Statistical analyses of data from an academically diverse sample of 276 adult basic and secondary education learners extends understanding of the relation of and interactions between oral reading fluency and reading competence indices. Significant interactions between total word rate and word error rate that differed in relation to two measures of…

The following insights into the reading skills of 312 participants in adult basic and secondary education programs are based on a principal components analysis of reading components' contributions to variance in reading comprehension. Overall, 75% of variance was explained by four composite variables representing word skills, language…

This study's aim was to understand the relationship of the component skills of reading, such as word recognition, vocabulary, and spelling, to large-scale measures of literacy, such as the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) (Kirsch, Jungleblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993) and the closely related International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)…

This guide is intended for use in developing informational materials intended to be read by adults with limited reading skills. Most of the examples used throughout the guidelines relate to food and nutrition; however, the concepts they illustrate are applicable to any topic. The following topics are covering: knowing a written message's intended…

This paper presents a series of reading and writing activities centered around a 19-item word list suitable for use in tutoring adults. The activities in the paper involve short stories, writing exercises, and take-home exercises. Included with the activities is a guide that presents, in addition to the word list and the exercises, instructions…

Using historical and contemporary perspectives, the paper argues that reading is a malleable social practice with identifiable moral and ideological consequences. A model that defines reading in contemporary social life through four interconnected roles is presented. The importance of critical reading in everyday life is illustrated through…

These instructional materials provide reading materials, recipes, and exercises to help students prepare for the practical reading section of the General Educational Development (GED) Tests. The passages can also help students learn and practice some important life skills in the areas of nutrition and food safety. Basic skill improvement is in…

The purpose of this curriculum guide is to assist Training Specialists in teaching Adult Basic Education/General Educational Development (ABE/GED) students basic skills in language arts and mathematics. The guide begins with an introduction (purpose, overview, adult learner characteristics, teacher type), curriculum policies, curriculum structure,…

This guide is intended to assist teachers and volunteer tutors who are teaching adults and teenagers to read. The nature and extent of the adult illiteracy problem and the process of learning to read are discussed in the first chapter. The characteristics that are desirable in basic reading tutors and those that are encountered in adult learners…

This guide is designed as a training tool for volunteers participating in the Volunteers in Tutoring Adult Learners (VITAL) program. Developed by the staff at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington, Indiana, VITAL is an adult literacy program that is based on active cooperation between program trainers and volunteer tutors. Various…