Spelling Bee Tomorrow!

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

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!

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!

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.

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

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

www.lexile.com/booksearch

BlackJack Pizza Pitches In

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!