Weblog: December 2007
NIFL Discussion on Comprehension Monitoring Strategies for Adult Readers
From February 4-8, 2008, please join the NIFL Family Literacy Discussion listserv for a discussion moderated by Susan McShane and Donna Elder on the topic of comprehension monitoring strategies for adult readers. To sign up for this discussion, go to: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Familyliteracy
This article continues... »Happy Holidays!
The Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center will follow the Winter Break schedule established by Virginia Commonwealth University. VALRC will be closed December 21 - January 1. We will reopen with our regular schedule on January 2, 2008.
All of us at VALRC wish you a very happy holiday season and a healthy and happy New Year. We have enjoyed serving you during the past year, and we look forward to working with you in 2008.
Free Resources for ELL or Family Literacy Programs
Announced by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education in Thursday Notes, December 13, 2007
Raising Children in a New Country: An Illustrated Handbook and the accompanying Toolkit for Working with Newcomer Parents designed for English language learning (ELL) can be downloaded free from Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services (BYRCS). The new handbook, using basic English texts and communicative illustrations, helps teach American norms and requirements for parental involvement in childrens' schools, meals and nutrition, street and car safety, disciplinary techniques, and other activities. The toolkit is designed for teachers, caseworkers and counselors helping refugee families learn English and adapt to American culture. It includes a wealth of Web links to additional resources. BYRCS is a joint project of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and is supported by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
New Issue of Focus on Basics Devoted to Learning Disabilities
Learning disabilities is the topic of a new issue of "Focus on Basics", now available at http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/fob/2007/fob_8d.pdf.
Articles range from neurology and dyslexia to legal issues related to serving students with learning disabilities, to best practices shared by skilled teachers, to three states' approaches to serving students with learning disabilities, to addressing the needs of ESOL learners, to technology, to transitions to college, to changing practice at the program and classroom level: there's something for everyone.
GED ON DEMAND Publicity
"The medium of on-demand cable television is expected to make televised GED programming much more attractive to its potential audience ... With all the episodes available over digital cable with a few clicks of a remote control, adult learners can pick up where they left off in the series, or watch only the shows they need." Read more in this article from the Employment & Training Reporter.
GED ON DEMAND, a partnership between the Commonwealth of Virginia, Comcast Cable, Cox Communications, the Virginia Department of Education's Office of Adult Education & Literacy, and the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center, integrates the 39 GED Connection videos, produced by KET-TV, into the "ON DEMAND" programming that Cox and Comcast offer free to their digital cable customers.
EL/Civics Online: Integrating EL/Civics into Adult ESL Classes
EL/Civics Online is a unique professional development opportunity for ESL instructors and volunteers who wish to incorporate EL/Civics content into their adult ESL classrooms.
This series of online courses will assist teachers in creating interesting, effective ESL lessons in these areas: U.S History, U.S. Government, Civic Engagement, and The Naturalization Process
This free professional development opportunity for teachers and volunteers is now available at http://www.elcivicsonline.org. Participate in these EL/Civics online courses and learn to assist your students in all of these areas as you incorporate EL/Civics into your adult ESL classes. EL/Civics Online includes special tutorials on Lesson Planning and Adapting Materials and provides you with your own personal Information Center, which allows you to keep your lesson plans, reflections, links, and resources in one convenient place. [The development of EL/Civics Online is funded by the U.S. Department of Education/Office of Vocational and Adult Education and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services/Office of Citizenship.]
Although not entirely finished, this excellent online course is well-worth your time and effort to explore and USE!