MAY 2014
Hoot Wise
-+
W
ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS
riting is fundamental or did we forget just how fundamental writing really is? Should
we allow technology to replace instead of enhance good writing? Is it “ok” to spell
poorly or actually forget how to spell because we frequently abbreviate our technological communications? Research indicates that many adults are not confident and
fluent in their writing skills. Community colleges report that many of their students score below college level placement in reading and writing which require remedial or developmental instruction. It
is imperative for students to learn and practice good writing skills. Most jobs, careers, and colleges of
today are reporting an increasing need for competent writing skills for all applicants. As teachers, we
must commit to combatting this growing critical need.
Students who say, “I hate to write,” usually express the same sentiment when it comes to reading. Reading and writing go hand and hand. A
really good story means there was a really good
writer behind that story. We might be great at
reading because we read a lot, but not adept at
writing because we do not write. If a reader
wants to improve in reading, he or she reads, and
the same is true with writing. We must encourage and provide opportunities for our students to
write more often.
Our Adult Education program is working diligently towards creating more opportunities for
our students to become proficient writers. Our
new writing labs, implemented in January, were
designed to aid students to succeed in taking the
paperless 2014 GED® test. The objectives of the
class includes preparing students for the writing
component in the 2014 GED® Extended Response for Reading Language Arts, Social
Studies, and Science which focuses on digital
writing and composing responses on the computer. Students are excited about continuing these
classes. Students attending these classes are writing more often, as well as, becoming more confident in their writing. We are also working hard to
prepare ourselves to teach our students different
ways to improve and enhance their writing.
READING
LEARNING
COMMUNITY
Gaynessa Allen
Lottie Neal
Angela Tripp
Harriett Hairston
Darryl Jackson
This summer, several members of the Reading
Learning Community and other teaching staff
members will attend the 2014 Institute titled
Accelerating Learning in Writing at Appalachian State University. Participants will experience a
week-long intense training that include objectives
such as, understanding College and Career
Readiness Standards for adult education in writing, instructional strategies to improve student
writing proficiency, incorporating appropriate
technology into writing instruction, developing
contextualized writing lessons for adult learners,
and learning strategies to engage reluctant writers. As we pursue these and other avenues of
learning and teaching, we become far-reaching
in helping our adult students travel the rightways in writing for life.
GPS REAL-LIFE APPLICATION FOR THE MONTH OF MAY
Content Standard:
FACULTY MEMBERS
OF THE
W.2.3 Writing/Composition:
The student will develop and apply the writing process to communicate writing
for a variety of purposes.
Benchmark: W.2.3.1 Using prewriting strategies to generate and organize ideas related to an
essay topic.
Ana Cartagena (Staff)
QUOTE FOR THE MONTH
Nothing is impossible, the
word itself says,
'I'm possible'!
~Audrey Hepburn
Sample Activity: Have students design a timeline highlighting events in their lives. Using
their timeline, have students write a paragraph summarizing an event from their personal life.
The online GPS guide can be accessed at
http://abspd.appstate.edu/teaching-resources/content-standards
(Choose your quote from Brainy Quote )
SUPER LESSON PLANS
IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING
SKILLS
Students have difficulty, at times, expressing and communicating the concepts they have been
taught.
They
demonstrate a lack
of understanding of
what is being asked of them. Many times
students are uncomfortable reading and listening to their assignments and therefore
misunderstand what is to be done. Often
they simply fail to listen.
Listening is a
learned skill and is the foundation of communication; however, students generally
struggle with vocabulary and the understanding of what they read or hear. Often
they have just completed a guided lesson on
a particular task, yet they are literally
stumped when it comes to performing the
assigned task. They do not accurately hear
what is being said.
Here are some teaching tips to improve and
enhance listening skills.
1. Share with students the importance of
critical listening.
2. Encourage students to focus on what
is being said and never tune out the
speaker.
3. Have students role play this skill by
using real-life situations wherein listening is critical.
4. Finally, have students assess and rate
their own listening skills.
Reading with understanding in
school is just as important as reading
to understand “day-to-day” experiences in life. This plays a vital role
in students’ learning. Contextualized teaching and learning (CTL), or
the concept of relating subject matter
that is meaningful to students’ lives,
offers one promising approach to
helping students learn more effectively. For example, using current events can be more
enlightening and more relatable than reading the text.
Concepts, such as culture and democracy, when introduced in a way that the student can apply to his/her
life, become more than dictionary definitions. These
concepts become personal and meaningful.
GED® candidates will be reading informational texts,
such as speech excerpts and will be responding to
questions that are not just recalling information. In
order to respond to critical thinking questions, students
will have to break apart what they have read and put
together responses that are organized and to the point.
If students can contextualize what has been read, new
concepts that seem alien at first, appear not so. For
example, the concepts of ethos, logos, and pathos
sounds very intimidating, but look at how the instructor simplifies the concepts by using contextualization.
GROW YOUR STUDENTS
Reading is all about information. It’s not about the
number of words you read,
but the amount of value you
extract from them. The key
to improved reading comprehension isn’t moving your
eyes across a page more
quickly. It’s about creating a
Click on the pizza for a
real-life scenario.
mental framework that helps
you process words and ideas.
With a bit of practice, anyone
can read faster and more productively.
Teacher Made Materials
Y o u
learn
extract
m o s t
mation in
amount of
(For more information on critical listening, click on the
Metaphor  Simile  Personification  Alliteration
c a n
how to
t h e
inforthe least
time.
(Click on BILL and grow)
kitty or the couple )
Advanced English Literacy
Date: 5/31/2014
Time: 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Cost: Free
Location: Glenwood Branch Library
Poetry Project
Date: 6/18/2014
UPCOMING EVENTS
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Cost: Free
Location: McGirt-Horton Library
(Click
on event for more information)
Adult Education
Guilford Technical Community College
A Product of the
Reading Learning Community