This guide is an introduction to the theory and practice of using literature to teach life skills to persons who are or have been incarcerated. It is organized in three sections, each written by a practitioner who has used literature in a particular environment with a particular audience. The three sections are "Why Literature? The Power of…

The whole language approach was used with a "well" or successful adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) group. Literature was chosen as a curriculum for which group work could be devised that was geared to all levels of students. The book used was "Choices" by George Ella Lyon, a book of short stories written by characters who live in a small…

This document provides an overview of a family literacy demonstration project conducted to offer family literacy classes in three public schools in Philadelphia. The project was designed to help adults meet their own needs and to enable them to support their children's learning. The whole-language, learner-centered approach was used. Background…

This newsletter issue focuses entirely on classroom instruction in adult basic education (ABE) and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs. The first article, "Whole Language and Adult Literacy Education" (Kazemek), describes 10 principles of holistic language education and how they may be translated into actual classroom practice.…

Based on a teacher's 14 years of experience in teaching writing, this manual was developed to help General Educational Development (GED) teachers to guide adults to improve their writing ability in preparation for the GED test. The manual is organized in four sections. The first section is a discussion of frequent concerns and problems that…

This module presents a 3-hour workshop in whole language theory and practice to be used for inservice training of a small group of tutors or teachers of adult reading students. Suggested group size is 6-15 people. Part I explores the background and concepts of whole language from the point of view of the psycholinguistic model of the reading…

This manual is part two of a three-part series of materials from a family literacy demonstration project conducted in Philadelphia public schools. It contains materials on 10 themes that were taught over a 7-month period. The activities in each theme are organized into class activities and home activities. The class activities support the adults'…

Weaving learners' everyday stories with those of other teachers, volunteers, and students, this book shares strategies and experiences designed to empower adult learners in alternative literacy programs. Strategies in the book came from educators in such diverse settings as college developmental reading and writing, learning disabilities, adult…

The Project ALERT (Adult Literacy Enhanced & Redefined through Training) Workplace Literacy Project consisted of a partnership between Wayne State University, the Detroit Public schools, and several city organizations, unions, and manufacturers in the automobile industry, which formed to meet employees' job-specific basic skills application needs…

This document consists of a guide for teachers and tutors and four "readers" for adults. These readers are intended to eliminate the problems associated with book-centered, one-to-one tutoring, such as the following: (1) uninteresting, irrelevant materials focusing on single reading skills rather than reading as communication; (2)…

This manual is the third of a three-part series of materials from a family literacy demonstration project conducted in Philadelphia public schools. It contains five units. The beginning unit has activities to use in getting started and to use as everyday activities throughout the program. The other four units have theme activities appropriate for…

This course is designed to enhance reading and writing skills. It is tied to an interactive computer program (The New Reading Disc) that provides opportunities for reading, hearing sentences read, and writing letters and memos. Special emphasis is placed on workers' understanding of the importance of their jobs and how they fit into the total…

This document describes a workplace literacy program designed to improve the literacy skills of entry-level workers in the housekeeping, food service, and laundry departments of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. An introduction describes the goals of the program and the employees served (low-literate adults who relied on word of mouth for most…

This course focuses on terms, operations, and functions of computers. It is linked to mobile technology in the trucking industry. Applications include word processing, spread sheets, data bases, and other software packages. The course description lists target audience, general objective, and typical results observed. The next section gives…

This manual provides specific lesson plans for teaching life skills and literacy to adult beginning readers and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. It includes four curricular sections: Focus on Language Arts, Focus on Life Skills and Literacy, Focus on Holidays and Observances and Focus on Survival Math. A total of 95 topics are…