Reflection on session 6

In session 6 we looked at:

  • adults’ uses of writing in everyday activities
  • how writing is influenced by purpose and intended audience
  • how tutors can draw on the learner’s existing knowledge, skills and understanding to support writing needs
  • the concept of genre and its application to literacies learning
  • some strategies which can support learners to become effective writers
  • the complexity of literacy tasks
  • spelling strategies
  • strategies for working on punctuation and grammar

Through these activities, some of the basic principles of adult literacies learning were highlighted:

  • The learning process and intended outcomes are relevant to learners’ lives and will improve their ability to be self-directing when using literacy and numeracy in future learning.
  • To be relevant, the adult literacies curriculum must acknowledge the past experiences, life situation and interests of the learner.
  • The knowledge, skills and understanding that learners bring to a task influences the learning and teaching approaches.

For discussion:

  • Any questions from last session?
  • Any thoughts from your reflective diary that you would like to share?
  • Any comments about this handout?
  • Any thoughts from background reading?

ITALL revised pack 20141/14Education Scotland

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ITALL revised pack 20141/14Education Scotland

Making sense of reading

Think and talk before you read

  • talk about why you are reading
  • make up questions you want to answer
  • decide which bits to read and how

Think as you are reading

  • find the answers to your questions
  • what will come next?
  • see if you are right
  • guess the meaning of a word from the words round about

Read in different ways

  • read quickly to get the gist
  • miss out bits
  • spot the facts you want to find
  • read some bits carefully to understand
  • mark important points
  • make a note of words you need to check

Pause to think critically

  • ask questions
  • is it all true?
  • is it fact or opinion?
  • do you need more information?
  • spot mistakes
  • spot words that are meant to persuade you
  • draw your own conclusions
  • find bits that you agree or disagree with
  • find facts you can use to support your argument

Write to check understanding

  • make notes
  • make a summary
  • make a list
  • put information in order – time, type, abc
  • write down points for and against
  • draw a diagram or a chart
  • draw a spider


Letters and numbers

The arrows and numbers show an efficient way of handwriting so that letters can be joined together easily. Practising the groups of letters that follow the same pattern can be helpful. However, it can be very difficult to unlearn an established way of writing. If the learner’s goal is an improvement in legibility or speed, it will be a waste of effort to start crossing the ‘t’ in the opposite direction or changing the ‘o’ from clockwise to anticlockwise. The learner may have learned a different style of handwriting, perhaps with loops or alternative versions of ‘b’ and ‘p’, and their existing style should be the starting point.


Handwriting practice

The words on the following page use diagonal joins from the bottom of one letter to the top of the next.

Write each word several times. You don’t have to join all the letters in a word. Do what feels comfortable for you. Try different sizes and styles and then choose the one you like best and practise writing each word easily and quickly.

Choose some words that you write regularly that also have diagonal joins and practise them in the same way.


Handwriting checklist

  • discuss with the learner what they want to change – size, slope, particular letters, make more consistent
  • consistency – all small letters, use of joins
  • joining – some letters are joined diagonally and some across the top; not all letters join easily or need to be joined
  • leave more space between lines
  • use lined paper, or lined paper behind blank paper
  • use A4 size for working on handwriting
  • experiment with pens, pencils, different grips and slanting the paper
  • leave concerns about handwriting until final stage of working on a letter and then make a good copy when the learner can concentrate on handwriting
  • discuss seating, table height, lighting – learner may be used to writing in an environment that makes good handwriting very difficult
  • relaxation – some people find music helps when practising; consciously relaxing shoulders
  • left handers may have developed their own way of forming letters that makes joined-up writing more difficult. Unlearning, however, may not be productive – discuss options with the learner

Beginner writers

  • if you are working with, for example, an ESOL learner who has no experience with the English alphabet, the approach will be different
  • demonstrate: left to right direction, writing on the line, spacing between words
  • practise patterns of writing such as loops and zig zags
  • model writing of individual letters
  • practise the letters separately
  • practise groups of letters that start at the same point
  • allow plenty of time for careful writing and checking of writing
  • demonstrate how to form the letters and how to hold the pen
  • work on familiar words such as own name and address
  • practise copying from language experience text
  • learner may not realise they are left handed – encourage experimentation

Learners with disabilities

  • as with all learners discuss what the leaner has tried already and what their goal is
  • the ICT options may be more useful than handwriting but the learner may want to practise a signature
  • learners with physical disabilities may prefer a thicker pen
  • learners with visual impairment may require heavy black lines on the paper

ITALL revised pack 20141/14Education Scotland

Denny Community Education Centre

Duke Street

Denny

24th November 2013

Dear Pat

We would like to invite you along to our Christmas Get-Together on Wednesday the 15th of December at 10.30 am for fun activity and refreshments.

Bring along pens and paper and a good sense of humour! Reply to Denny Community Education Centre if you will be coming along.

Hope to see you on the 15th of December.

The Denny Group

You want more people to come to the Christmas get-together.

  • Design a poster to give the same information as the letter.

You could start by underlining the words in the letter that you will want to use on the poster.

  • Write a reply to the letter.
  • Type, spellcheck and print it.
  • Remember to save as you type.

ITALL revised pack 20141/14Education Scotland

22 Bridge ………..

………………….

FK3 4OH

30 ……………….. 2013

………… Denny Group

…………… you very much for your kind …………………. . I look forward to coming
to the ………………….. get-together on 15 ……………. . I’ll bring my good sense
of ………… with me.

…………. wishes

Pat

Fill in the spaces in the letter.

Match the word to the number

3...... threethirty

2 ...... twenty

24 ...... three

20 ...... twenty four

30 ...... two

10 ...... ten

 Write the word beside the number

Circle the number word

there their

thirsty thirty thick

for four fur

ten tin tent

Words within words

invite ‘in’…‘it’ ….……………………………………………………………………………………………

refreshments ......

activity ......

November......

together......

Underline the part of the word that is hard for you to remember

Wednesday

December

Centre

humour

 Work out how you are going to remember the spelling.

Type a list of the words and print out to take home.

Match the words by rhyme Write the words in pairs

alongrun along song

bring song ......

November sing ......

would remember ......

fun food ......

and meet ......

Street band ......

Denny many......

 Add some more rhyming words:‘along’, ‘song’, ‘wrong’

Make up pairs

Find three of a kind

Print ‘Duke’, ‘Street’, ‘Falkirk’ in block caps

ITALL revised pack 20141/14Education Scotland

Some questions to ask in a critical approach to reading might be

What is it?

Who is the writer?

What is it about?

Who does the writer want to read it?

Why did the writer write it?

What is the message?

What assumptions does the writer make?

How is this text trying to influence me?

What does this piece of writing tell us about our world?

Are there any words or features of the text that you think are of particular interest?

What other questions do you want to ask?


Reading handwriting

Look at this handwritten note that your learner has brought in. What features make it difficult to read?

How would you support a learner who wanted to be able to read handwriting like this?


The language experience approach

Watch the film and then take a couple of minutes to jot down:

the features of this approach that you will want to remember

any points you would like clarified


Using a language experience approach

You are going to generate some text using the language experience approach. Either use the suggested scenario or draw on your knowledge of a real literacies learner.

Learner

You want to improve your reading and writing but you know you are very bad at spelling. Your tutor, Jan, has suggested you keep a diary but you haven’t done anything worth writing about.

Listen to your tutor and then try to do what she suggests.

Tutor

Your learner, Sheena, wants to improve her reading and writing but finds it very difficult to get started. You have talked about keeping a diary but she says she doesn’t know what to write.

Suggest you write down what she says so that you can use this material for reading and writing practice.

Chat about what you have both been doing over the last week.

Then ask her to tell you again about what she did on one particular day so that you can write it down.

Your aim is to get two or three sentences written down that your learner is happy with.

Observer and timekeeper

Listen to what the tutor and learner say.

Make a note of:

1)any differences between what the learner says and what the tutor writes down

2)any observations on the way in which the tutor is trying to elicit information

You are in charge of timekeeping for your group. Give the tutor and learner 5 minutes to discuss, write and agree the text.

Then handout the card. Each of you write out one sentence from the text in a clear lower-case printed style.

Discuss the process as a trio, and jot down answers to the following questions.

1)How did you feel in your role as learner and tutor?

2)Who had control in this situation?

3)How accurate is the text?

4)Are there any suggestions for doing things differently?

5)Any comments from the observer?

Compare your handwriting styles.

Homework tasks

Read over all the course materials from this session.

Keep your reflective diary going.

Practise lower case printing if necessary.

ITALL revised pack 20141/6Education Scotland