Possibly a time set aside for working on individualized writing objectives.  Evaluate what skills each student needs to work on (copying letters, writing names, writing vocabulary words, dates, times, money, controlled composition, adding adjectives, adverbs, clauses, free composition, etc.).  If the teacher once creates (or copies) a whole slew of writing activities, the students can work on those they find appropriate and worthwhile
Kathryn Quinn
 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Anne Ventrello" <aventrello at mcsd.k12.co.us>

> We don't have the resources or teachers to have a separate literacy

> class.  So what I want to know is how to deal with literacy students

> when I'm teaching an English class?  We place students according to

> their listening skills in English.  I often have students who can

> communicate well orally with little ability to read and write, but they

> are in my class with those who can communicate orally on the same level

> AND read and write.  

> 

> Anne Ventrello, Program Coordinator

> Montrose Adult Basic Education Program

> P. O. Box 10,000

> Montrose, CO  81402

> 970-249-2028

> aventrello at mcsd.k12.co.us

>  

> -----Original Message-----

> From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov

> [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mona Curtis

> Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 10:23 AM

> To: 'The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List'

> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 1958] Re: Practical Strategies for Working

> withLiteracy-Level Adult English Langua

> 

> My biggest challenge is when there are both literacy level students and

> students with intermediate to high literacy levels in the same class.  

> 

> Mona Curtis

> ESL Coordinator

> Treasure Valley Community College

> 650 College Blvd. 

> Ontario, OR 97914

> www.tvcc.cc

> 541-881-8822 x 316

> fax 541-881-2747

> 

> Ever since the morning Time came and sat on the world, men have been on

> the run as fast as they can go, with beauty flung over their shoulders.

> Eudora Welty 

> 

> >>> "Betsy Wong" <betsywong at comcast.net> 12/10/2007 6:56 AM >>>

> Happy Monday, Everyone!  And welcome to this discussion on working

> with

> literacy level learners. As teachers and mentors to adult ESL teachers,

> one

> of the questions that we frequently hear is, "What can I do with my

> literacy

> learners?"  We hope that the discussion that we will all have this week

> will

> address that question and more. 

> 

>  

> 

> Where to start?  How about the way we start a class, by activating

> prior

> knowledge and experiences and clarifying some of the expectations and

> goals

> of our discussions over the next few days?  Following is the

> description of

> a representative adult ESL literacy level class.  We offer it as a

> discussion starter.  Take a look at it and think about what questions

> and

> comments it brings to your minds.  For example: 

> 

>  

> 

> - What would be running through your mind, as the teacher walking into

> this

> class?  

> 

> - What pieces of information do you think are important here?  

> 

> - How would you find out the students' needs and goals?  

> 

> - What would you do the first night? 

> 

> - What would you do to make students feel comfortable and secure? 

> 

> - How similar or different is this from your experiences with literacy

> level

> classes?  

> 

> - What other points would you add or revise in a scenario like this,

> based

> on your experiences?

> 

>  

> 

> The Class/Classroom

> 

> The class is offered as part of a lifeskills-based curriculum.  It

> meets in

> a high school classroom two nights a week for two hours each night for

> a

> total of twelve weeks.  Learners buy a textbook and workbook at the

> "literacy" level of an integrated textbook series used by the program. 

> They

> have access to class sets of picture dictionaries and the teacher has

> access

> to a variety of reproducible literacy materials and flashcards. The

> classroom walls have a lot of high school-oriented print, so much so

> that

> the adult ESL teacher often uses flipchart paper to cover it up, so

> students

> don't experience overload.

> 

>  

> 

> The Students

> 

> The students all tested as literacy level students, but still exhibit

> important differences.  For example, Amina has never been to school in

> her

> native Somalia, does not speak any English, and does not read or write

> in

> any language. Gustavo went to school for three years in El Salvador.

> He

> speaks almost no English and has minimal literacy skills in Spanish. 

> Maria

> also went to school for three years in El Salvador, but she converses

> easily

> in English and has a wide vocabulary. She can sight-read some

> high-frequency

> words in English and Spanish but cannot sound out words in either

> language

> that she does not know. Laxmi is a professional from Nepal who speaks

> and

> writes Bengali, but she doesn't know the Roman alphabet and speaks

> very

> little English. Alemseged is a senior citizen from Ethiopia and while

> he

> says he studied English among other subjects in his native Ethiopia, he

> was

> unable to read or write responses to even the simplest placement test

> questions. Rena was a language teacher in her native Tunisia. She has

> strong

> oral English language skills and is very comfortable and happy using

> her

> speaking and listening skills with her less accomplished classmates.

> However, when asked to read or write, she becomes more hesitant and

> less

> confident.

> 

>  

> 

> As we said at the beginning, this is a way to get the conversation

> started.

> Think of it as that picture that starts out most units in ESL

> textbooks---there are all sorts of possibilities!

> 

>  

> 

> Looking forward to our discussion.

> 

>  

> 

> MaryAnn Florez

> 

> and

> 

> Betsy Lindeman Wong

> 

> ----------------------------------------------------

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