESL learners about finding and applying to schools, financing an education, obtaining student visas, information about the TOEFL, etc.

A few other ideas…

LDS Journal (www.ldsjournal.com)

This site allows you to set up a free, private journal which you and your student can write in as often as you would like.

Good Typing (www.goodtyping.com, or www.cursomeca.com for the Spanish version)

This site offers a free program to practice typing skills. You can also access this page in Spanish, which is a great feature.

Gmail (www.gmail.com)

This is a great place to set up a free email account, but also offers a “gchat” program, a fun activity to practice typing back and forth with your student if you are each on a separate computer.

Student Volunteer Opportunities

2010-03-02T15:27:00.000-08:00

You don't have to be a tutor to volunteer with Project Read. The following are ways our students can volunteer their time as well:

Speaking to groups of tutors
Helping out in the office with office tasks
Public speaking about Project Read
Planning activities
Participating on committees or task forces
Helping the Program Coordinator raise funds and awareness
Submitting a guest blog entry

Speak with a Project Read staff member if you have questions about any of these, or if you have other ideas of things you'd like to help out with!

Search the Web, Help the Cause!

2010-02-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

We have something new and exciting we'd like to share with you! It's the new Project Read toolbar - once added to IE or Firefox, each time you shop at more than 1,300 stores (from Amazon to Zazzle!) a percentage of your purchase will automatically be donated to Project Read - at no cost to you (and you may even save money as the toolbar provides coupons and deals as well!). The toolbar also has a search box and each time you search theInternet, about a penny is donated to Project Read.

The two minutes it takes to add this toolbar to your browser can make a lifetime of difference! Get the toolbar and please pass it on to your friends!

http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/project-read

Book Leveling

2010-01-25T16:49:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered how you tell at what grade level a book is written? The Gunning-Fog Index is a quick, simple way to pretty accurately determine how hard a text is. This can help tell you whether the materials you are choosing for your student are appropriate for his/her reading abilities. The following are the steps for applying the Index:

Gunning-Fog Index

1. Select a sample

2. Determine the average number of words per sentence

3. Determine the percentage of hard words

4. Add the 2 factors and multiply by 0.4

Note: Do not take samples from the very beginning or end of chapters. Avoid sampling material that is not typical of continuous matter; that is, avoid sampling titles, heading, and vertical lists. Do not sample dialog unless it is typical of the content.

Hard words: A hard word is usually any word of three or more syllables. Count a hard word only once in each sample (if a hard word appears several times, only count the first occurrence). Do not count any three-syllable made up of a two-syllable word and one of the following endings: -s, -es, -‘s, -s’, -ed, -ing, -er, -est, -ly. A hard word does not include acronyms, proper names, numbers, or three-syllable compound words (e.g. anyone, everything, or another).

Sample

In general, construction of pictograms follows the general procedure used in constructing bar charts. But two special rules should be followed. First, all of the picture units used must be of equal size. The comparisons must be made wholly on the basis of the number of illustrations used and never by varying the areas of the individual pictures used. The reason for this rule is obvious. The human eye is grossly inadequate in comparing areas of geometric designs. Second, the pictures or symbols used must appropriately depict the quantity to be illustrated. A comparison of the navies of the world, for example, might make use of miniature ship drawings. Cotton production might be shown by bales of cotton. Obviously, the drawings used must be immediately interpreted by the reader.

Computation

129 words in 10 sentences = asl (average sentence length) of 13 words

26 hard words out of 129 = 20%

Average sentence length 13.0

Percentage of hard words 20.0

Total 33.0

Multiply by 0.4

Grade Level of Readership 13.2

Visit http://www.readabilityformulas.com/gunning-fog-readability-formula.php for more information about the Gunning-Fog Index.

Visit http://www.usingenglish.com/resources/text-statistics.php to input text directly into a text box and automatically receive statistics about the text, including the Gunning-Fog level.

Learn About Health Issues With Our New Mini-Lessons

2010-01-18T13:18:00.000-08:00

Do you know if you have high blood pressure?
Are you knowledgeable about your family’s health history?
How do you know if it’s safe to take aspirin with your current medications?

Project Read focuses on helping its students achieve the goals that are important to them in their own lives, so we are very excited to introduce Health Literacy “Mini-Lessons.” There are two, topic-specific binders available in our library you may use to incorporate into your tutoring sessions.

Lessons in the “Basic Health Literacy” Binder:

Health Professionals
Emergency Care
Regular Check-Ups
Health History Forms
Medicine
Reading Labels & Measuring
Health Insurance

Lessons included in the “Special Topics" Binder:

Chronic Disease
Environmental Health
Male Reproductive Health
Minority Women’s Health
Female Reproductive Health
Prenatal & Maternal Health

There are interactive videos and activities at every reading level so each Project Read student can understand how to live healthier. As always, please see the staff if you would like copies made of the lessons.

Job Training Grant Available

2010-01-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

Project Read received the following information from UVU:

Do you know someone faced with having to change career paths or upgrade
their job skills to survive? We can help.

UVU Community Education is the recipient of a Federal Community Based
Job Training grant. The purpose of this Federal grant is to increase the
number of trained, certified and skills-ready information workers. It
is directed towards helping lower income, minority, and disadvantaged
populations build job skills.

Individuals who qualify will have the opportunity for computer training
and skill upgrades through a variety of classes such as:

Community Education computer classes
Medical Coding, Billing and Transcription online training
Fiber Optics certification
Ed2Go online classes including: Microsoft Applications, QuickBooks, Digital Photography, and Adobe, and basic computer literacy courses

The grant will award up to $500 dollars to low income individuals
seeking computer training. These grant dollars will help prepare them to
enter the workforce with an upgraded skill set for our knowledge-based
economy. Take advantage of this opportunity now! (Must be a U.S.
citizen and 16 years of age or older to qualify. Veterans welcome.)

For more information on this grant opportunity, contact:

Kathy Johnson
Workforce Development Coordinator
Utah Valley University
Phone: (801) 863-8798
Fax: (801) 863-6024
Email: kjohnson@uvu.edu

Learning Outside the Lines: attend the free conference

2009-12-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

Learning Outside the Lines:

Strategies for Parents, Teachers and Students
A Conference Featuring Jonathan Mooney

Jonathan Mooney is a dyslexic writer and activist who did not learn to read until he was 12 years old. He is a graduate of Brown University’s class of 2000 and holds an honors degree in English Literature. A winner of the prestigious Truman Scholarship for graduate studies in disability studies and social change, Jonathan was also a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. With the publication of Learning Outside The Lines (now in its 14th printing) when he was 23, Jonathan has established himself as one of the foremost leaders in LD/ADHD, disabilities,and alternative education. For more information about Johnathon Mooney

A variety of breakout sessions will also be offered for parents, educators, service providers, and people with learning disabilities.

March 5, 2010
South Towne Expo Center
Registration Available On-line @ www.ldau.org

Holiday Literacy Activities

2009-12-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

Since many tutors and students won't be meeting regularly over the Holiday season, we have put together several literacy activity ideas for students to work on on their own if they have some free time. This way, students have the opportunity to continue developing their reading and writing skills even over a long break. Tying these activities into Christmas makes them all the more enjoyable and relevant to students.

So here is our list of activity ideas, which we will be updating periodically as we come up with more of them. Please feel free to post comments sharing your own ideas for holiday literacy activities with other tutors and students:

Have your student write in a journal each day throughout the holidays, describing Christmas traditions and activities in which they are participating.
Give your student a holiday book to read over the break.
Give students a list of holiday vocabulary words and have them look one up each day.
Have your student watch a holiday movie or play and then write a review about it as if they were a critic.
Ask your student to look up Christmas jokes to share with you and have them be able to tell you what the jokes mean.
Find Christmas story starters for your student so they can write a few Christmas stories of their own. http://www.abcteach.com/free/s/storystarters_christmas.pdf has some good story starters.
Give your student a Christmas Crossword Puzzle or Word Search to do over the Holidays. http://holidays.kaboose.com/xmas-word.html is one website with such games.
Students can make Christmas cards for their family and friends.
Have your student look up information about a particular holiday tradition to learn more about it.
Students can write letters to Santa (and practice addressing an envelope).
Create a Christmas Mad Lib for your student.

Some websites with additional Christmas activities:
http://www.esl-galaxy.com/holiday.html
h ttp://www.kented.org.uk/NGFL/festivals/xma s.htm#act

There are many more possible Christmas activities. Please post a comment with your ideas!

Short-Term Goals

2009-12-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

I had an excellent question today from a tutor about setting short-term goals, so I thought (of course) that I'd blog about it. Long-term goals are important, obviously, but it's hard to stay motivated if you're reading at a second-grade level and you want to get a GED--it's going to be awhile. You need to make sure that you and your student are setting small, achievable goals so progress can be seen--this gives more opportunities for celebration!

A few goal setting tips:

1. Define your goal and write it dow. Be precise--make it measurable with dates, times, and amounts (e.g. learn 5 new vocabulary words before my tutoring session next Tuesday--know the definition, spelling, and one possible use of the word in context).

2. Set priorities--dont set so many goals that it is overwhelming.

3. Set goals your student has control over. Base the goal on personal performance, skills, or knowledge to be acquired. Gain information about your student before setting a goal--know what she or he is capable of doing. A goal can be as basic as learning the letter sounds. (Examples: learn the alphabet, learn 10 new vocabulary words, read 15 minutes/day, watch close-captioned TV).

4. Set goals for yourself as well. For example, if your student has a learning disability, set a goal to learn more about it. If your student is from another country, set a goal to learn a few traditions from that country.

When you achieve your goal, celebrate! Play games for an entire tutoring session. Go out for ice cream. Submit student achievements to be posted in the Project Read newsletter. Some of these things may be things you are already doing--so frame it as a goal and then celebrate!!!

Happy goal setting.

2009-11-11T14:36:00.000-08:00

Getting Students to Write by Judi Fenton

I’ve always hated writing on demand. When I go to workshops and professional development sessions, I get frustrated when we are expected to reflect in writing about the topic at hand. I stare at the blank page and cannot connect my thoughts, my teaching practice, and my life with what is supposed to be on it. I glance at all the prolific writers around me filling up their pages and I feel completely inadequate.

I write best at odd times, usually when I don’t have a pen in my hand—in the shower, in the car, vacuuming. That’s when I get my ideas. I run downstairs from the shower to my computer and my mind goes blank again. I’ve debated getting a voice-activated tape recorder, but I’m not sure that it would help me. Sometimes, there’s something about having the tools to write with that gives me writer’s block.

It leads me to wonder about how, in our classrooms, we expect our students to write on our prescribed literacy block schedule, in their assigned spots. I wonder if, through this structure, we are not serving their learning needs well. I try to think about what kinds of writing opportunities would help me in a learning situation. Here are a few ideas that may helpl your reluctant writers.

Keeping a writer’s notebook
Enabling students to keep a writer’s notebook shows deep respect for our students. It tells them that we trust them to write when they are moved to write, that when they see something in the world that interests them they will want to record it for safe-keeping, perhaps to use later.

Journaling
My friend tells me that we need to exercise our writing muscles by writing 10 minutes a day. She believes that we get better at writing by writing, yet we don’t want to burn ourselves out. By writing for only 10 minutes a day, I usually leave myself wanting to write more, instead of exhausting myself. If there is one more sentence or idea that you have (and won’t lose) save that to help you get started next time. Definitely a great trick!

Responding to text
I love to write based on quotes from some of my favorite books (usually books about how to create learning communities in schools!) Students may have favorite books, fiction or non-fiction. Have them write about whether they agree or disagree with an author, how a text is meaningful (or not) to them in their daily lives, or what a piece of text makes them think of. Make it purposeful by encouraging them to actually send their responses to the author.

Comfortable writing spots
Who really sits at a desk to write anymore? Let students write all over the room, wherever they are comfortable. If they need to write at a computer, try to make one available for them. If they want to lounge on the rug, let them. If they need to talk about their writing, allow them to. If they need absolute quiet, let them use earplugs, if they can’t use a nearby empty classroom. Work with another teacher during independent writing time so you can have one silent classroom and one noisy one.

Help students brainstorm writing ideas
Be available for your students to confer during writing time, as well as other times throughout the day. When they say something interesting, let them know that it would be a fabulous writing topic. When they have a problem, encourage them to write it out to determine what next steps to take. Help them notice the writing ideas and stories around them. Be their mirror (or magnifying glass) when you notice something that they seem interested in and give them some resources to follow up on their interests and ideas.

Being flexible and excited about when and how our students write may be the most productive gift we can give them.

Holiday Writing Mini-Contest!

2009-11-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

We're excited that so many of you are excited about our Holiday Writing Contest! We invite you to answer this question to help with the brainstorming process:

"My favorite Holiday tradition is ..."

Just make a comment below and we'll award a prize to the most thoughtful, funny, or original response. Check back next week to see who will win free bowling at Fat Cats - one of our amazing sponsors!

Remember that submissions for the holiday booklet are due next Thursday, November 20th! Here are some more prompts if you are trying to come up with a topic:

What I Like the Most About The Holidays
My Favorite Holiday Memory
The Best Holiday I Could Ever Imagine
"The Girl Who Didn’t Know Christmas"
The Gift that Changed the World
What Christmas Means to Me
My favorite Holiday treat
Why It’s Important to Celebrate
How I Can Help Others This Holiday Season
A Poem about Snowflakes
Why We Should/Should Not Do Away With Santa Claus?
Are Holidays too commercialized?
What Is the Christmas Spirit?
The History of Christmas Traditions in America
Christmas in… (choose a country)

November Newsletter Items

2009-10-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

Kissing Record

Which country set the record for the most people kissing in one place at one time? Mexico! Mexicans broke the record when 40,000 couples kissed in Mexico City on Valentine’s Day this year.

In addition to the kissing record, this year Mexicans also set a record for the world’s largest cheesecake (55 cooks baked a 2-ton cake!) and for the world’s largest mariachi band (549 musicians). Mexico sure is setting the bar high!

Tips on Writing Letters to Legislators

Http://www.sfnapnap.org/id29.html and http://www.indiananurses.org/pdf_files/writing%20your%20legislators.pdf are two really good websites which contain tips on how to effectively write to legislators. They also have sample letters you can take a look at. Here are just a couple of suggestions they offer:

Keep your letter short

Tell the legislator who you are and make sure they know you are a constituent who lives in their district

Include rational for your point of view (including facts and statistics if you have them)

Personal anecdotes and concrete example are powerful

Always include your name and address in the letter

Do not send a form letter; handwritten letter are nice if they are legible

Direct letter to legislators in key decision-making positions

Time your letter to coincide with key events in the legislative process (such as the legislative session coming up this January)

Avoid emotionalism or righteous clichés (i.e. “as a citizen and a taxpayer”)

Be courteous and positively recognize legislators’ past efforts

Your student says: "I don't like to write". Well, have them write anyway.

2009-10-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

Writing is important! If your student balks at writing, or doesn't want to write about an assigned topic, have them pick something they want to know or write about. Or, give them a prompt: "I don't like to write because", or, "Today I got up and ...." or, I want to learn how to...".

Submit Holiday Memories Stories!

2009-10-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

Mail it, email it, fax it, drop it by the office, or even just slip it under the door. One way or the other, make sure the Project Read office gets your student's submission for the Holiday Memories booklet!

One of the most satisfying experiences for learners is to see their work in print and to share it with others. Now, your students have the chance to do just that! Have your student write about a favorite holiday memory and submit it to the Project Read office by November 13th to have it compiled in a booklet and shared with other tutors and students at our Holiday Party (December 4th).

Ideally, students should be spending close to 40% of their tutoring sessions writing or doing writing activities. Creating a story about their own holiday memories is an exceedingly enjoyable way for students to spend this time and practice their writing skills. They get to revel in their memories, share a little something about themselves, feel connected to other students as they participate in a program-wide activity, and catch a small glimpse of what they are capable of. They also get the chance to see how far they've progressed since coming to Project Read, which is often a difficult thing for them to see as their learning usually occurs so gradually.

For a taste of what some of our students are capable of, here is a story written by one of our students for our summer writing contest:

Memories of the Sea

Looking at the sea waves from this old and beautiful porch on the highest of these hills facing the ocean. I can see in each wave’s movement how the years start going back in time and all of a sudden, I imagine myself running on the beach with my bare feet, playing on the shore, happy, full of love, and having a lot of dreams.

Memorable fishing days, trips to the beach, beautiful sunsets, playful afternoons, incredible parties, and everlasting friendships come back to my mind, these are experiences that fill my soul with happiness. Fond memories and experiences that are forever engraved and are evoked every time I lay my eyes in the beautiful sand or waves of the sea.

Special Thanks: Lexis Nexis

2009-10-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

We’d like to extend an enormous thanks to our Spelling Bee Silver Level Sponsor: LexisNexis. The LexisNexis Commitment to “demonstrate responsible leadership and a commitment to the well-being of societies” was demonstrated through a $500 donation fundraised internally by LexisNexis employees. That donation was then matched by the corporate office, resulting in $1000 awarded by LexisNexis.

We enjoyed watching three LexisNexis teams compete at our 3rd Annual Spelling Bee and truly appreciate the donation. Sponsors like LexisNexis are helping us reach more of the 21,000 illiterate adults across Utah County who could benefit from our program.

Project Read continues to be committed in providing affordable literacy tutoring services for the adults of Utah County. With costs that far exceed the $10 subsidized program fee, Project Read relies on generous donations throughout the community.

Lesson Plans

2009-09-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Many tutors were able to turn in their lesson plans with last month’s hours. Many did not, and some of you are new tutors to the program. At training on Saturday, I found that our link to browse and upload your lesson plan as part of your tutoring report had mysteriously disappeared. Lest you worry, the tutor report form (http://project-read.com/report.html) now includes a place where you can upload your lesson plan and it will go directly to the Project Read staff. I would like to give a few lesson planning tips:

Lesson planning is clearly a critical aspect of tutoring. Without careful preparation and flow from one lesson to the next your student will not progress as rapidly as they may be capable. How do you put together an effective lesson plan? Planning is dynamic. It involves preparing the lesson, doing the lesson with the learner, and evaluating the results. It is not a linear process; rather, it is a series of connected loops, as one lesson leads into another, building on previous material and preparing for lessons to come.

Plan the lesson.

In preparing each lesson plan, consider these questions: What are the learning objectives? What will the learner accomplish? What materials will you use? What activities and teaching techniques will you use? How can you integrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the lesson? How much time will you spend on each activity? How will you and the learner answer the question, “Was it a good lesson?”

Do the lesson.

Evaluate the lesson.

Assess the effectiveness of the lesson by talking with your student, asking your student to record thoughts in a journal or dialog journal, making notes in your tutor log, and/or writing ideas for the next lesson.

If you need additional ideas or tips or sample lesson plans, please refer to your Tutor Training Manual or ask the Project Read staff for a sample lesson plan.

Happy tutoring!

Resources Available

2009-09-21T11:09:00.001-07:00

I had a question in Tutor Training about the resources available in the Project Read Office. The commnent was made that most tutors do not have time to come in and spend a lot of time sifting through the (literally) thosands of materials available to tutors. Don't worry! We understand, and we have tried to do a lot of the work for you.

Each month in our newsletter, The Candlestick, we spotlight a different material resource that is available to our tutors. Some are online resources, but the majority of the spotlights are about books or manuals available in our office. You can click here to go to the Material Spotlights page of our web site and view all the spotlights since 2003. Unfortunately, we do not yet have a topical list available, but you can click on the year and it will then bring up a list of the spotlights for each month (including the title of the resource). If you click on that link, it will take you to a brief description of the resource.

We hope this helps! If you find a resource you are interested in using, please just ask a Project Read staff member and we will be happy to direct you to the resource on our shelf. Happy tutoring!

Spelling

2009-09-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

We had a great question from a tutor on a recent tutoring report, so I thought I'd post it here with my response:

Question: I'm not sure how to help [my student] improve his spelling. Word-by-word he learns quickly, but he is really memorizing the way the word looks as a picture. So when he tries to spell it some time after we last reviewed it, it's shaped right but spelled oddly. How do I help him associate meaning of letters within the word rather than the word as a picture?

Great question!

Answer: I found some great tips on the web site Spelling It Right - Learn How to Spelling Confidently. Here are a few ideas:

To improve and develop their spelling, you need to:

develop an interest in words
feel safe about trying new words (not just words you're sure about)
learn about
the way words are built up using syllables
basic spelling patterns of English
memorizing strategies
the meanings of words
prefixes and suffixes
write for their own enjoyment without the fear that they will be criticized
read for pleasure

Tutors can help their students by:

encouraging them to look closely at words and talking to them about words
encouraging them to try new words
playing word games with them, such as:
hangman Click here for some interactive hangman games
Boggle
Scrabble
encouraging effective memorizing strategies
encouraging good reading/writing posture
sitting up - eyes 12 to 18 inches away from the work
forearms making a triangle with the torso insist upon it (friendly nagging if necessary!)
encouraging spare time reading
pointing out interesting newspaper items
respecting "good mistakes" - those which use letter patterns which do make the right sound, even though they are not right for that particular word. So, for "purpose":
"purpus" would be a good guess - like "focus"
"prupose" would be a less good guess
ensuring a dictionary is on hand for homework

One of my personal favorite ways to teach spelling is using the LOOK - THINK - COVER - WRITE - CHECK method (I used this with my son and it worked wonders).

LOOK carefully at the new word. How can youbreak it into smaller bits? Do any of the smallerbits remind you of the patterns of letters fromother words?

THINK about the parts of the words which mightcause problems - double letters for instance, or avowel that isn't pronounced as you would expect.

COVER the word and close your eyes. Try to see itin your mind's eye.

WRITE the word down without looking back.

CHECK to see if you're right. If not, look carefully at where you went wrong and try again.More

Hot Tips
Whenever you have to copy a new word from theblackboard, from a book, or from the dictionary, alwaystry to write the whole word in one go. Don't keep looking back after every few letters.

Try finger-writing: while you're THINKing about the word, pretend to write it with your finger, on your desk or on your hand or even "paint" it on the wall in front of you.

3rd Annual Spelling Bee a Smashing Success

2009-09-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Once again, the 3rd annual Project Read Spelling Bee thrilled audience and team members alike. Almost double in size from last year, 21 teams of 3 competed to be named Spelling Bee champions. In addition to the title of "Project Read Spelling Bee Champion," teams competed in the "Best Team Name" and "Best Team Costume" competition, with names ranging from "Word Stock" to "The Nelson Nerds" to "The Spellors" to the "Bee-Leavers" and teams dressed as ninjas, hippies, gangsters, etc. What an event! Provo City Library Director Gene Nelson was once again in attendance as the bumblebee mascot. Provo City Community Relations and Public Information Officer Helen Anderson also came dressed and ready to perform her role as a judge. Pronouncer Lee Bartlett gave participants each word, and MC Dana Robinson kept things light. And of course, we raised some much-needed funds for Project Read. Congratulations to our champions, the Mnemonic Mamas!

Of course, we couldn't have done it without the help of our sponsors:

Silver Level:
LexisNexis

Bronze Level:
FexEx Office
Hale Center Theater Orem
Novell
NuSkin
Provo City Library at Academy Square

Additional Sponsors:
Carrabba's Italian Grill
Daily Herald
Goodwood Barbecue Company
Les Olson Company
Magleby's
Mullett-Hoover, Inc.

Team Sponsors:
Sue Bartlett
Janette Beckham
Shauna K. Brown
Bryan Bennett
BYU Linguistics Department
East Shore High School
Empire Pension Consultants
Genesis PURE
LexisNexis
Gene Nelson
Provo City Library
Provo School District
Reading Horizons
Jeri Swalberg
United Way of Utah County

We couldn't do it without the support of faithful board members (Renata Swanson & Karen Brown):

Board member Valerie Roberts also helped out:

Judges Helen Anderson (Provo City), Tad Walch (Deseret Morning News) and Wendy Baker (BYU Linguistics Department) kept everyone in line:

Pronouncer Lee Bartlett was responsible for the word list, chosen from the Scripps Consolidated Word List:

MC Dana Robinson preparing for the event:

Participants sign in at the registration table:

Hannah won the 3rd round of the "audience spell along":

Competitors brought supporters to cheer them on:

The Spelling Buzzy Bees

Accessories in Crime

Bee-Leavers (audience-choice award for Best Team Name)

Bookworms

The Nelson Nerds (4th place & audience choice award for Best Team Costume)

Concessions were available for purchase throughout the event (thanks to board member Cory Bench & his daughter Abby for their help):

The Mnemonic Mamas (Spelling Bee Champions)

Otorinolaringologos

When you don't know how to spell the word, get creative!

The Dumblebees

The Prodigious Linguistic Connoisseurs

Word Stock (Best Team Name & Costume)

Kung Fu Cannons

The Spellors

Bee-Witched

Word to Your Mother

LIVE UNTIED (Give. Advocate. Volunteer. We always appreciate the support of United Way)

The Mighty Mayors (all 5 candidates for Provo City Mayor competed on two teams--The Mighty Mayors & The Miraculous Mayors)

The Merriam-Webster Group (2nd place)

The Miraculous Mayors

Dream Team Deleyne (2008 champions)

Thanks everyone for making this a great event! See you next year . . .

Spelling Bee Tomorrow!

2009-09-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Project Read Spelling Bee tomorrow! Join us in the Provo City Library ballroom from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a fun event. Spell along in the audience for a chance to win great prizes, vote for best team name and best team costume, or just cheer on your favorite team. See you there!

Check out the Daily Herald coverage of the event: http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/article_3f3c2b21-d4fb-5cec-b60a-b0f32488c198.html

Tutor Spotlight

2009-09-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

Terry Lege started as a Project Read tutor last summer, eager to find a way to connect with the community and make a difference in another's life. She wasn't sure at first how she would accomplish that, but when she was referred to Project Read she says, “I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do. It felt like it was what I needed to do.” Terry was paired with a student days after walking into the Project Read Office and has been tutoring her ever since.

Terry says she treasures the friendship she has developed with her student and acknowledges that books strengthen it with every tutoring session. An avid reader and former assistant librarian, books and reading play a major role in Terry's life. One of her favorite things about being a tutor is sharing books she loves like Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt and Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. “I love it when the enthusiasm I have for my favorite books is passed onto my student.”

Terry's observed that her student is very good at reading and reads many mysteries in her free time, always careful to write down things she doesn't understand. Most of Terry's challenges as a tutor have come in teaching writing skills. “Sometimes when English is being taught as a second language, it's difficult to know when to plug in verbs. We've been working specifically on that and parts of speech, but my student is very diligent.” Terry is equally diligent in her efforts at Project Read. She has donated nearly 90 hours of service in the last year and exchanges tutoring tips at monthly workshops.

We're so proud of and grateful for dedicated tutors like Terry!

Spelling Bee Next Week!

2009-09-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Forget the nerve-racking norm of spelling bees. This is unlike any spelling bee you've ever attended. Teams of three compete wearing silly and extravagant costumes while huddling over white boards to determine the correct spelling. Still stumped? Take it easy--lifelines are available, but not without a pricetag:

$10--poll the audience; $25--ask a judge; $50--peek in the dictionary

Project Read is a nonprofit program aiming to help adults improve their reading and writing skills through one-on-one tutoring and relies heavily on grants and donations to carry out its services.

Corporate sponsorship of a team or the event is also a great way to support both the community and education in Utah County while promoting your business.

http://project-read.com/spellingbee2009.html

Learn More About Adult Literacy!

2009-08-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

One of the best ways to combat adult illiteracy is to stay informed about the issues and trends in this area, as well as the growing number of solutions available. Here are a few ideas on how to educate yourself in the area of adult literacy:

Explore a few recent peer-reviewed journal articles or research studies on this topic. A great resource for this is the National Institute for Literacy (www.nifl.gov). Http://aera-cr.asu.edu/ejournals is also a good website; it will give you free access to journals in the field of education. You can also check out Canada’s National Adult Literacy Database at http://www.nald.ca/index.htm for access to more research materials and resources.

Learn about (or better yet, become involved with) groups and associations which research or work with adult literacy. The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy and ProLiteracy are just a couple examples of such groups. The U.S. Education Department even contains a National Assessment of Adult Literacy which you can learn more about on their website.

Pay attention to news articles and press releases on this subject. There is more news coming out about adult illiteracy than you might think! Earlier this year, for example, USA Today published an article called “Literacy Study: 1 in 7 adults are unable to read this story.”

Become an active participant in the fight against adult illiteracy by volunteering. Project Read and other similar organizations are always looking for enthusiastic tutors or teachers who want to make a difference in the lives of others.

2009-08-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

Fall 2009 Health Literacy Course

We're happy to announce our upcoming Health Literacy Course this Fall! This class will be provided for free to anyone interested in learning more about health, and how to communicate in the health world! Class topics include:

-- Chronic and Acute Disease

-- Emergency Care

-- Health Insurance

-- Nutrition

-- Regular Check-Ups

--Prescription Medicine

--Family Health History

Class begins September 1st and will run for 10 weeks! Classes will be located at The United Way (148 N 100 W, Provo) and you can attend either Tuesday morning (10-11:30 am) or Wednesday evening (6:30-8 pm). Hope to see you there!

Book leveling

2009-08-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

Every wondered what the reading level of a book is? To find out, visit this site:

www.lexile.com/booksearch

BlackJack Pizza Pitches In

2009-08-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, it’s a combination of our incredible volunteers and sponsors that make Project Read possible, and we’re very grateful to BlackJack Pizza for their donations to our summer party. Provo’s BlackJack is owned by Melissa Mullins and her husband Aaron. Melissa says she doesn’t expect anything back from her sponsorship, but donates simply to be a good member of the community. When asked what reading means to her and her family, Melissa responded, “Reading was a big part of my family growing up. Aaron and I both think reading is important. It’s relaxing; you can learn new things and go on adventures. I think everyone should have the opportunity to explore new things through books.” We agree! We’d like to extend a big-thank you to BlackJack Pizza for their continued support!

FY2009 Annual Report

2009-08-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life.

The Mission
Project Read seeks to prevent and alleviate adult illiteracy in Utah County. Project Read provides one-on-one tutoring services to help improve reading and writing skills sufficiently to meet personal goals, function well in society, and become more productive citizens. The goals of Project Read are met through the cooperation of community volunteers and other organizations that serve adults with low literacy skills.

The Programs
Project Read offers programs for both English and Spanish speakers looking to improve their reading and writing skills in either language.

Project Read provides assistance for adult residents of Utah County with literacy needs. This assistance is centered on the individual learner, who receives a needs assessment, one-on-one tutoring provided by a volunteer, establishment of goals, an individualized teaching plan, evaluation of goal attainment, and periodic reassessments. Project Read volunteer tutors and staff respect the uniqueness of each individual and seek to enhance self-esteem through successful personal study and group interaction.

Literacy Overview
Adult non-literacy is a social problem that silently affects us all. In Utah alone, more than 250,000 adults are functionally non-literate, and in Utah County, that number is 21,000 adults (Utah Adult Education Annual Statistics Report, 1994). This means thousands of adults cannot perform basic functions such as writing checks, reading instructions on medicine, getting a driver’s license, or finding an address. “It can’t be emphasized enough that there is a huge impact on this country when many people cannot read or write well,” said Robert Wedgewort, President of ProLiteracy Worldwide. “We’ve seen that adults with lower literacy levels do not generate significant incomes. This can cause a decline in personal income per capita, which will, in turn, have a significant impact on the tax bases of many states. Accordingly, there is a higher need for public assistance among low literate adults than for individuals with stronger literacy ability.”

“One adult unable to read is one too many in America,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

For businesses, non-literacy translates into lost dollars: U.S. businesses lose $25–30 billion a year due to poor literacy skills of employees and customers. Non-literacy also costs taxpayers millions of dollars due to increasing numbers of people on public assistance (ProLiteracy Worldwide Report on Literacy Programs). Project Read served almost 100 students this past year to combat the cycle of illiteracy in Utah County. This report details its successes.

Volunteer Contribution
Without a doubt, volunteers are the lifeblood of Project Read. Project Read could not fulfill its mission without the help of the 202 dedicated volunteers this year who helped teach students and train tutors. Volunteers also helped with fundraising, public relations, web site and technical support, web site translation, and general office tasks. Project Read board members are also volunteers.

Volunteer Hours
Tutoring: 3,866.00
Other Tutor-Related Activities: 1,330.00
Other Activities: 685.75
Total: 5,881.75

Student Successes
In Fiscal Year 2009, Project Read served 102 students. Project Read focuses on retention until a student completes the program or accomplishes his or her goals. Goals and outcomes will continue to be the focus of Project Read services and will be measured through standardized literacy assessments, Individual Education Plans, and monthly tutoring calendars. Project Read students accomplished the following goals in FY2009:

Students entering employment: 8
Students retaining employment: 42
Students improving employment: 4
Students receiving a raise: 5
Students achieving work-based project goal: 1
Students achieving level gains: 44
Students placed in postsecondary education/training: 3
Students obtaining a driver’s license: 2
Students achieving citizenship skills: 2
Students passing the TOEFL: 1
Students graduating from Project Read: 7
Total: 119

During FY2009, 100 percent of the Project Read students who were retested using the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) increased their skills in either reading, language, or math. In addition, in FY2009, 72 percent of Project Read’s students achieved at least one literacy-related goal, compared to 74 percent in FY2008, 56 percent in FY2007, 64 percent in FY2006, 63 percent in FY2005, 44 percent in FY2004, 31 percent in FY2003 and 23 percent in FY2002.

Program Improvements
In addition to the successes realized by Project Read tutors and students in FY2009, Project Read staff also made the following program improvements:

Providing Small Group & Supplemental Instruction
Program components adding to the already-existing one-on-one tutoring enhance the learning experiences students receive through Project Read.

FY2009 Accomplishments:

Small Group Instruction: In addition to the one-on-one instruction that is the hallmark of the Project Read program, the staff developed several small groups to enhance students’ learning experiences. This year Project Read had a book club and a writing group that met in the winter and spring months.
Health Literacy Initiative: The Project Read Health Literacy Initiative specifically focuses on health literacy and the ability to read and understand information relating to health and health care. The first phase of the initiative developed a health literacy curriculum that was taught in a small group. The second phase is to adapt the curriculum for one-on-one instruction.
Transition Program: Several Project Read board members started putting together a series of mini lesson plans tutors can use with students as they prepare to transition from the Project Read program into other education programs or work settings. These lesson plans can be interspersed throughout the Project Read tutoring program at a tutor’s discretion. One plan was developed, and additional mini lesson plans are in process.

Offering Quality Individual Instruction
By evaluating the needs of Project Read students and tutors and then working to fulfill those needs in a variety of ways, Project Read remains on the cutting edge of adult education.

FY2009 Accomplishments:

Tutor Best Practices: Project Read staff members attended a tutoring session each week to get a feel for what’s happening “in the field.” Staff members observed the tutoring sessions, offered suggestions for “best practices,” and gleaned ideas to share with other tutors in the program.
Student Newsletter (The Insider): Project Read developed a monthly newsletter targeting current Project Read students and including a calendar, community resource and student success spotlight, a student writing sample, and volunteer opportunities for students. O On Board Student Goal Research: Project Read received a student board fellow through BYU who took on a project to identify outcomesvalued by the board and possible measurements for those outcomes. The On Board Fellow compiled and analyzed information from the student intake goal form to identify program-wide trends. In general, students were most interested in being able to read/write things related to these broad categories: religion, government & law, health, jobs, recreation, and children.

Maintaining Superior Program Administration & Financial Health
A strong and vibrant infrastructure will ensure necessary resources to work effectively and assist volunteers, students, and other organizations focused on adult literacy.

FY2009 Accomplishments:

Blog: Project Read created a blog to enhance Project Read’s ability to stay connected with its tutors, students, and supporters as well as enhance the educational experience available through Project Read.
Monday Memo: The Project Read Executive Director implemented a weekly memo to board members keeping them up to date on the status of various projects and happenings at Project Read. This keeps the communication channels open and allow board members to be more involved if they so desire.
Institutional History, Transparency, and Governance: The Project Read Executive Director put together an online board web site/board manual including all of the vital documents Project Read staff need to be able to find at any given time (Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Board Minutes, etc.). This allows board members and staff to go to one place and have everything “at their fingertips.”
Spelling Bee Fundraiser: Project Read hosted its second spelling bee fundraiser to raise literacy awareness and funds for Project Read. Community members gathered for an afternoon of friendly competition and community spirit in September. The winning team, “Dream Team Deleyne,” named in honor of their mother, coasted past other teams by finally spelling the word, “olivaceous.”

To view the full annual report, please click here.

Literacy changes lives worldwide

2009-06-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

During a recent research trip to Guatemala, I saw first-hand the change that education can bring to a person's life. Most of the people that I had the pleasure of spending some time with lived in very humble homes. Many times the walls were made of adobe or corrugated metal. The families usually survived with a subsistence-level lifestyle. But, there was an interesting detail about nearly every family: one or both parents worked extremely hard to make possible the continuing education of their children.

One man, named Ronaldo, told me a story about the pressure he had felt as a boy to continue raising the crops as his primary usage of time, like his loving father. His father, seeing the immediate need of the family, asked the boy to drop his school studies when he reached the fourth grade and instead dedicate all of his time to the farm. Ronaldo had a hunger to keep learning, so without the financial support of his father, he was forced to find a sponsor to help him continue school. A teacher helped him find a way to study for one more year.
The following year, when he was out of money once again, he met a friend who helped him enroll in a sponsored education program. He sent his picture to the United States, asking for a sponsor to pay for his studies. Some generous person(s) provided him with enough funding to continue through middle school.

Near the end of his middle school experience, a public health group came to Ronaldo's school offering scholarships to those who committed to study and work in public health. He signed up, finished his education, and worked in public health for 20 years. Eventually, he was able to start his own small medicine shop. After some time of careful money management, he purchased some more land and also expanded his in-house store.
Ronaldo's hard work on his studies and his efforts to grow and continue learning and applying opened up a future for him, piece by piece. In 2008, Ronaldo's son was hit by a mototaxi and rushed to a local clinic. He was told his son had one hour to live before the head injury would take his life. They were far from the nearest hospital with specialty doctors who could operate most skillfully on his son. They decided to operate in the clinic. The son healed, thankfully. Ronaldo had to sell a large plot of fertile land to pay for the surgery.

As Ronaldo told me his story, he spoke with such passion and appreciation regarding his education and the people who had made it possible. He emphasized to me that it opened up life-changing opportunities. It also made possible his ability to cope with, and pay for, the unexpected and tragic head injury of his son.

Literacy is key to learning. The world around us, especially in a first-world country, is filled with information, instructions, lessons, warnings, etc. that become a total obstacle when a person can't read. There are many ways to promote literacy. I hope to continue promoting it in my family and community for the long term. I've seen it change lives right here in Project Read.

2009-05-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

FIESTA
Mark June 5th on Your Calendars

To celebrate the outstanding work of our students and tutors, we are hosting a summer party on June 5th at the park on 5th North and 5th West in Provo. The festivities will begin at 6:30 pm and will go until 8 pm. There will be yummy food, entertainment, and recognition awards. Feel free to bring your family as well as a drink or dessert to share.

We look forward to a fun night!

2009 Writing Contest

2009-03-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

We are going to stray from the norm this year and ask you to be creative. We have chosen four pictures (below) for you to use as a springboard for writing. Choose one of the following picture prompts and express yourself in writing. How does the photo make you feel? Write a poem. Write a fiction story about the subjects of the photos. Research the background of the objects in the photos. Or think of an experience you may have had similar to the one portrayed in the photo. Be creative! We look forward to seeing your work.

Project Read will divide all entries into three categories: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Each student may submit up to one entry per category (maximum: 3 submissions). Please include your name and the category (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) on each submission. Prizes will be given for the most outstanding entries in each category. Prizes will be awarded at the Project Read Summer Party on Friday, 5 June 2009. Please submit your entry to the Project Read office by Thursday, 21 May 2009 to be considered for the contest.

Free Tax Filing

2009-03-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

We want to share a great opportunity for individuals and families to come and do their taxes for free! Volunteers are on-site to help navigate the website and answer any tax questions.

This is a great service for those making less than $56,000 (combined household incomes). The great thing about this program is that both the federal and state returns are free. It is a great program and would be a great help to a lot of people. This program has been successful for the last couple of weeks and has been extended through the remainder of this week.

Please encourage people you know to take advantage of this free tax preparation program. Those interested in participating are invited to call 2-1-1 (or 377-6600) for more information and to schedule an appointment.

Third Annual Adult Spelling Bee!

2009-03-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

The time has come to begin getting the word out again about the Third Annual Adult Spelling Bee hosted by Project Read. The bee will be held Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. The event will include:

--Teams
--Lifelines
--Contests for Best Costume and Best Team Name
--Dinner for two at Carraba's for each of the winning team members!

To receive more info, visit Project-Read.com/SpellingBeeSignup2009.html. You may also send an email to UtahAdultSpellingBee@gmail.com and we will respond with an informational email about the event.

2009-03-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

Add Color to the World!

The Mexican consulate is inviting all children between the ages 7 and 11 of any nationality to participate in their 2009 art contest "This is my Mexico". The artwork will show what Mexico means to the child. The recommended theme is Mexican independence and the Mexican Revolution, however, other subjects such as Mexican history, culture, people, and traditions are encouraged.

The submission may be done in pencil, crayon, acrylic, paint, or any other medium the child chooses and should be on a 30cm by 30 cm or 12 in. by 12 in. sheet of paper.

Each participant will receive a certificate, and the best 15 submissions will be included in a 2010 Mexican calendar.

If interested, let us know. So get your creative caps on and add some color to our world!

FREE bank rate information website.

2009-02-25T12:59:00.000-08:00

On Saturday at Project Read's Financial Workshop, our presenter, Dennis Brown suggested visiting www.bankrate.com. It is a FREE online banking website where you can search for all kinds of financial information, i.e. best interest rates, checking account rates, savings account rates, etc. Online banking eliminates some overhead costs which allows banks to offer better rates to their customers.Check it out!

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

2009-02-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

At Project Read, we are tackling the elephant of adult illiteracy one piece at a time. Every book, every dollar, every service hour builds our capability to change the lives of Utah County adults and their families.
A current Project Read student, Amilee, recently donated five enjoyable to give Project Read students some more pleasure reading material. When asked why she donates, Amilee responds, "It's mutual help. They have helped me and I wanted to do the same." Thanks Amilee for your dedication as a Project Read student and a supporter of adult literacy!

Census 2010 Offices Recruiting Now

2009-02-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

Preliminary operations leading up to the 2010 Census are in full swing. The Census Bureau is looking for temporary, part-time, or full-time employees who know their local area. The next stage of census operations requires hundreds of people to visit homes, apartments, and other dwellings to verify locations of housing units. Verifying addresses and updating address lists in 2009 will improve accuracy when mailing questionnaires and contacting individuals in the year 2010.

Applicants should be U.S. Citizens, 18 or older, and must take a written test of basic skills and pass a security check. Census jobs offer flexible hours and mileage reimbursements. Apply today by calling 1-866-861-2010. Go to www.2010censusjobs.gov for more information. Click here to visit our blog or see pictures of other events.

From Bottom-Up to Top-Down: Three Easy Tutoring Activities Roundtable Review

2009-02-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

Improved pronunciation. Increased vocabulary. Strengthened reading comprehension. Greater self-confidence. Broadened grammar skills. Enhanced writing. Do these learning goals look familiar to you as Project Read tutor? However, you do you ever wonder, as I often do, if there are more enjoyable and effective means available that we can employ to reach these goals?

In an ESL literacy class I am currently taking at BYU, we recently had a discussion of the difference between "bottom-up" and "top-down" comprehension. These concepts greatly affected my perspective on the strategies I should employ as tutor.

We can compare these two types of comprehension to the skills involved in doing a puzzle. Bottom-up comprehension is focusing on the individual pieces of the puzzle – their shapes, individual components, and how they fit together with the pieces around them to ultimately form the big picture of the puzzle. These are the individual skills that we work on with our students to help them comprehend large concepts like reading passages or lifestyle skills. In our tutoring, examples of bottom-up skills could include:

· Sounding out words

· Pronunciation skills

· Understanding punctuation marks

· Word recognition

· Spelling

· Basic math skills

Top-down comprehension, on the other hand, is focusing on the "big picture" of the puzzle and then using that background knowledge about the overall concept to fit together the individual puzzle pieces. This means implementing what a student already knows, or understand the overall goal of a task, before attempting to employ the individual skills necessary to comprehend the activity or complete the task. Examples of top-down skills in tutoring could include:

· Sharing background knowledge on a topic

· Making predictions about a topic based on past experience

· Sharing life stories and opinions related to a given topic

· Making connections between different cultures and their customs

As tutors, it is important to find a balance between these two types of processing. Both are important to help our learners become successful and reach their desired goals. However, I believe that the more we use top-down oriented activities, the easier it will be for us to identify the specific bottom-up skills that our learners need practice with, and the more we will be able to foster an atmosphere of fun and self-expression in our tutoring sessions.

The following are three top-down oriented activities that can enable you to simultaneously access the background knowledge and interests of your student while enabling you to identify bottom-up skills they need more in-depth help with.

1. The Conversation Can

Using a resource I found on the Internet entitled "Conversation Questions for the ESL/EFL Classroom" (http://iteslj.org/questions/), I developed a collection of cards with question prompts on them, each card based on a particular topic. I keep these cards together in a can that my student can choose from. The cards cover a wide range of topics - colors, personality, music, science and technology, favorites, and many others. We go through the questions on the cards and discuss our answers, taking turns asking and responding to the questions. The questions associated with each topic go into surprising depth and provide many opportunities to learn about one another's varying opinions and background experiences.

Through the conversation can, I have learned a great deal about my student and her background experiences and interests. In fact, many of the conversations we have had have led to other learning activities based more explicitly around my student's interests. The conversation can has also given me the opportunity to really listen to my student and evaluate her language use. Listening to her tell stories about which she has great energy and interest has proved a far easier medium for recognizing her grammar and pronunciation trouble spots than simply focusing on book-based activities.
(I keep my conversation can in the supply closet in the Project Read office. All are welcome to use it.)

2. Opinion Paragraphs

Another activity that provides great access to top-down processing is the writing of paragraphs of opinion with your student. I usually do this activity by writing a simple statement on the white board that lends itself to different reactions based on different points of view. Examples of these statements include:

"Going to the movies is too expensive and is a waste of time."

"All people should go to college."

"It is important to read the newspaper every day."

After providing the day's prompt, I then use a timer and my student and I each write for ten minutes in response to the statement, explaining our viewpoint on the matter. It is a fun way for us each to share our beliefs, values, and background experiences, while enabling us great practice for things like spelling, grammar, and use of appropriate voice. These paragraphs are always helpful in allowing me to really understand my student and her experiences better while also enabling me to identify her weak spots in the technical aspects of writing.

One other fun twist on this activity is to occasionally have the student, instead of the tutor, provide the opinion prompt statement. It is an excellent means of identifying the interests of the student and the issues they believe are important. For example, one time I had my student do this, and she provided the prompt "It is important to know the president of your country." I didn't know that she had such an interest in politics, but following that opinion paragraph writing we went on to do some great activities where we learned about and discussed the similarities and differences between the American president, Barack Obama, and the Mexican president, Felipe Calderón. This was a fun way to exercise her background knowledge and interests to practice skills related to English expression.

3. Picture Prompts

One final top-down activity involves the use of pictures prompts to encourage creative writing and thinking from students. I have developed a collection of cards, each with a picture on it that I have cut out of a magazine. I tried to create the collection with a large variety of colors, subject matter, and size, and tried to avoid pictures with written text in them.

The cards are useful for a wide variety of activities, but are especially fun to use for creative writing purposes. Similar to the opinion paragraphs, I will often select (or have my student select) a picture, and then we each write a story in response to the picture for a set amount of time. By having an overall idea of what we want to convey in our writing there is excellent access to top-down comprehension, while the struggle to convey our thoughts and ideas provides great practice for our bottom-up skills.

The picture prompts can also be used for oral storytelling and a wide variety of grammar structure practice activities. For example, recently my student and I were reviewing the irregular past tense forms of verbs in English (for example, 'spend' in the past tense is 'spent,' not 'spended.') To practice this, we made up sentences using these past tense forms to describe what we saw in one of the picture prompts.

(I also keep my collection of picture prompt cards in the supply closet in the Project Read office. All are welcome to use them. They are in a Ziploc bag and the pictures are mounted on dark purple cards).

I definitely believe that the more we get to know our students and seek to access their interests and background experiences, the more enabled we will be to tailor our tutoring to their individual needs and circumstances. I hope that by seeking to employ some elements of top-down activities in your tutoring that you will be able to foster greater friendships with your students, achieve more of your literacy goals, and find even more satisfaction in the service you offer.

2009-02-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

Employment Opportunity

For our students and/or tutors who are interested in earning a little more money this winter, temporary, part-time, and full-time positions are needed to help prepare for the 2010 census. The following contains more information:

Census 2010 Offices Recruiting Now

Applicants should be U.S. Citizens, 18 or older, and must take a written test of basic skills and pass a security check. Census jobs offer flexible hours and mileage reimbursements. Apply today by calling 1-866-861-2010. Go to www.2010censusjobs.gov for more information.

Imitating/Copying Poetry

2009-02-03T11:23:00.000-08:00

One of the methods I recommend in tutor training for teaching writing is imitating or copying poetry. I am including here some tips and ideas to get you started.

"Imitation, conscious imitation, is one of the great methods, perhaps the method of learning to write. The ancients, the Elizabethans, knew this, profited by it, and were not disturbed. As a son of Ben [Jonson], Herrick more than once rewrote Jonson, who, in turn, drew heavily on the classics. And so on."—Theodore Roethke, "How to Write Like Somebody Else"

Imitation is the most direct route to mastering a skill—just follow the master step by step and you're bound to get it. There's a long tradition of this in the arts. Go to a museum and you’re likely to find a student tracing someone else's moves. As Roethke alludes, there is a vast history of the practice in writing as well. Imitation is a means by which we can take the past and tradition into account, but build upon, develop, and change that tradtion as well.

One specific exercise for practicing imiation is called "copy change." Bascially, you borrow another writer's structure and use it as the skeleton for your own work. But isn't this plagiarism, you ask? You may find that the new poem takes on a life of its own, and becomes a very different work than the original. If there's no trace of the source, you don't need to give anyone else credit. If, on the other hand, evidence of the original structure remains, you should give a nod to the first writer in some way.

Check out the following student example of a copy change. The source poem, which is by Emily Dickinson, is printed first. Words and word fragments that the two poems share have been put in bold text.

I hide myself within my flower,
That wearing on your breast,
You, unsuspecting, wear me too—
And angels know the rest.

I hide myself within my flower,
That, fading from your vase,
You, unsuspecting, feel for me
Almost a loneliness.
*
Scarves
after Emily Dickinson

I drape myself with scarves
That wearing on my shoulders,
You, unsuspecting, think me chic—
But I know the truth.

I drape myself with scarves,
That wrap me, protect me,
And you, unsuspecting, do not know
I am lonely too.

This writer has mainly copied the beginning of Dickinson's lines, but you don't have to do the exercise this way. You can copy the endings of lines, the stanza structure, the rhyme, the pattern of repetition—select or omit any feature you want.

Imitating the poetry of famous authors can be a great way to practice writing poetry.

In the novel, Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, a boy named Jack, who is the narrator of the story, imitates a famous poem by William Carlos Williams entitled "The Red Wheelbarrow."

Read "The Red Wheelbarow" by William Carlos Williams.

Read this excerpt from Love That Dog and find Jack's imitation of the wheelbarrow poem.

As the reader will find out later, an important event occurred in Jack's life related to the blue car, and so Jack's imitation of the Williams' poem works well for style as well as content.

Your turn!

Your first writing task is to find a poem that you like by the poet of your choice, and to write an imitation of that poem. The poem should be at least 8-10 lines in length. If the original poem that you choose to imitate is longer than this, you may choose to imitate just a few stanzas instead. The poem you create should reflect your poet's style, including the following:

the form or type of poem, whether ballad, narrative, or lyric

specific words and phrases that create sensory images

sound elements of poetry that contribute to meaning (i.e. rhyme, rhyme scheme, and rhythm)

use of poetic devices such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, etc.

the use of figurative language (i.e., similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole)

Some imitations are done in a humorous way, and these are called parodies. Here is an example of a poem imitation that is a parody:

Original poem entitled "The Raven" by Edgar Alan Poe.

Parody of "The Raven" entitled "The Reagan" by Frank Jacobs.

Parody of "The Raven" entitled "A School Day" by Penman.

Now find a poem by your chosen poet and create an imitation of it. Your imitation can be serious or humorous, but check with your teacher for his/her requirements. Use this checklist to help guide your final copy of your poetry imitation.

Poetry Imitation Checklist

Health Literacy

2009-01-28T13:19:00.000-08:00

When a person cannot read instructions for medicine or instructions from a doctor, it is detrimental to the community. Parents cannot adequately care for the health of their families if they cannot read.

In addition to students with low literacy skills, Project Read serves several students with varying degrees of physical and mental disabilities. By helping these people become more self-sufficient and more responsible members of society, Project Read promotes health for the community.

The Project Read Health Literacy Initiative specifically focuses on health literacy and the ability to read and understand information relating to health and health care.

Project Read is now offering health literacy classes using a curriculum covering topics such as community health resources, understanding medical directions, exercise, understanding financial options and resources, emergency care, and nutrition. The illiterate of Utah County are among the most needy members of the community, and by helping them become literate, Project Read is helping to break the cycle of illiteracy thereby providing prevention of future problems caused by illiteracy.

Please call (801) 852-6654 to register for health literacy classes—the 10-week class started last night Tuesday, Jan. 27. The next class will be tomorrow Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. Click here to register.

Tutoring Observations

2009-01-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

Heads Up!

Krista, Sue or Bryan will soon contact you about observing one of your tutoring sessions. The purpose of this observation is mainly to learn the techniques you are using to tutor and to observe your interactions with your student. As we train new tutors to work with adult literacy students, we want to give them tips and suggestions from those working on the front lines—you. The purpose is not to critique or criticize your tutoring style, although we may have some ideas for you as well as suggestions for materials you could use to tutor. We will also be happy to answer any questions you might have for us.

Project Read will soon be applying for national accreditation through ProLiteracy America. One area we will be measured on is "Instruction." Project Read staff members must show evidence that:

Instruction is student-centered and outcome-oriented.
Instruction is culturally sensitive.
Instruction encompasses a variety of methods, materials, and techniques, possibly including assistive technology.
Tutors/instructors and students collaborate in the instructional process. Examples:
a. mutually determine goals
b. negotiate what happens in the lesson
c. both students and tutors/instructors conduct self-assessments of the instruction
The organization promotes and supports the use of written lesson plans and evaluation.
The tutor/instructor and student collaboratively evaluate the instructional process.
The organization monitors instruction and provides examples of how it does so.
The organization evaluates instructional services as a whole (objective and subjective data). The evaluation influences changes in the organization’s instruction and programming.

These tutoring observations will move us that much closer to becoming a nationally accredited tutoring program—for the cause!

A Project Read Student Returns to Donate for Literacy

2009-01-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

Project Read provides one-on-one literacy services for only $10/year, which is only a very small fraction of the cost associated with providing services for just one student. Project Read is able to continue to thrive and provide adult literacy services because of the generous donations of many different organizations and individuals. One former Project Read student, now graduated from the program, explained why she chose to come back recently and donate her hard-earned money to Project Read. "The people at Project Read have helped me so much. They gave me awards for being an outstanding student. I learned so much because of them. Even though I don't need to donate, I feel I owe it to them for all they have done for me. I would love to become a tutor in Spanish literacy. But, until they find a student I can tutor, this is a way I can help." Click here to see who our sponsors are and to find out more about how and what to donate to Project Read.

2009-01-05T10:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome back for another great year at Project Read!

We hope you had the very best holiday season and are ready for 2009.

Now that the holiday decorations and fireworks have been put away and you are settling back into routine, we hope that Project Read will continue to be part of your activities. As you arrange your busy schedules and set new goals, please be aware that our office hours have changed. We are now open Monday through Thursday from 11 AM to 9 PM. Hopefully, the change will not inconvenience you.

As it is the beginning of a new year, now would be a PERFECT time to tell your friends about Project Read. There are many people who could benefit from the services we offer in developing reading, writing, and other literacy skills. We are eager to serve even more people in the community this year. And, of course, we always need more brilliant tutors and volunteers -- we can't do it without you!

We look forward to seeing you all again!

Future Job Opportunities at the U.S. Census Bureau

2008-12-23T12:51:00.001-08:00

The U.S. Census bureau has posted their new and varied paid employment opportunities which are available to everyone. The jobs include the following: Census Taker, Crew Leader, Recruiting Assistant, Crew Leader Assistant and Census Clerk. For detailed information call 1-866-861-2010 and follow the step-by-step instructions. TTY information at 1-800-877-8339. I tried it and it was very easy.

Project Letters

2008-12-15T11:13:00.001-08:00

I just received an email from Carlos E. Galindo, the coordinator for Project Letters who is trying to get anyone and everyone to write a letter to President Obama about immigration reform and mail it on February 12, 2009. This could be a great project for you and your student to work on together. Read on for more information . . .

Greetings, I'm Carlos E. Galindo and I am the Coordinator for Proyecto Cartas also known as Project Letters. We have launched a serious campaign to promote this very important project on a national and global basis. The concept behind this project is that every individual interested in immigration reform or bettering our economy here in these great United States send a letter to President Obama on February 12, 2009. Why February 12, 2009 you may ask? February 12, 2009 is the bicentennial birth date of Abraham Lincoln. As we all know Barack Obama has been greatly influenced by Abraham Lincoln and has patterned much of his political life after Lincoln and has quoted him in many speeches and in his book the "Audacity of Hope". This is a very symbolic date based on the fact that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves of their chains and the possibility exists that President Elect Obama could free those immigrants currently living in the shadows of their virtual chains.

Just imagine, millions of letters going out on the same day. What an impact this will have on the postal system and the media attention will be impressive. The infusion of money into the postal system will be incredible. This will allow the immigrants and others to voice their needs utilizing the oldest form of communication and allows those utilizing this method to avoid having to march in the streets and yet it is an assimilation into the American culture. The show of force from not just those immigrants seeking an immigration reform but those U.S.
Citizens who believe in the need to have low skilled labor to continue prospering this economy and to allow those twelve million plus undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows and openly participate and contribute to this great nation.

We currently have support from the local media in print and the smaller television stations have had me on their programs explaining this program. We have garnered an incredible amount of support from the general public both Immigrants and mainstream Americans including African Americans and Asians. This is a non-partisan project and does not draw lines as to gender, race, creed or color. Everyone including children, the elderly and all family members can write a letter to our soon to be President, Barack Obama. All letters must be personally written. Many other have launched campaigns for letter writing, but unfortunately they included form letters signed by many participants in that project and as we know form letters do not carry the weight necessary to impact congress or the White House. These must be personally written in as brief as a few words or can be lengthy telling a personal story or dilemma, however all seeking the same change.

Immigration Reform!!!

Just Imagine millions of letters arriving to the White House two to three days after being sent on this very symbolic day!!! All letters must be ready for security purposes and must be categorized. This is an impressive and ambitious project!!!

It is important to note that I am not part of any particular organization and I am not in any way benefiting financially from this project. I am currently hosting a radio talk show and I actually pay to be on the air and give solid information to our community in Spanish.

The idea behind our radio show is to support the Hispanic Community and to allow them to have a voice in what is affecting them daily.

Please help us promote this very important project nationwide!!!!

Professionally,
Carlos E. Galindo
cgalindo@swvalleyliteracy.org

Proyecto Cartas
Project Letters
www.proyectocartas.com <http://www.proyectocartas.com
Cell: (602)550-6246
Office: (602)222-9100

1901 N. 16th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85006

Carlos E. Galindo
President
Southwest Valley Literacy Association
(623)695-4323
www.southwestvalleyliteracy.org
"Teach someone to read, it lasts a lifetime"

Annual Christmas Party & Award Banquet

2008-12-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

We appreciate everyone who attended the Project Read Annual Christmas Party and Award Banquet. The evening was lovely, the food delicious, the entertainment beautiful, and of course it was wonderful to spend the evening with friends and recognize the hard work and contributions of Project Read tutors and students. We appreciate those board members who attended, and we look forward to an even better year in 2009.

We especially appreciate our sponsors, Lon's Cookin' Shack & Outback Steakhouse who provided the pork & potatoes for the meal. In addition, Costa Vida, Bajio, Magleby's, Los 3 Amigos, Macaroni Grill, Chik-Fil-A, Nicolitalia Pizza, Fazoli's, & Honey Baked Ham donated gift certificates for the awards to tutors & students.

Project Read Director Shauna K. Brown recognized Toni Johnson as the Tutor of the Year:

Other outstanding tutors and students were also recognized:

Project Read Program Coordinator Bryan Bennett and some of his friends (Michelle Parker, Anneli Hansen, Julie Chatfield, Mandi Alexander, Charla Aranda, Taylor Ralston, and Scott Richards; Jamie Williams on the piano and Elizabeth Zenger on the violin) provided beautiful entertainment including several choral numbers and a violin/piano duet:

The food (provided by Lon's Cookin' Shack & Outback Steakhouse) was delicious and everyone had an enjoyable evening:

A visit from Santa Claus (with gift bags) was the highlight for the many children in attendance:

Free Online English Classes

2008-11-25T12:50:00.000-08:00

Office of Vocational and Adult Education Launches Online English Portal

Starting today, immigrants and other adults who want to learn or improve their English skills can log on to a new free Online English Portal called USALearns. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education, through its Division of Adult Education and Literacy, oversaw the design of USALearns.org.

Launch of the site completes a goal set by President Bush in his August 10, 2007 announcement of initiatives to address border security and immigration challenges in the United States--a plan to have the U.S. Department of Education develop and launch a free, web-based portal to help immigrants learn English, expand their opportunities, and make effective contributions to American society."

To access or learn more about the new Portal, visit http://www.usalearns.org/ or view a fact sheet at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications/pdf/USALearnsFactSheet08.pdf.

FedEx Kinko's Pitches In

2008-11-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

Many organizations and individuals played key roles in making the 2008 Project Read Spelling Bee possible. FedEx Kinko’s really stood out among this group. When asked why his store chose to donate more than $1,000 in-kind in printed spelling bee flyers and brochures, Justin, an assistant manager from the FedEx Kinko’s store, responded, “Looking at the cause and recognizing the importance of adult literacy, I wanted to get involved. I want to be clear that I am not in this just for the business. I want to be a part of making the community better.” Justin has recently been promoted to store manager. We congratulate him and thank him for his help! Well, g2g. Thanks for helping us “change lives through literacy.”

New Student Policy

2008-11-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

Beginning this month, Project Read now needs new students to show proof of Utah residency before they can begin our program. This can be done by showing one of the following:

Utah Driver's license

Utah State ID

Utah fishing or hunting license

Utah library card

Utility, house, or phone bill in the student's name and uses a street address (not a PO box)

Current car registration

Utah high school or college report card

Official letter from employer stating the job of the student

Utah voter registration

~OR~

Registration of the student's child in a Utah school

Once a student shows one of these documents (an original that Project Read can photocopy and keep in the file) and meets other Project Read requirements , the student can begin studying at Project Read.

***This new policy does not apply to those students already in our program.***

Getting Writing Samples from Your Students

2008-10-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

Somewhere along the way we've dropped the ball asking you, the tutor, to have your students offer writing samples. We have a writing contest for the summer party and we collect holiday memories for the holiday party. At these times, we ask students and tutors to enter a short story (or long if they want), we give them a topic ideas, and the tutor and student take it from there. We don't edit these entries; we publish them "as is" in a booklet we hand out at those two events.

We don't need a summer or Christmas party to encourage our students to write. What we need is for you, the tutor, to prompt them -- give them some topic to write about and let them go. Tell your student the "essay" can be as long or short as they wish. It can be a personal story, a made up story, about feelings, or anything else they want to write about. Our director provides a new writing prompt in each monthly newsletter--this is a great starting point!

The following is a wonderful story submitted by one of our students at the prompting of her tutor. It's a perfect example of a writing sample and in this case, we learn something about another culture as well.

Read on!

Korean Thanksgiving (unedited)

By: Wonsook Lee

In September we have a big holiday in Korea. It's like our Memorial Day and Thanksgiving holiday put together. We make food and have a ceremony for our ancestors. Then we go to the cemetery.We have a big table with food. My deceased mother's and father's pictures are on the table. There is also a letter picture with symbols of memories of them that we give to them. We open every window and door and imagine that my mother and father come in. All the brothers bow to them one by one. A daughter does not bow traditionally, because she is not part of that family. She becomes part of her husband's family. After bowing, we talk to our parents silently about our wishes. I talked to my mother about my wish to have a health family. My mother died a few years ago and I was not able to go to her funeral. I wanted to go for this holiday to worship my parents. After the talking to our parents, we eat special foods. I was able to talk to my brothers over dinner and they talked to each other. They aren't able to get together very often.This celebration happens early in the morning. After we finish eating, we go to the cemetery. When we do to the cemetery, we cultivate the lawn around the tomb. We also take flowers. Some families bring the food to the cemetery, when they don't worship at home. They perform the ceremony there. Our family does it at home. On New year's Day, by the lunar calendar, we have a similar holiday to honor our ancestors, but we don't go to the cemetery on that day. Before the September holiday our family went to my big brother's house to help make the food. Usually a sister does not go to her big brother's house, because she would go with her husband's family. Since I was visiting from America, I went. My brother's house was so clean. Everything was put away so we could have room to make the food. They even put away the couch and table. My little brother lives far away, so he went to my big brother's house two days before the holiday and stayed there. Many things have changed in my country for this holiday. So many people are traveling before and after the holiday, that the traffic is terrible. Some people don't go to the cemetery. They stay at the oldest brother's house. They want to avoid the traffic. If some of the brothers don't want to go to the cemetery, the others take care of the gravesite. When the brothers don't have time to go to the oldest brother's house, they just send money or call and say they can't come. Traditional the oldest brother has the responsibility to take care of the parents. The reason is that the oldest brother inherits 50% of the parents' property. The other brothers divide up the other 50% of the property.

Please, take a minute and help your student create a writing sample to share. You can post on this blog to share and you can also use the blog to ask questions of each other, tutor to tutor, student to student, student to tutor.

Let the ‘blogging’ begin!

Sue

2008 Spelling Bee

2008-10-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

I have been neglecting our blog for other seemingly more important matters at Project Read (think Spelling Bee, grants, etc.). Anyway, my new brilliant (yes, brilliant) idea is to have each of my staff members make a post each week. Of course, I'm first. :) So watch for a post from Sue next week, followed by Krista and then Bryan. We'll try to keep you up to date with what's going on at Project Read, any news from the state or national literacy front, and then give general tips and ideas for tutoring. Since it's been awhile, I'd thought I'd back up and give a few highlights from our 2008 Spelling Bee:

Contestants, spectators, and Provo City Mayor Lewis Billings converged at the second annual Project Read Spelling Bee, held Saturday, 27 September 2008 in the ballroom of the Provo City Library, to enjoy a little friendly competition while helping Project Read raise funds and awareness in support of its non-profit adult literacy program. Teams of three huddled around whiteboards as they tried to out-spell their opponents. From team spelling and emergency lifelines to costume contests and concessions, this was no average spelling bee. The golden touch of the event may very well have been the Provo City Library Director Gene Nelson busily buzzing around the event all afternoon in a giant bumble bee costume.

The atmosphere was one of philanthropy more than rivalry. With the help of a dozen volunteers and the excited involvement of the friends and family of the competitors, the event was a great success. Hale Center Theater Orem, Carraba’s, Goodwood, Magleby’s, Magleby’s Fresh, and Fat Cats donated gift certificates and prizes for the winners of various competitions. Premier Auto Brokers supported the event as a corporate sponsor, and FedEx Kinko’s Office Center donated a large portion of the printing costs for the materials promoting the bee. Thirteen teams competed to become the 2008 Spelling Bee champions and take home the beautiful winner’s crescent award, donated by Mullett-Hoover Inc.

Competing for best costume, teams came dressed as robots, nerds, and more. No Joke, a team sponsored by United Way, took the title of best team costume. But no team name could come close to the creativity of the “Super Calloused Fragile Mystics Hexed with Halitosis,” a team sponsored by the BYU Linguistics Department.

The Project Read Annual Spelling Bee is certainly a way to take another shot at the glory of becoming spelling bee champs, but without too much pressure. “I didn’t want it to be serious or scary like the National Spelling Bee you see on TV,” said Shauna K. Brown, executive director of Project Read. “It’s more fun when the audience gets involved and there’s not so much pressure to perform.”

The "Dream Team Deleyne" (featured in the photos below in bright blue shirts) took home the grand prize (season tickets to the Hale Center Theater) and of course, the opportunity to be known as the 2008 Project Read Spelling Bee Champs. Way to go!

Check out some of our great photos from the event:

Our mascots are always a highlight.

Connor Brown & Provo City Library Director Gene Nelson "strut their stuff."

Neither looks incredibly happy about his role . . .

Enjoying The Secret Life of Bees

Mayor Lewis Billings, Tad Walch of the Deseret Morning News, and Dr. Wendy Baker of the
BYU Linguistics Department served as judges for the event.

Dana Robinson was our illustrious MC.

Lee Bartlett once again served as the "pronouncer."

Contestants signed in at the registration table.

The Nelson Nerds were once again ready for battle (rulers, protractors, and pencil protectors at the ready).

Using the Fall Elections for Instruction

2008-08-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

It seems like the 2008 Presidential campaign has been underway for months, but the heaviest campaigning is yet to come. Once the conventions are held and Labor Day passes, the newspapers and radio and television airways will be jam-packed with information for voters.
The election coverage offers lots of opportunities for those working with adult learners.

ProLiteracy has compiled this extensive list of resources that may help you use the elections as a learning tool:

Elections and Voting in Utah

Nonprofit Vote is an online, state-specific voter participation resource for nonprofits who want to engage clients in voting and democracy. Scroll down to Elections and Voting in Utah: http://nonprofitvote.org/

A Nonprofit's Guide to Hosting a Candidate Forum is a step-by-step manual to planning, publicizing and hosting a nonpartisan candidate forum. A candidate event is a great way to engage adult learners in a local election, build clout for the adult literacy issue, and learn more about the candidates. Invite the general public to your forum to increase public understanding of adult literacy and the democratic process. hosting-a-candidate.pdf

A Nonprofit's Guide to Voter Registration This guide covers voter registration forms, the benefits of registering voters, registering voters in your office, and in the community. And it discusses the importance of being nonpartisan. Includes handy checklist. voter-registration.pdf

The League of Women Voters is well known for providing factual, nonpartisan information on candidates and ballot issues, and for hosting citizen educational forums on public policy issues. When you go to the Website, click on Projects, then Voter Information to find: Election Basics - What is a Primary? ; What is a Caucus?; State information ; The Electoral College System; Electing the President: A Guide to the Election Process ; Voter registration; Polling place locator; voter information in Spanish. http://www.lwv.org

Vote411.org, a project of the League of Women Voters, is a "one-stop-shop" for election-related, nonpartisan information on the following aspects of the election process:
Absentee ballots
Ballot measure information (where applicable)
Early voting options (where applicable)
Election dates
Factual data on candidates in various federal, state and local races
General information on such topics as how to watch debates with a critical eye
ID requirements
Polling place locations
Registration deadlines
Voter qualifications
Voter registration forms
Voting machines
Go to http://www.vote411.org/
Project Vote Smart Classroom includes lessons, suggestions for teachers, Project Vote Smart Vocabulary, Introduction to the U.S. Government. votesmart.org
Young Voters Resource from Project Vote Smart, 18in08 is a nonpartisan documentary film and movement targeting 17 to 24-year-olds. 18 in 08: The Film features interviews with influential politicians, figures from popular culture, political activists, media commentators, student leaders, and young people. 18in08.com
Easy Voter Guide [California only] is a quick guide to state elections, including elected offices, propositions, political parties and voting issues, and offers education tools about elections and voting in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese. It is available for downloading in these five languages, plus Japanese, Tagalog, and Armenian. easyvoter.org

Teaching Vocabulary

2008-07-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

At our training meeting Saturday, there were several questions about how to teach vocabulary. Of course, now that I have this fun blog, I was intrigued, did some research, and came up with a number of articles and tips to share with my wonderful tutors. I want to specifically share two articles by Dorit Sasson, but I will include several links at the bottom of this post to other articles. Please feel free to post your comments with your own ideas or additional questions. I look forward to hearing from you!

How to Teach Vocabulary
Motivating Students to Learn New Words in the ESL Classroom
© Dorit Sasson
Feb 6, 2007

Effective learning of a foreign or second language involves to a great extent learning new vocabulary words... and a lot of them. What is the trick?

Research has it: Adults and adolescents need between 10 and 16 encounters with a new word before they can put it in their long term memories. This has implications for vocabulary practice. Letters, sounds, words, chunks, grammatical structures need to be spread out and built up from noticing, to recognition to production.

From passive to active production

There is a gradual progression in vocabulary learning. Learners usually start by noticing then recognizing a word before they are able to produce it.

There are four stages in the acquisition of new vocabulary:

The learner notices the new word (with help)

The learner learns to recognize it (with help)

The learner recognizes it on his/her own

The learner can both recognize and produce it.

Putting theory into Practice: Ways to make vocabulary learning interesting

Students need to be motivated to learn vocabulary constantly. Therefore, it is important that the review is as interesting as possible in terms of the types of exercises, strategies and activities. The visual element is equally important. Here are some of the activities I tend to use in my EFL classroom. They are, by no means exhaustive.

Stage 1: Noticing the word: the visual element

Flashcards
Pictures

Stage 2: Recognition

True/false
Categorize the words
Matching. (this category is huge with both open and closed types of exercises)--matching the word to its definition, L1-L2, opposites, adjectives and nouns, verbs and adverbs, word to the picture, match two words that go together
Multiple choice
Drawing the word
Bingo games
Circle the word you hear

Stage 3: Production

Dictation
Answering questions
Guessing games: I’m thinking of:
Picture description
Miming

Final Words: Points to consider

Try to have as many success oriented activities that are geared to the age groups you teach.
Gradually progress from one stage to another but vary the activities within each stage.
Consider appealing to the various multiple intelligences. The visual element in learning is particular important – for all age groups but particularly important for younger children.

Further Reading

How much vocabulary does a second language learner need?
1000 most common vocabulary words
Research and Practice in Teaching Vocabulary

Used with permission
Dorit Sasson is an ESL teacher and freelance writer for the educational market. Read about Dorit's services for new teacher support at: http://newteacherresourcecenter.blogspot.com/.
You can also read additional articles, tips and resources at the new teacher support website at: http://newteachersupport.suite101.com.

Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary
Vocabulary Games and Activities, A Pre-Reading Lesson Plan
© Dorit Sasson
Sep 13, 2007

Pre-reading lesson plans involve learning how to use a variety of vocabulary games and activities.

There is no limit to how many vocabulary activities a teacher can use, but there is a bit of restriction as to how to use them, especially during the first ten minutes of a reading lesson otherwise known as a 'pre-reading' part of the lesson plan.

Using Vocabulary in a Pre-Reading Lesson

Vocabulary activities can easily start off a pre-reading lesson. When it comes to using vocabulary activities, a pre-reading lesson should contain some if not all, of the new vocabulary. Some ideas include: starting with a brainstorm, comics, a quotation, a dialogue or a sentence as lead-in.

Teaching Vocabulary Strategies

When a text may have too many challenging or difficult words, a teacher may want to employ a variety of techniques such as translation, picture matching, or explaining the new vocabulary in context. Pre-teaching vocabulary helps:

learners focus on the subject of the text
teachers predict the content of the text using the target vocabulary.

This pre-reading section of the lesson should take approximately ten minutes. Then, when the text is being read to the students, the teacher has the chance to either confirm the students' predictions or, to go straight to the main reading task depending on what was previously done.

Fun Vocabulary Games and Activities

There are also pre-reading lessons that are based on vocabulary review. Essentially, these act like warm-ups that have the effect of calming the class and help you get ready for the main task at hand. There are a variety of fun vocabulary activities that have game-like features that are very motivating:

"I'm thinking of" - You give the class a few definitions corresponding to a 5-6 vocabulary words and the students guess the word.
The teacher whispers the word and the students try and recognize the word.
The teacher spells the word backwards and the students try and recognize the word.
Bingo using the words. The teacher calls out the definitions or translations.

If the teacher feels that an adequate amount of practice via these recognition activities has been reached, s/he can opt for more challenging vocabulary games and activities that aim to reduce fear and hesitancy that is sometimes characteristic of language learners studying a language that isn't their mother tongue. Examples:

The telephone game or otherwise known as: "What word did you say?"
Mini-Dialogues: students are given a situational context and they need to use the vocabulary.
Dictations: students fill in a sentence using a choice from three words the teacher says.

Over to You:

Take a look at the pre-reading part of your reading plan. Do you have varied vocabulary activities and games? Which ones have you tried? Which ones would you like to try. Try keeping a journal of those vocabulary lessons that went successfully and always aim for new and different ways to motivate your students to learn vocabulary.

Welcome to the Project Read Blog!

2008-07-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

Well, we've done it; we've joined the "technology age" and started a Project Read blog--we're glad you're here to check it out. For now, we just have one blog; but ideally, I would like to have a blog for tutors, another for students, and a third for Project Read supporters. The thing I love about blogs is the living, breathing (okay, not really), but the interactive nature of a blog. On my personal blog, my favorite thing is to receive comments--so comment freely my friends and share your wisdom with one another. I would really like this to be a forum for Project Read tutors, students, and supporters to connect with one another in a real and meaningful way.

My initial idea was for tutors to be able to share tips and ideas for tutoring. Along those lines, I'm going to post something I recently received on a listserv and some of the responses that were sent in so we're all on the same page:

Tutor asks, "I'd like to know if you have anything that can help a student with the "a sounding like a short u" sound (such as in addition, amuse, about, around, etc.). Thank you very much for your help."

Responses:
"This is a sound that actually changes to "schwa", the upside down e in the dictionary. It's common in what are known as "open, unaccented a's". The vowel is "open" because when you divide the word into syllables the a will be by itself and of course the accent is obvious. Teach the student how to divide words. Teach them open syllables which usually have a long vowel sound. (For example the word "open"). Then teach them the exception, that open unaccented a's will switch to the "uh" sound or schwa. You can call this the vanilla rule or the banana rule if you like. Almost always an open unaccented a at the beginning of a word will follow this rule."

Susan Landrum
Central Georgia Technical College
Volunteer Tutor
salandrum@aol.com

That schwa sound is the bedevilment of absolutely everyone, and it is new information for many novice tutors. We introduce it as soon as there is an opportunity at every level...by sharing the name of the sound, writing the word in all its CCCCV glory, its history, and its universally confounding presence in the language. After the tutors know that it's there and lurking in the language, they feel more comfortable letting learners in on the inside track to that alternate sound for a, e, i, and o.Ordinarily, we'll post a list of the words that start with the letter a that make the schwa sound. Ahead, above, around, against, allow, Alaska...and note that the schwa is the secret sound that binds us all irrevocably together.

I especially like having this shared experience among long-term tutors, novice tutors, board members, audiences at public speaking opportunities, learners, and anyone who may have an interest in the literacy movement. The schwa is certainly one reason why we have Literacy councils, reading tutors, and ESL tutors.

Pointing it out, celebrating its presence in the language, and naming it for all to share, works for me.

Carole Sawchuck
Central PA Literacy Council
Lemoyne, PA
centralpaliteracycouncil@comcast.net

The short U sound is called the "schwa." It is substituted for vowels and always in unaccented syllables when words have two or more syllables. The symbol used for the sound is an unside-down e. Some examples are: a-about e-happen i-holiday o-onion

Margie Kinslow
Executive Director
Literacy Alliance of Brevard
Titusville, FL
brevardliteracy@bellsouth.net
http://www.brevardliteracy.org/

This is actually a very common occurrence. All vowels end up making thatshort "u" sound when they occur in unaccented syllables (check yourexamples to see that this is true for them). This is called the "schwa"sound. So what the tutor needs to do is teach the student that allvowels have three sounds: long, short and schwa. In the case of theletter "u", the short and schwa sounds are the same. Also be aware thatin some words, the vowel sound in the unaccented syllable(s) is closerto a short "i" but is still considered a schwa.

Gaylon Umbarger
Literacy Kansas City
GUmbarger@LiteracyKC.org

On an unstressed syllable or an unstressed word (such as the article"a") the "a" is reduced to a schwa (sounding like short u).

Christi Graff
Learning Lab Inc.
Garden City, Idaho
christig@learninglabinc.org

I agree that the best method would be to introduce Mary to the schwa and useit regularly in her instruction. The other four vowels, a, e, i, and o allhave the short /u/ sound known as the schwa in words such as above, the,pencil, and other. With adults I have had success teaching all the sounds ofa single vowel - so for a - in order of frequency - a as in at, a as inbaby, a as in father, and a as in above (schwa). Good luck.

Margaret Rogers
Adult Education Consultant
Sacramento, CA
marogers-princess@sbcglobal.net