Read the whole article: “It’s Important To Read Every Day” by David Bruce Smith Publications
AACLC welcomes these talented new tutors who were trained and matched with students at our Spring 2019 Tutor Training.
A big thank you also goes out to tutor trainer coordinator Jill Mischo along with trainers Dr. Perinaaz Gandhi, Susann Felton, Bob and Mary Anne Stoner, Anita Ewing, Phil Tawes, Emily Clement, Michael Green, Kathy Lotterbach, Ellen Riley, Jane Seis, JoAnn Cook, former student LaToya Saunders, and presenter NEDP coordinator Susan Peters.
Please note that our Follow-On training is scheduled for April 27th from 9-11 a.m. at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church.
___________________
Come learn about dyslexia and some strategies to help your students
living with dyslexia.
Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church
Saturday, March 30th
9:00 a.m. to noon
A fabulous buffet dinner will be followed by a short but exciting program to celebrate our 247 student/tutor matches and our 42nd anniversary serving Anne Arundel County County Executive Steuart Pittman will be our keynote speaker.
Please RSVP below as soon as possible and also print out the invitation to give to your student.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
~ Dr. Seuss
In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, March is designated as National Reading Month – a month to motivate Americans of all ages to read every day. The article “10 Benefits of Reading: Why You Should Read Every Day” explains why reading can calm nerves, increase vocabulary, improve memory, and so much more!
Please grab your calendar and make note of several upcoming events. There is a Dyslexia workshop opportunity on Saturday, March 30th from 9 a.m. – noon, and a workshop for our English Language Learner (ELL) tutors on Tuesday, March 20th from 6-8 p.m. Both workshops will be held at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in Severa Park. If you are interested in attending either of these workshops, please contact tutor coordinator Jane Seiss at jane.seiss@gmail.com as soon as possible to reserve a seat.
We are already at capacity with 200 reservations for our April 25th Annual Appreciation dinner! If you have not yet reserved a seat and would like to attend, a wait list has been started in case of possible cancellations. Please contact jane.seiss@gmail.com for more information.
Kind regards,
Lisa Vernon, Executive Director
Lisa Vernon, Executive Director
Tutor:
A common issue in the tutor reporting so far this month is short vowel sounds. Does anyone have ideas in teaching short vowel sounds and helping students retain that knowledge???
Sarah:
I always want to know what my student is really thinking about the problem he or she is having when trying to read. There is an AWESOME website, Reading Rockets, which has a tool called “Target the Problem.” Questions and answers are given from a student’s, teacher’s, and parent’s point of view in all the areas of reading: word decoding, fluency, reading comprehension, sound awareness, vocabulary, etc. You can use this tool to understand the reading difficulties of students of any age.
I believe in the whole brain concept of teaching the brain to associate sounds, words, and pictures together. When a student struggles to put sounds together, it takes all of the energy out of trying to read (and some students forget what they are trying to do!). I like using pictures to convey meaning, and while some students like the movement of tapping out /sounding out words… others don’t understand that concept. (If it’s a pig, show the picture of a “pig” and say PIG!)
Has your student’s hearing and vision been checked, lately? Some students with learning disabilities may need glasses or hearing aids or other directions toward understanding the printed word.
I just learned the differences in short and long vowel sounds about two years, ago. Long sounds are heard when the names of letters of the alphabet are spoken aloud. Direct the student’s focus to the short sounds of the vowels: a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y by using one syllable words, such as: at, egg, big, dog, fuss, and myth. To avoid confusion, do not mix short vowel sounding words and long vowel sounding words together in the same lesson, if possible. (Don’t teach bit with bite; con with cone; can with cane, unless you are sure your student has mastered the difference between short and long vowel sounds!)
I would practice this with two or three words that use one ‘short’ sound, like bat, fat, sat… or bed, fed, red. Let your student gain the confidence of learning and hopefully remembering a few new words to understand the pattern of the concept.
You can also use pictures to teach abstract words, like: to, of, a, the …. a piece of cake; to the school…. Dr. Seuss is great for rhyming, blending, and discussing the pictures one sees in the mind. You want to teach the student to see the picture associated with the sound in her mind. And teach Word Families… if you teach pig, also, teach: big, dig, fig, rig, twig, and wig…
Create a Word Wall to list words with short vowel sounds in columns: a – apple, at, bat, Al; e– egg, beg, Peg; i– igloo, itchy, big, Bill; o– ox, owl, Bob; u– umbrella, nut, Guss and; y– gym, myth, Yvette. Use Word Families… at, bat, cat, mat, pat, rat…. to repeat the short vowel over and over.
Think of people’s names that use short vowel sounds to help your student associate the short sound to a name that is familiar to him or her. Check for student understanding… ask them “What is meant when a word has a short vowel sound? What is meant when a word has a long vowel sound?”
“Can you hear the difference?”
Take the time to ask questions to find out what your student understands. It is important to know what he or she is thinking. We all have different learning styles in the way we process information.
For more tutors’ tools and resources please visit the Anne Arundel County Literacy Council ICANREAD.ORG website.
Sarah Gardner
By Tom Sticht, International Consultant in Adult Education (Ret.)
“In 1890… the economist Alfred Marshall wrote, “The most valuable of all capital is that invested in human beings; and of that capital, the most precious part is the result of the care and influence of the mother” (cited in Cunha & Heckman, 2009, p. 2)…
“In particular, it is argued that money spent on the education of women who are or are about to become mothers can produce ‘double duty’ effects. Monies spent on the education of women contribute not only to the development of the women, but also to the educational participation and achievement of their children.”
Excellent article. Click here to read it in its entirety:
A dyslexia specialist discusses the assistive technologies she uses to help students with dyslexia make gains in reading. Click here to read the article: https://www.edutopia.org/
November 16, 2018
Each month AACLC tutors submit volunteer hours and student progress reports. Here is a sampling of those reports drawn from November submissions:
• Nicole has recently passed all but the writing and math portions of the GED!
• Joy is very close to finishing the material critical to passing the NEDP entrance exam.
• In October Ken shared with his son and daughter-in-law that he is unable to read and told them about being tutored. He said they were very proud of him! Neither his family nor friends knew about his lack of literacy skills. Until his wife’s death 4 years ago he relied on her to handle all his paperwork. She went to doctor visits with him and took care of all the forms. She was also responsible for all the paperwork for his business. Basically, she was his reader and writer. We are meeting twice a week for lessons. Ken is making progress with his reading and writing each week and even went ahead in the workbook when we missed a session. He is a hard-working student and we are both proud of his progress.
• Jessica passed her GED math test this month!
• Daiquill often asks if we can have more sessions per week and is getting more and more motivated to read and learn. He now gets that reading is a key to his future. We have finished Frankenstein and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which are 2 more than he read in the last 20 years. We have moved on to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Daiquell is quickly engrossed in the story. Despite the story being a continent away and a century in the past, he’s into it. I praise him each session for improvement in reading speed and accuracy. Last session, I reminded him that when we first met, he acknowledged that reading bored him and put him to sleep! He has made great progress in his reading comprehension and confidence.
• Only one more book to go for Ida to finish the Algebra curriculum! Things are going well.
• Wilfredo is such a pleasure to work with, even when he comes to class after what I know is a very long day of tree work. He has completed Laubach LWE 1 and is becoming much more talkative and feeling better about going into stores and speaking in English.
• Maria is working to take the citizenship test in 2019.
• Gary completed Sounder – the first book he’s ever read! We have also gone through medical information pertaining to medications, appointments, and a discharge summary. Gary also met a goal to sing a solo with his church choir. Now, if he forgets the lyrics, he can read the lyrics rather than having to memorize the entire song.
• Michele is completing a review for the Math GED Practice Test.
• Nelsy is working through comprehension and vocabulary activities. She is doing well and making progress.
