Orientation for The Community Reading Project's volunteer tutor training. The training teaches how to work with adults, nuts & bolts of reading instruction, and gives a brief overview of planning and assessment.
3. What am I being “oriented” for?
Volunteer Manual: pp. 14-19
4. One-on-one tutoring
More closely resembled “traditional” schooling
Meet weekly (or possibly more) during a time
and schedule determined by tutor-student
pairs
May have homework or other work outside of
class
Tutor is responsible for lesson planning and
assessments
Student must go through intake & assessment
(aka, learning testing) process
Learning is tailored to student’s abilities
Attendance at sessions is required
Time requirements and material may be more
intensive than at Reading Info Desks
5. Reading Info Desks
Walk-in reading help; tutor is required to do 2
sessions per month at a single location
Sites, dates and times are pre-determined;
students and volunteers must conform to
existing schedule
“Just in time” learning model: student gets just
enough information to satisfy short-term
goals
Tutor is responsible for helping students as they
appear; no extra planning outside of sessions
No formal intake required for students.
Informal assessment measures available in
Reading Help Desk kits.
Less individualized help than one-on-one
tutoring
No attendance requirements; students may
come and go to the Reading Info Desks as
needed
11. What makes someone an effective teacher?
What does being supportive look like?
How do our own backgrounds and experiences influence
us as we teach and learn?
16. Five strands of reading
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtEspw_iUT0
17. Element 1: Phonemic Awareness
1. Why is it important?
2. How can I tell if someone is struggling with this?
3. Ideas and Resources
a. Put Reading First (pp. 13-16)
https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/PRFbooklet.pdf
18. Element 2: Phonics
1. Why is it important?
2. How can I tell if someone is struggling with this?
3. Ideas and Resources
a. Teaching Adults Ch. 8
b. ProLiteracyEdNet.org: “Learning to Use Laubach Way to Reading,
Laubach Way to English, and Focus on Phonics”
http://www.proliteracyednet.org/articles.asp?mcid=2&cid=24
19. Phonics (cont): Laubach Way to Reading
Laubach in Action:
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4QRUbC0Tz4
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A76S4icu_y4
20. Element 3: Fluency
1. Why is it important?
2. How can I tell if someone is struggling with this?
3. Ideas and Resources
a. Put Reading First pp. 29-36
b. Teaching Adults Ch. 7
21. Element 4: Vocabulary
1. Why is it important?
2. How can I tell if someone is struggling with this?
3. Ideas and Resources
a. Teaching Adults: Ch. 9 and Appendix I
b. Dictionary
22. Element 5: Comprehension
"...[Adult basic education] adults' knowledge about reading, or their meta-
comprehension, is more like that of children who are beginning readers. They
are less aware than good readers of strategies that can be used to monitor
comprehension, view reading as decoding as opposed to comprehending text,
and are less aware of the general structure of paragraphs and stories....
Comprehension strategies, such as how to monitor comprehension during
reading and how to determine a text's basic structure, may need to be
taught."
LINCS research: https://lincs.ed.gov/readingprofiles/MC_Text_Comprehension.htm
23. Comprehension (cont.)
1. Why is it important?
2. How can I tell if someone is struggling with this?
3. Ideas and Resources
a. Teaching Adults Ch. 10 (especially “Roadblocks” section)
b. Put Reading First pp. 51-58
34. Before you leave
Fill out Volunteer Application
Indicate preference for Reading Info Desk OR 1:1 tutoring
Take a business card
Take your books
What happens next
Editor's Notes
We help adults in Muncie/Delaware County with reading.
Target native speakers reading below a 6th grade level
Goal centered and learner centered
Free for students
Operate solely on the basis of volunteering
Partners: United Way, Ross Center
MAT EXAMPLE: website--partner page
Highlight differences
Other volunteer opportunities--no training required
Introduce Volunteer Handbook--can answer questions HANDOUT: VOLUNTEER MANUAL, TEACHING ADULTS
Point out chart
These processes and procedures are new. We want to know what’s working, what isn’t, so we can make the program better.
Outline Procedures for each--have them open Handbooks to pp 14-19
Need to give them the “what will actually happen when I show up to teach?” summary here
May need more than one slide
Length of commitment
HANDOUT: STUDENT/VOLUNTEER CONTRACTS
Stats help us be more effective
Stats help us generate funding
MAT EXAMPLE: STATS SHEET
Safety standards
Showing up on time, being respectful, etc
Tutor Support Group, YouTube, ProLiteracyEdNet, Private Facebook group (created after first meeting)
HANDOUT: business cards, “Teaching Adults”, Tutor Support Resources sheet
Start with discussion
I want us to switch gears for a moment, and think about students. Some food for thought:
Dyslexia video--first five minutes: https://youtu.be/o509EudHqGc (through shoe)
P. 23 in Teaching Adults, especially bottom of page 24
If you try a bunch of different teaching strategies, and nothing is working, talk to me. They may need more help than one tutor can give. We can work with Decoding Dyslexia people.
Lead them to see that adults:
Deserve dignity (can’t talk/teach to them like children. Example: using flashcards)
Aren’t stupid, lazy, or morally bankrupt just because they can’t read
Need relevant information to their lives and goals
Need autonomy
Have talents and skills already
School experiences may not have matched yours
PP 15-19 of Teaching Adults AND/OR guest speaker
10 minute break
Discussion: what is reading?
Reading is making meaning out of what we see. Symbolism of letters, but also the broader context of comprehension.
Literacy is the ability to use printed material to function in society, achieve one’s goals, and develop one’s own knowledge and potential.
The reading we’ll talk about specifically relates to making meaning out of print, but don’t forget that the big picture--beyond all the mechanics--is literacy.
See Teacher’s Notes
Strongly suggest that they view these materials independently after orientation
I would read Ch 7-10 all the way, and utilize the appendix and the YouTube channel as needed
Another great report: Put Reading First
Question time!
Last time your computer broke, did you go on YouTube and search: ‘broken motherboard’ or did you enroll in Purdue’s school of engineering so that you could really understand the computer’s electrical components and fix it that way?
Neither is a wrong way to get the info. But your situation will play heavily into which route you take.
Adults, as we know, need enough information to manage their situation and apply it relevantly. That’s the same whether you’re learning to read or fixing your computer.
Not all students need the same thing. Some will need to start at the bottom, teaching phonics or even phonetic awareness, but others may not.
Good news for you because it means you don’t have to be an immediate expert on every single topic. You just have to learn what it is your students need, figuring out what they need, and work together to help them to gain those needed skills.
Keep it simple, introduce a few new words at a time. One teacher swears by three new words. Again, it will depend on your student.
You’ve learned all about reading. Now, what do you do? How do you put it inot action?
10 minutes
Introduce Challenger (and re-mention Laubach)
Show examples; explain where tutors can get them (and that we have them stocked at Ross and at Reading Info Desk locations)
Pros & cons of using workbooks
Time for hands-on practice
15 minutes
What is a LEA
Pros & Cons of using LEA
Demo
10 minutes
Show examples; explain where tutors can get them (and that we have them stocked at Ross and at Reading Info Desk locations)
Reader Library
Pros of using authentic materials
Cons of using authentic materials
Slides 30-31: 10 minutes
Backwards design: FIRST, identify the goal. THEN plan the lesson.
Alternative name for “testing”
1:1 students are formally assessed before being assigned a tutor
Can use QARI assessment; copies in Reading Info Desk and at Ross Center
Can do it as you go
Beginning of session review
Ask, ‘what did you have trouble with?’ and ‘Did you meet your goal?’
Request a more in-depth assessment
RESOURCE: QARI assessment
Give opportunity to look at materials and reading info desk set-up
Point out video on YouTube that demonstrates first ABE sessions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySDTcx_I4Bs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGtEL000aQI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qreeXoHSjA
Fill out Volunteer Application
Indicate preference for Reading Info Desk OR 1:1 tutoring
Take a business card
Take your books
What happens next