Received: from edsun.coe.tamu.edu (edsun.coe.tamu.edu [165.91.232.6]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with ESMTP id h1LEQRP09799 for <nifl-esl@nifl.gov>; Fri, 21 Feb 2003 09:26:27 -0500 (EST) Received: (from root@localhost) by edsun.coe.tamu.edu (8.11.6+Sun/8.9.1) id h1LEObT00454 for nifl-esl@nifl.gov; Fri, 21 Feb 2003 08:24:37 -0600 (CST) Received: from hsmith.coe.tamu.edu (ehrd99.coe.tamu.edu [165.91.234.43]) by edsun.coe.tamu.edu (8.10.2+Sun/8.9.1) with ESMTP id h1LEONx00445 for <nifl-esl@nifl.gov>; Fri, 21 Feb 2003 08:24:23 -0600 (CST) From: hsmith@coe.tamu.edu Message-Id: <5.0.2.1.2.20030221082120.027e0dc8@coe.tamu.edu> X-Sender: hsmith@coe.tamu.edu X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.0.2 Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 08:26:14 -0600 To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov Subject: [NIFL-ESL:8553] Re: reading level of public resources for In-Reply-To: <2139074278.1045816127@DG33SJ01> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed X-Virus-Scanned: by AMaViS perl-11 Status: O Content-Length: 5154 Lines: 131 Perhaps it's a good opportunity for an exercise in critical literacy -- not only rewriting the preparedness guidelines it into more accessible language, but evaluating the information for validity. Learners could discuss the relative risk to their lives and health of terror attack versus driving without seatbelts or smoking cigarettes. A historical perspective could also be applied, including discussions of the civil defense system in which this country invested so many resources during the cold war, bomb drills in which elementary schoolers huddled under their desks, etc. Harriet At 08:34 AM 2/21/2003 -0500, you wrote: >Dottie, > >Maybe I'm an ostrich too (at least they have long thin legs!) but I've >never put together a hurricane kit -- and I'm a transplant from the Mass. >coast! > >I also have no intention of buying duct tape and plastic; if it's my time, >it's my time. I think a reasonable approach to this might be to bring the >topic up for class discussion. Ask students what they know about >"Operation Ready," if they've bought duct tape and plastic, etc. You could >even make a list what students feel is reasonable, what they think is >extreme; list ideas they have or what they think they might need to >"survive;" or maybe even more importantly, discuss their fears. Call me >cynical, but I sometimes feel the best ideas come from us "normal" >citizens and not our government officials who often seem to be lacking in >common sense (and lately seem to be hell-bent on making us paranoid, >nervous wrecks). "Preparedness" should be a common sense approach toward >safety, not panic. 21 people died in a Chicago nightclub fire that had >nothing to do with terrorism. 168 died in Oklahoma City at the hands of a >terrorist who had nothing to do with Sadaam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden. > >OK, I'll get off my soap box! Hope all of you on this list who have been >buried by snow or ice are thawing out! > >Pam > >--On Thursday, February 20, 2003 6:08 PM -0500 Dottie Shattuck ><dottie@shattuck.net> wrote: > >>Just yesterday, one of my colleagues said she thought we should develop a >>lesson on this issue for our beginner adult ESL students. I must admit >>that I'm only luke-warm to the idea. [I've lived in NC 6 years & have >>yet to make a hurricane/severe storm kit. Maybe I'm an ostrich.] >> >>I've developed & taught lessons on the unusually cold winter we've had >>(frostbite, wind chill, no charcoal grills in the house, carbon monoxide >>poisoning) because most of my students are from tropical countries & had >>no concept of "dangerous cold", but I've no intention of suggesting they >>buy plastic sheeting & duct tape. >> >>What is a reasonable approach to this unreasonable situation? Have any >>of you addressed -- or are planning to address -- this situation in your >>adult classrooms? I'm at a total loss about this. >> >>Dottie Shattuck >>Central Piedmont CC >>Charlotte, NC >>dottie@shattuck.net >> >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: <hsmith@coe.tamu.edu> >>To: "Multiple recipients of list" <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> >>Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2003 4:41 PM >>Subject: [NIFL-ESL:8546] reading level of public resources for terrorist >>attack >> >> >>| The federal government this week launched a "Ready Campaign" to >>encourage | the public to prepare for possible terrorist attacks. That >>campaign has | instructions for preparedness online at: www.ready.gov >>| >>| FEMA has an online document called "Are You Ready: A Guide to Citizen >>| Preparedness", which can be downloaded in Word or pdf format at: >>| www.fema.gov/areyouready/ >>| >>| Using Microsoft Word's quick and dirty check of readability, I >>ascertained | that the information and instructions at ready.gov are >>written at a | Flesch-Kincaid reading level of grade 9.8. Worse still, >>the FEMA guide is | mostly written at the 11th to 12th grade reading >>level. >>| >>| I will (with difficulty) refrain from comment on that information. >>| >>| However, I made a suggestion to adult literacy and ESL teachers in Texas >>| via our statewide teachers listserv as to using this information in the >>| classroom. Perhaps some adult learners would want to develop a simpler, >>| more accessible and readable version of the preparedness guide to share >>| with friends, family and other classes as a classroom project. >>| >>| >>| ___________________________________ >>| Harriet Vardiman Smith >>| Librarian >>| Adult Literacy Clearinghouse >>| Texas Center for Adult Literacy & Learning >>| Texas A&M University >>| 800-441-READ >>| website: www-tcall.tamu.edu >>| main office email: tcall@coe.tamu.edu >>| >>| >>| >> > > > >-- >Brown, Pamela Greenhalgh >Workforce Improvement Network >James Madison University >MSC 9003/Blue Ridge >Harrisonburg, VA 22807 >540-568-8797 >888-637-8494 >brownpg@jmu.edu >http://www.jmu.edu/esol >http://www.jmu.edu/mainstva ___________________________________ Harriet Vardiman Smith Librarian Adult Literacy Clearinghouse Texas Center for Adult Literacy & Learning Texas A&M University 800-441-READ website: www-tcall.tamu.edu main office email: tcall@coe.tamu.edu
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