Making Sense of Decoding and Spelling: An Adult Reading Course of Study (November 14, 2011)

This is an evidence-based course of study designed to teach adult learners to decode and spell words more accurately and fluently. It is designed to be used as one component of a comprehensive adult reading course. The target population for the course is adult basic education (ABE) learners at the low-intermediate level (fourth to seventh grade equivalence level). It contains 30 scripted lesson plans. The course of study begins with a review of basic alphabetic decoding skills and then teaches the most common and useful patterns of English words, and their applications in decoding, spelling, and fluent reading. Currently, only the Teachers' and Administrators' Guide is available. The Learner Activity Book and the Lesson Plans will be released soon. You may access the Teachers' and Administrators' Guide at http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/MSteachers2010.pdf

New Publication: Adult Literacy Instruction: A Review of the Research (August 5, 2011)

Adult Literacy Instruction: A Review of the Research is a follow-up to the original review of Adult Education (AE) reading instruction, Research-Based Principles for Adult Basic Education Reading Instruction, published in 2002. This new report is an analysis of the AE reading instruction research base, designed as a resource for both practitioners and reading researchers. It focuses on findings that can be derived from the research and their application in adult education settings. It includes research findings from reviews of adolescent reading instruction, reading-writing connections, English for Speakers of Other Languages reading and writing instruction, and an appendix.

Download the free PDF version of Adult Literacy Instruction: A Review of the Research at: http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/adult_ed_2010.pdf

Helping Students Understand What They Read (March 17, 2011)

Regina Richards, writing for LDOnline, outlines steps that all teachers can take to help their learners better understand and comprehend what they are reading. While written for the K-12 population, "Helping Children with Learning Disabilities Understand What They Read" describes strategies that are also applicable to your work with adults. To learn more, go to: http://www.ldonline.org/article/5598

Classroom Strategy for Seed Discussion (February 4, 2011)

A Seed Discussion is a two-part strategy used to teach students how to engage in discussions about assigned readings. In the first part, students read selected text and identify "seeds" or key concepts of a passage which may need additional explanation. In the second part, students work in small groups to present their "seeds" to one another. Each "seed" should be thoroughly discussed before moving on to the next. Click here for the lesson.

Writing to Read (October 26, 2010)

Research has repeatedly shown that teaching writing takes time. More and more, research also shows that investing this time can yield a big pay-off -- resulting in not only writing but also reading gains. The 2010 Writing to Read report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Alliance for Excellent Education finds that "writing activities improved students' comprehension of text over and above the improvements gained from traditional reading activities" (p. 29). The report identifies and recommends three clusters of strategies for writing instruction that have been shown to improve students' reading:

I. Have students write about the texts they read. Students’ comprehension of science, social studies, and language arts texts is improved when they write about what they read,specifically when they

• Respond to a Text in Writing (Writing Personal Reactions, Analyzing and Interpreting the Text)
• Write Summaries of a Text
• Write Notes About a Text
• Answer Questions About a Text in Writing, or Create and Answer Written Questions About a Text

II. Teach students the writing skills and processes that go into creating text. Students’ reading skills and comprehension are improved by learning the skills and processes that go into creating text, specifically when teachers

• Teach the Process of Writing, Text Structures for Writing, Paragraph or Sentence Construction Skills (Improves Reading Comprehension)
• Teach Spelling and Sentence Construction Skills (Improves Reading Fluency)
• Teach Spelling Skills (Improves Word Reading Skills)

III. Increase how much students write. Students’ reading comprehension is improved by having them increase how often they produce their own texts. (p.5)

Download and read the full report (in a reader-friendly PDF version) at: http://carnegie.org/publications/search-publications/pub/315/ Authors Steve Graham and Michael Hebert analyzed nearly 100 experimental or quasi-experimental studies to arrive at their findings; while these studies were carried out in various K-12 contexts, they have important implications for adult education. As the report notes, in an era when "over 90 percent of white-collar workers and 80 percent of blue-collar workers indicate that writing skill is important to job success ... good writing instruction is vital to realizing the goal of literacy for all" (p. 7, 25).

Readability Formulas (September 17, 2010)

When establishing or adding to a classroom library, it is important to keep the readability levels of the books in mind. You can use Readability Formulas to help you determine if the book in question would be at an appropriate level for your learners.

The first is the Flesch-Kincaid Formula, which is available in Microsoft Word. Select three samples of 100 consecutive words (in a book-take a sample from the beginning, middle, and end of the book) and type them into a Word document. Make sure not to use any hard returns, and don't include abbreviations (the readability formula will mistake the . in the abbreviation for a period which signifies the end of a sentence). One downside of this formula is that it seems to underestimate the difficulty of text. A level of professional judgment is needed.

The second and third are available from the same website and are the Spache Readability Formula and the Dale-Chall Readability Formula. You can find them at: http://www.lefthandlogic.com/htmdocs/tools/okapi/okapi.php. To use these formulas, type a 100 word passage in the "text to be analyzed" box. It is recommended to do this a few times from different sections of the book to get an idea about the entire book. If you have a book that is written at or below approximately the 3rd grade level, accept the default of the Spache formula. If you have a book that is written at the approximately at the 4th grade level and above, select the Dale-Chall option. Similar to the one mentioned above, don't include abbreviations with periods. One of the positives of the use of this website is the ability to place an asterisk next to a word that you know would be considered difficult, but for your student, it would be considered easy based upon their life experiences or job.

NIFL Discussion on Reading Patterns and Profiles of Adult Literacy Participants (June 18, 2010)

On June 21, join the NIFL Reading and Writing Listserv for a guest discussion on Reading Patterns and Profiles of Adult Literacy Participants.

There will be two guest facilitators, Daryl Mellard from Kansas University and Daphne Greenberg from Georgia State University.

The guest facilitators will describe aspects of their research and work with adult learners to engage participants. Daryl will share his research findings on the reading practices of struggling adult readers. He surveyed 213 participants about their frequency of reading books, newspapers, magazines, and work documents. He also looked at characteristics such as age, gender, educational level, learning disability status, and employment status. Knowing adults' reading practices can help adult literacy practitioners to know which types of reading materials should be promoted and introduced into the classroom.

Daphne will share results of a study where she implemented an "extensive reading program" with 43 struggling adult readers. Extensive reading is an instructional approach which encourages a significant amount of reading during class sessions. Her study focused on sustained silent reading, book talk, and reading aloud. To implement an approach like extensive reading, an adult literacy classroom needs access to a well-equipped library, and teachers need criteria for selecting books for the read-aloud activity. These aspects of extensive reading and criteria will be addressed during the discussion.

In preparation for the discussion, you are encouraged to think about the following:

1. What do your students read inside the classroom?
2. What do your students read outside the classroom?
3. Have you tried to engage your students in sustained silent reading, or read-aloud activities? What were your success and/or challenges?

Suggested readings:

Rodrigo, V., Greenberg, D., Burke, V., Hall, R., Berry, A., Brinck, T., Joseph, H., & Oby, M. (2007). Implementing an extensive reading program and library for adult literacy learners., Reading in a Foreign Language, 19.

Mellard, D., Patterson, M., Prewett, S. (2007). Reading practices among adult education participants. Reading Research Quarterly, 42, 188-203. doi:10.1598/RRQ.42.2.1 can be found at: http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/ (type in Mellard)

A National Online Library of Professional Development Resources (May 12, 2010)

Across states, national organizations, and technical assistance investments, an extensive amount of professional development material is availalbe. This library provides local educators with easy access to an array of resources that can be used or customzed to meet their needs.

While the resources are mainly geared to the K-12 population, many of the topics included are applicable to the adult education population. Some of the topics covered are: assistive technology, employment, project-based learning, career education, self-advocacy, conflict resolution, technology, transition to work, universal design, and many more.

To check out what is available, go to: http://www.learningport.us/

Creating Authentic Materials and Activities for the Adult Literacy Classroom (April 27, 2010)

This handbook is based on the results of "The Literacy Practices of Adult Learners Study" which focused on the nature and impact of two dimensions of classroom practice in adult basic education. The authors see this book as a starting place for adult education teachers interested in changing their instructional practice, particularly as it relates to their learners' lives. This book will also be helpful to program administrators who are interested in leading change in their programs or who wish to know more about contextualized instruction in order to support teachers who are trying to implement it.

Based on their observations and interviews in 82 U.S. classrooms, the authors provide both concrete descriptions of what works and information and insight into how specific teachers make it work. The book provides illustrative examples from real classrooms as well as feedback from the teachers in those classrooms who use authentic materials for authentic purposes.

This book is appropriate for practitioners in adult basic education (ABE), adult literacy, family literacy and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The authors recognize that issues with ESOL students are unique within adult education, so they attempt, throughout the book, to provide examples that address these specific needs.

To download the handbook, go to: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/teach/jacobson.pdf