Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.3/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id OAA18568; Fri, 5 May 2000 14:45:07 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 14:45:07 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <005201bfb6da$7b07d5a0$39ef7ad1@washlc> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Washington Literacy Council" <washlc@erols.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:699] Re: women's book group X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: OR At the Washington Literacy Council, a Laubach affiliated council where we teach basic literacy to adult native speakers of English, we have organized book groups, creative writing groups, and preGED classes, but only in addition to our basic program. We recruit and train volunteers to work one-on-one with over 300 adult students with widely varying abilities to sight read and comprehend, but all in need of coaching in phonological awareness and decoding. In our basic program (Wilson Reading System) we use only controlled text, not literature. You need a skilled and dedicated teacher to facilitate teaching literature. As we rely on volunteers to do this work, we have been fortunate to have retired teachers and even some local poets and writers to help. Encourage everyone to try to read the book ahead of time, but don't expect many to have accomplished this. Steer away from large vague questions that would require having read the whole book because many students simply can't do that. Review the story line and select key passages. Always read aloud and discuss the opening of the book in hopes of re-interesting anyone who abandoned the book in discouragement. Maybe they will try again later. We encourage our students to ask their tutors to incorporate the book into their weekly lesson plans. It makes for very slow going but is effective. In the group, any passage under discussion is always read aloud so we know that everyone had a chance to understand the content. The students may take turns reading aloud or the teacher may read and usually a combination thereof. Because we teach phonological awareness we talk about alliteration and other sound-based concepts both from the point of view of rhetoric as well as to give our students practice in hearing and identifying sounds. We do a lot of vocabulary, visualization, and comprehension exercises. The books by women that our students have particularly enjoyed are: Maya Angelou's works Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by Bell Hooks My Story by Rosa Parks Moments of Grace by Patrice Gaines Push by Sapphire The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison If your adult readers will accept children's books there are many young adult titles that will work well, and even picture books for mothers and other caregivers in your groups who may want to read to children. Good Luck. Robin Diener Executive Director, WLC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 16 2001 - 14:46:37 EST