Literacy – Spanning the US :: Duncan OK :: Mendocino Co CA :: Nassau Co NY :: SC

Literacy: Spanning the U.S.     

Duncan Area

Literacy

Proud to become an American

Duncan Banner: 9.12.2018 by Linda Provost

This Saturday five residents of Stephens County will be inducted to the United States of America with official citizenship, fulfilling dreams some have had for 20 years.

They will be the first graduates from the Duncan Area Literacy Council (DALC) Citizenship class according to Mary Brancich, director of DALC.

“This is the first class — Nancy Litsch and Maria Martinez had discussed it (citizenship class) during the ESL classes and several people have been asking about it,” Brancich said. “That’s what they wanted to do was to get their citizenship so … they came to me with the idea and I wrote a grant and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries provided the funds for the first class and away it went.”

“There was such a need, many of these people have been residents for 20 years in Duncan, in our community — they’ve worked, attended church, been involved in schools with their kids and been a part of the community — just never obtained their citizenship which they desperately wanted to do,” Brancich said.

Many of the volunteers learned about how someone becomes a citizen also.

“I didn’t even understand how it happens — how to become a citizen until they started doing this 

I’ve really been educated myself,” she said. “They become a citizen through naturalization and there are 100 questions about civics that they’ve got to answer. I bet that a big majority of people who are natural born citizens and even graduated from college couldn’t pass that test, it’s difficult.”  READ MORE >>

@MendoLibrary

Need to read: Adult Literacy Program kicks off at Ukiah Library

Ukiah Daily Journal: 9.13.2018 by Carole Brodsky

The ability to read is an indispensable skill that is often taken for granted. Most people assume that the majority of adults are literate, but according to Melissa Eleftherion Carr, branch librarian for the Ukiah Library, a mind-boggling number of adults cannot read. Linda Butler is the library’s volunteer adult literacy coordinator. She is fulfilling a decades-long goal to help increase the number of adult readers in the region.

With the support of the Ukiah Friends of the Library, Butler and Carr have rekindled what had become a dormant adult literacy program for Ukiah area residents.

“Linda is graciously donating her time to make sure this program launches and to see it through,” says Carr. And Butler’s background and long-term commitment to literacy have already produced results – with five literacy volunteers ready to be trained, and over a dozen adults eagerly waiting for the program’s rollout.

Butler is a 20-year resident of Ukiah – a single parent who works as a licensed marriage, family and child counselor. “When I first came here, there was an adult literacy program at the library. I promised myself that someday I would become a tutor,” says Butler. That “someday” came along last October when Butler approached

Carr about becoming a volunteer. But there was a wrinkle in her plan. “Unfortunately, the program had fallen by the wayside. I’m not sure when, but there was no literacy program when I began to work at the library four years ago,” says Carr.  READ MORE >>

@LiteracyNassau

Building a more literate Nassau

Literacy Nassau starts dyslexia program

LI Herald: 9.13.2018 by Nadya Nataly and Alexandra Dieckmann

Literacy Nassau, which has helped over 40,000 adults learn to read, write and speak English over the past 50 years, has outgrown its space in Freeport and is moving to Wantagh.

Tutoring of students will begin at the new facility on Sept. 17. The nonprofit also plans to host a grand opening in November, with a luncheon, a keynote speaker, a ribbon cutting and tours of the new space. Micciche, who is working on the planning and logistics, said she hoped it would take place on Nov. 4, the same day as Literacy Nassau’s first annual Run/Walk fundraiser in Eisenhower Park.

Melissa Grote, of North Bellmore, said that the organization’s tutoring was a “perfect fit” for her daughter Julianna. “As soon as I contacted Karen,” Grote said, “I knew this was for us.”

All current Literacy Nassau classes will continue at the Freeport Memorial Library and Long Island Cares in Freeport.

Over the past year, Literacy Nassau launched a pilot dyslexia program with a grant from the John and Janet Kornreich Charitable Foundation. Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects children and adults. Those who have it have trouble breaking words down into simple sounds, according to Micciche. Students with dyslexia struggle to learn how sounds relate to letters and words, which leads to slow reading and poor comprehension.

Micciche is using the Orton-Gillingham method of teaching reading.  READ MORE >>

Father’s Voice

Program allows inmates to record themselves reading books for their children

WDSU: 9.10.2018

A new program at a correctional facility in South Carolina is allowing inmates to record themselves reading books for their children, allowing them to strengthen the connection to their loved one.  WATCH 01:15

Adult Education is Evolving through Theory, Legislation, and Innovative Practice via CLASP

Adult Education is Evolving through Theory, Legislation, and Innovative Practice

#AEFLWeek

CLASP: 9.26.2018 by Judy Mortrude

Adult education provides the skills people need to thrive in their families, communities, and jobs. As we celebrate Adult Education and Family Literacy (AEFL) week, it is useful to look back at how the program has evolved over the last 50 years through theory, legislation, and innovative practice.

Congress first began investing in adult education in 1966 when it passed the Adult Education Act. Since then, researchers and policy experts have worked to better refine our understanding of what works in adult education. Much of that work is grounded in adult learning theory like Malcolm Knowles’ four principles of andragogy

➧adults need to be involved in planning and evaluating their learning;

➧experience, including mistakes, is the basis for learning;

➧immediately relevant learning is most interesting to adults; and

➧adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-centered

and Thomas Stitch’s concept of functional context education In testimony to Congress, Stitch said:

We could be teaching … literacy skills within the context of natural sciences, life sciences, but we don’t do that, because there’s the myth that says literacy is something you first get and then have to apply. Of course that is totally wrong. You get it while you apply it.

Stitch was persuasive and so from 1988 to 1994, Congress invested $120 million in adult education through the National Workforce Literacy Program, a work-based program aimed at improving adults’ workplace literacy skills. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush signed the National Literacy Act, calling it a major step toward the goal of adult literacy and lifelong learning. And in 1998, Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which created the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) and established the one-stop system to align adult education with other local education and workforce partners.

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Most recently, in July 2018, CLASP convened state education and workforce development leaders, national organizations, advocates, funders, and federal agency staff to share perspectives on four critical areas of career pathway work:

Career Pathways & Guided Pathways

Coming Soon

Increasing the use of Ability to Benefit

Leveraging career pathways to advance racial equity

Measuring success through career pathway research

The briefs highlight lessons from the convening, new research, and offers new perspective on what’s working, what isn’t, and collaboration opportunities for states to provide better career pathways.  READ MORE >>

National Literacy & Library Events :: October 2018

National Literacy & Library Events :: October 2018

Literacy & Library Events & Conferences

Events-National & International Events

Events-International: Language Magazine

Health Literacy Month

Dyslexia Awareness Month

National Book Month

Oct. 01      Global Read Aloud My Heart Fills With Happiness

Oct. 02      AAACE Conference Myrtle Beach SC

Oct. 03      Random Acts of Poetry Day

Oct. 03      Zero to Three Denver CO

Oct. 04      Comic Con New York NY NY

Oct. 04      Plum Creek Children's Literacy Festival Concordia University NE

Oct. 04      Texas Health Literacy Conference San Antonio TX

Oct. 05      World Teachers' Day

Oct. 05      National Storytelling Festival Jonesborough TN

Oct. 05      Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards Simmons College Boston

Oct. 06      Picture Book Summit Cyber Space

Oct. 06      USA Toy Library Conference Cuyahoga County Library Cleveland OH

Oct. 07      Teen Read Week

Oct. 08      Global Read Aloud Wild Berries

Oct. 11      Day of the Girl

Oct. 11      Conference on Learning Disabilities Portland OR

Oct. 12      Dyslexia and Literacy Boston MA

Oct. 12      Virginia Hamilton Conf on Multicultural Literature for Youth Kent State OH

Oct. 13      Plain Language Day

Oct. 15      Global Read Aloud You Hold Me Up

Oct. 15      Alliance for Children and Families Conference Denver CO

Oct. 15      Nonprofit Storytelling Conference Orlando FL

Oct. 16      Dictionary Day

Oct. 16      Internet Librarian Monterey Monterey CA

Oct. 17      Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians Wake Forest University

Oct. 18      NAREN Annual Conference Baltimore MD

Oct. 20      National Day of Writing

Oct. 21      National Friends of Libraries Week

Oct. 21      Health Literacy Leadership Institute HARC X Bethesda MD

Oct. 22      Global Read Aloud A Day with Yayah

Oct. 24      International Dyslexia Association Conference Mashantucket CT

Oct. 25      Read For The Record - Maybe Something Beautiful

Oct. 25      National Black Book Festival Houston TX

Oct. 26      Rutgers Conference Reading & Writing New Brunswick NJ

Oct. 28      Make A Difference Day

Oct. 28      Literacy for ALL Conference Providence RI

Oct. 29      Global Read Aloud When We Were Alone

Oct. 31      National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference Cary NC

State Library Associations :: Conferences

African American Book Events

Book Fairs by State Library of Congress

Children’s Book Council Kid Lit Events

College Children’s & Young Adult Literature Conferences Festivals

Everfest Book Festival Calendar

ILA :: Literacy Calendar Worldwide

Storytelling Events

US Book Festivals

Literacy – Spanning North America :: Fort Macleod AB :: Sussex Co NJ :: Orlando FL

Literacy: Spanning North America     

Willow Creek Comm

Adult Learning

International Literacy Day a time to share love of reading

Fort MacLeod Gazette: 9.07.2018 by Frank McTighe

Kate Glover wants to know what Fort Macleod and district residents are reading. Glover wants people to celebrate International Literacy Day on Saturday, Sept. 8 by sharing their favourite books.

“International Literacy Day is observed to raise awareness of and concern for literacy issues around the world,” said Glover, who is coordinator of the Willow Creek Community Adult Learning Society.

People are urged to share their favourite books with others in person or on social media.

“Although literacy is the great enabler, one in five Albertans, aged 16 and older, struggles with the ability to understand and use information from texts including news stories and instruction manuals.”

Glover also wants people on International Literacy Day to consider becoming a tutor to help children and adults with literacy.  READ MORE >>

Literacy NJ-Sussex

Volunteer literacy tutors help clients move on to better lives

NJ Herald: 9.09.2018 by Kathy Stevens

For 23 years, Marguerite Gadel has been working with Literacy NJ to help people read and understand the simple written request above. Her students are people who are foreign-born and speak English as a second language or those who speak English but, for various reasons, have trouble reading.

As a tutor for Literacy NJ-Sussex, Gadel, 90, helps people how to read English; speak the language; understand items such as forms, job applications, directions and articles; develop writing and math skills; and comprehend the New Jersey Driver's Manual. She gives people the small steps so they can move on to bigger things -- such as getting a better job, obtaining a driver's license or communicating effectively with a doctor or their children's teacher.

"It is very rewarding work," Gadel said.

One-on-one tutoring with Literacy NJ is at no cost for the students, who are of all ages and many nationalities. There is always a waiting list of people who need instruction, and more tutors are needed.  READ MORE >>

Adult Literacy League

Intersection: The Adult Literacy League

WMFE: 9.11.2018 by Matthew Peddie

One in five adults in Central Florida reads at or below fifth grade level. The Adult Literacy league, now in in its 50th year, is on a mission to change that. Many of the league’s students are brand new arrivals to Florida, and English is not their first language.

Gina Berko Solomon and Claudia Cardozo from the Adult Literacy League join us for a conversation about learning English and the need for more tutors.  LISTEN 17:00

15 Banned Books and Their Reasons for Censorship via Invaluable

Banned Books

in the US

15 Banned Books and Their Reasons for Censorship

Invaluable:  2.12.2018

There are many different reasons an institution will ban a book. The magic in a fantasy novel can be construed as anti-religious, or the language in a novel can be considered too mature for younger audiences. No matter the reason, banned books intrigue audiences and tempt readers as soon as they are restricted.

Before a book can be banned, it first is challenged. A book challenge occurs when someone attempts to remove or restrict a piece of literature based on various objections. The book doesn’t become banned until it is removed from a curriculum or library. This means that free access to the book is no longer available in the designated institution, or in more extreme cases, prohibited by law; however, while books are challenged regularly, only about 10% of books that are challenged are actually banned.

#BannedBooksWeek

Banning books has many negative consequences, as the practice restricts access to significant works. Often books are challenged with good intentions, but according to the Free Access to Libraries for Minors, the decision about what is mature is the responsibility of the parents, not the institution.

The top banned books by genre: children’s books, young adult, science-fiction, and literary classics.  READ MORE >>

5 Reasons Why Writing Helps Early Reading via Psychology Today

5 Reasons Why Writing Helps Early Reading

Writing is one of the best ways to teach beginners how to read.

Psychology Today: 9.15.2013 by Richard Gentry and Steve Peha

5 Reasons Why Writing Helps Early Reading

What’s the best way to teach reading to beginners in preschool, kindergarten, first grade or home school and how can we do it better? Both research and practice are offering a novel idea: Teach kids to read by writing.

Early writing is of great benefit for learning to read. Yet this methodology seems not to be used to its best advantage. While it might seem novel it also has a powerful precedent: Maria Montessori (1870-1952) observed that children as young as two years of age were interested in tracing sandpaper letters and that many learned to write before reading.

Even though learning to read English with its complex and “opaque” spelling system is harder than learning to read Montessori’s native Italian, both research and practice reveal that many English speaking 3- to 6-year-olds write first and read later.

Here are five reasons why you want to show your beginning reader how to pick up a pencil or crayon and write.

1. Early writing helps children crack the reading code.

Because our language is a sound-symbol system, attempting to write the sounds kids hear is great phonics practice. It also combines segmenting and blending, the two fundamental early reading skills, in one purposeful activity.

Writing is great phonics practice because it requires kids to apply the Alphabetic Principle, the central concept of printed language: “Words are made of sounds that are written with letters.” To write a word, kids have to “hear” it. Then they have to associate the sound they hear with a letter symbol.

2. The first words kids read are often the first ones they write; early writing builds reading confidence.

The first words and sentences kids can read are often the first words and sentences they write. Writing gives them early and much needed confidence with literacy.

Writing first helps kids get the meaning connection because they are conveying their own thoughts. Often, the first words kids write will use unconventional spelling and even unconventional drawing of some letters. However, if we ask kids to read what they have written, and especially if we point to each “word” as kids read along, they can often remember their ideas and read them back.

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Here are 5 things you can do to promote early writing:

★ Give kids writing tools and encourage them to use them. The smaller the hand, the bigger the tool. For very small kids, sidewalk chalk is great. But as soon as kids can grip a fat pen or pencil, teach them how to hold it correctly.

★ Have kids watch you when you write, especially when you write simple things like lists. Kids not only want to please adults, they want to be adults or “big kids”. Seeing that you write will naturally make them feel that writing is a “big kid” thing. Remember, that when you read silently, kids may not know you are reading. But when they see you write, they know exactly what you’re doing. READ MORE >>

Literacy – Spanning North America :: Stanislaus Co CA :: Verdun QC :: Medina OH :: Pekin IL

Literacy: Spanning North America      

How Real Change Happens In A Community, Changing Lives For The Better

Modesto Bee: 9.06.2018 by Karen Williams

Real change happens when people from various and often disparate entities realize there is a need and come together to address a problem.

Over 30 years ago, just such a groundswell happened in Stanislaus County. The issue was adult literacy. It started at the most basic level, with a group of concerned citizens from Stanislaus County’s West Side gathering in 1985. Coincidentally, this group of volunteers was using what remains today the core curriculum of LearningQuest’s literacy program – The Laubach “Each One, Teach One” Method.

The volunteers asked the Volunteer Center of Stanislaus County for support, and Arlene Nagel, who then was leading the organization, encouraged the board of directors to respond. This event inspired the center’s board and staff to look into the issue of literacy and how best to address it.

Coincidentally, Tri-Valley Growers was having its own crisis: too many employees with low literacy skills and the need to expand into the area of computerized equipment.

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Before long, the state’s literacy organization – California Literacy – recognized their efforts and contributed ideas and resources to encourage them to start providing literacy tutoring using volunteers both in the community and at Tri-Valley. In time, Parker and Land had helped start improving literacy throughout the valley.

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The Volunteer Center became Stanislaus Literacy Center from 1995-2013 and is now known as LearningQuest. LQ serves over 1,000 adults a year with literacy, English language and high school equivalency tutoring and is one of the largest non-profit literacy organizations in the state.  READ MORE >>

@LiteracyQuebec

Anglos Want Province To Do More To Protect Access To English Services

CBC: 9.06.2018

Walk into Literacy Quebec's small office in Verdun, and you'll find Margo Legault hard at work.

The executive director works tirelessly to co-ordinate with organizations across the province which provide help in English adult literacy.

"It's very challenging," Legault says from the office that looks out onto Verdun Street.

Challenging but rewarding — especially when the provincial government recognizes the importance of that work, she says.

Of the almost 60,000 respondents to CBC's online tool Vote Compass, 43 per cent believe the government is doing enough to protect services in English in the province.

"It shows that when it comes to the protection of English services, a large proportion of Quebecers think that things are fine as they are now," said Charles Breton, director of research at Vox Pop Labs, which created Vote Compass.

"Still, 34 per cent said the government should do more, with 15 per cent saying much more."  READ MORE >>

@ProjectLEARN_MC

Project:LEARN Invites Medina County Residents To An Anniversary Party

Cleveland.com: 9.06.2018 by Sam Boyer

Project:LEARN of Medina County is celebrating its 35th anniversary with a party and fundraiser on Thursday, Oct. 11 -- and the community is invited to the celebration.

The event, to be held at The Oaks Lakeside, will feature live entertainment from The Ryun Louie Quartet, auction baskets, heavy hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar.

"We are excited to celebrate our longstanding service to Medina County residents. This past fiscal year, we helped over 200 adults improve their skills -- and we want to continue to offer our services free of charge to any adult who asks for them," said Kelly Poole, president of the board of Project:LEARN.

This year, Project:LEARN is facing an increase in the number of students seeking help with reading, math, English as a new language and the GED test. The new GED is now a more challenging, computerized test, and students need more help than ever to improve their skills to pass the test.

Also, a new Ohio program enabling students who left high school before graduating to earn actual high school diplomas is challenging the organization to expand its resources to better serve the community.

"State funding for adult education programs continues to be cut, and state-funded English Language Learner classes in our county frequently fill up. We are the only alternative for many adult learners in Medina County. We need community support to ensure we can continue to provide free services to the county in the future," added Karla Robinson, executive director of Project:LEARN.  READ MORE >>

YWCA Pekin

Adult Literacy

YWCA Pekin Adult Learners Win 2018 Spotlight on Achievement Awards

PJ Star: 9.07.2018 by Mike Kramer

Two students of the YWCA Pekin Adult Literacy Program have been cited by the state for their hard work and achievements.

Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White honored the winners of the 2018 Spotlight on Literacy Awards during a ceremony at the Illinois State Library in Springfield earlier this year. Winners included Jaqueline “Susy” Aparicio and her husband, Darwin Amaya, both of whom studied English as a Second Language at the Pekin YWCA. The couple, along with their tutor, will be recognized during an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday at the YWCA Pekin Adult Literacy office, 315 Buena Vista Ave.

“I am honored to congratulate these outstanding students for their hard work and determination to attain lifelong reading and learning skills,” White said. “Many of them have had to overcome great difficulties and personal obstacles to reach this level of achievement. I am also proud to recognize our outstanding volunteer tutors for their generosity and encouragement in helping literacy students achieve their utmost potential.”

The Spotlight on Literacy Awards recognize participants in Illinois literacy programs. An adult literacy or ESL learner or family may be nominated by anyone who has worked closely with the adult learner or family during the current calendar year. Spotlight on Achievement Awards are given to 10 statewide ESL or adult literacy learners based on obstacles overcome and measurable progress made in their learning. Winners are selected by a panel of literacy advocates at the state level.  READ MORE >>