This presentation uses an
Almost-ready-for-prime-time edition of firstfind.org.
You can visit this test site at test2.westchesterlibraries.org

Some links offer general information that may be instructional and/or interactive
Other links connect with information or services that are geographically specific

The Get Your GED section is the largest section on the Firstfind.org site.
There are subsections with links to specific services in Westchester, details about taking the exam, a large (and complex) interactive instructional service called
Learning Express Library, sites to build necessary skills for each of the five tests, and practice exams with immediate scoring.
There is also a smaller library for those who wish to take the GED in Spanish.

Most of the information on this page can be found in our booklet
Getting Your GED: Gateway to Your Future.
This 37-page booklet describes the what is on the exam, the time allotted per test, how the test is scored, and lots of other stuff (e.g. that the exam can be taken in
Spanish, a student can request accommodations for a disability).
Please become familiar with the content of this booklet!!

Learning Express Library (LEL) is a large instructional platform for adults and children at different skill levels. LEL is organized into Learning Centers by instructional level (e.g.,
GED Preparation Center or College Center) and by interest (e.g., Career Center). An advantage to this structure is that a student can access instructional tools at levels that match his/her skill level. For example, the Skills Review: Reading section includes a link to a Reading Comprehension Course from the Middle School Learning Center.
LEL is NOT user-friendly. There is a pretty good video tutorial that can help you and your students. Do take some time to look at the LEL links within the Get Your GED section.
By the way, there are also links to LEL in other sections of Firstfind.org (e.g., Look for a Job).
Note that many of our students do not have the email accounts that are required to register to use LEL.
I included a link to a tutorial on how to set up an email account – a link that is also accessible in the
Computer Tips section of Firstfind.org.

The Adult Learning Center has good courses and practice exercises to help students improve their skills in Math, Reading, and Writing.

Tutorials are organized by units, which are then broken into lessons. The is a Pre-Test option for most tutorials that are often intimidating for the student – use with caution.
There are exercises throughout the lessons, and each lesson concludes with a short quiz.
There is also a quiz at the end of each unit, and a Post-test at the end of the tutorial.
Notice the option to
Save and Finish Later .
This enables a student to work for a period of time and log off.
The software will record the unit at log off and retrieve that location when the student next logs in.

A new feature on LEL is a series of practice exercises/quizzes for all the concepts
Introduced in the tutorials. There are usually four exercises per topic. Each exercise is instantly scored, and explanations are given for each question/answer. The software will also recommend tutorials and/or exercises to review and build skills.
NOTE : Use of the eBooks option is limited to those who own or have other access to PCs or laptops.

Another new feature in LEL is the option to take the Practice Exercises as a
Learner. The advantage of this option is that a student can view answers as s/he progresses through the exercise, page by page.
Less pressure, more immediate feedback.

Note on navigating LEL
The organization of LEL is quite complex. Understanding the uses of the various Learning
Centers and their content is tough enough. Understanding the process of selecting, storing, and retrieving that content is very challenging. Once you Launch a tutorial or practice exercise, you will be asked to Save and Finish Later (tutorials or for exercises to complete at another time) or to Score My Test. Both of these commands will save whatever you are working on to My Center , located at the top right of the screen.
Navigating My Center is very important and not very intuitive. Have a look at this video to get a sense of how things work.

Get Your GED also has Skills Review sections to focus on skill development for each of the
5 tests (plus another that highlights reading and interpreting graphs).
Skills Reviews are helpful because:
* Learning Express Library is very formal (perhaps tedious) for some
* Some students need to retake only one test, and/or need to focus on a specific skill (e.g.,algebra)
* There are many video activities in these sections – helpful for those with visual learning styles

Skills Review: Math features a sequenced list of topics with links that explain concepts, and offer practice exercises and quizzes. There are lots of links to specific
Learning Express Library courses, and lots of links to specific topics in the
Khan Academy. There is a quiz at the end of each topic to check if a student has mastered the topic.
The organization of topics corresponds to an assessment of student skills as
Fundamental, Intermediate, and Advanced. There is also a link to the LEL Math Tutorials and a final link, Get Ready to Take the Test , that offers practice tests and tips on taking the test (e.g., how to use the calculator and how to fill out the grid forms on the test).

For students at a fundamental skill level, it is essential to be fluent in multiplication and division. The Khan Academy videos and exercises are very helpful. Encourage students to use the Flashcards and the
Learn Your Multiplication Tables!
practice tools as well.

For intermediate level students, the LEL Basic Math Tutorial: Review covers most of the areas needed to pass the test (the Basic Math Tutorial: Comprehensive introduces other important concepts like exponents – so a student need to complete both tutorials).

Many, many students have problems understanding the rules and regulations for using fractions. Take a look at the various links that can offer different explanations.
For example, there are Six Short Videos on Working with Fractions and the excellent Visual Fractions that can help students understand why 3/4= 32/40.
The more you explore different sites with your students, the more they become comfortable looking on their own. Note the link to Practice Tests from LEL at the bottom. This is a feature on all of the topics in Skills Review: Math.

Algebra is tough for anyone tutors included!
The LEL Algebra Tutorial is helpful but very text-driven.
There are some links to Math is Fun: Algebra site, including a review of algebra vocabulary. Algebra Help is pretty comprehensive. Lessons on Lines introduces
The coordinate system of points used to measure slopes and solve linear equations.

All of the problems on the GED Math exam are word problems. Students must be familiar with the vocabulary used in these problems.
Key Words Used in Math Problems is a good interactive tutorial that targets this knowledge.
Another good practice source can be found in the Basic Math Practice tests in the Middle School section of LEL.

Reading is the #1 skill required to take and pass the GED exam. All of the tests require a student to be a fluent reader.
It is important to assess a student's reading skills in order to develop learning plans for him/her. The Reading Guide in your folder will help you understand what skills are required to be a good reader, and offer samples of assessment tools to use to determine skill levels.
The Improve Your Reading Skills section has
LEL courses for middle and high school level students. There are also videos and drill-andpractice exercises for lower-level students.
The Build Your Vocabulary section includes some helpful videos from TV 411 and a link to
Vocabulary.com
, an interactive site that can send weekly quizzes via email. LEL will soon add a Vocabulary and Spelling Tutorial to its
Content.
The Read More!
and Poetry sections offer students links to sites (that may be) of interest to him/her, including current news, science facts, and short fiction.

This site is more contextual in understanding reading concepts - and it has audio-visual components
These tools are appropriate for students reading at a lower level.

Get the New York Times!

The Writing Exam is challenging for many.
English is not easy! The Grammar section is challenging enough (spelling, punctuation, subject/verb agreement) but the Essay is
Especially difficult.

There are several tools to help students build grammar skills. A favorite – especially for lower-level students - is Grammar Grids, which offers interactive video tests and exercises.

Writing the Essay has many links to tools that help students understand (and practice) the specific organizational structure required by the readers of the Essay.
The TV411 video is a quick view on that structure.

Other Skills Review sections have links to help students gain a better knowledge of the concepts used in the reading passages (and charts/graphs) seen in exam questions.

Students may opt to take the GED exam in Spanish so we tried to find links to sites that would help them improve their skills for the exam. Not easy!
Unfortunately, LEL only offers the Basic Math Tutorial: Review in Spanish
( Learning Express Library: Curso de Matematicas Basicas )
Other tutorials were not translated. There are some other online math courses from Mexico written in native tongue (rather than translated).
These can be found in the Revisión de Matemáticas.
Note that we did translate the sections with information about the GED Connect!
Program, along with information about taking the test.
This section could use some improvements! Any and all ideas are welcome.

And finally, there is the wiki for our tutors. Here you can find copies of assessment tools, unofficial practice tests, tons of math handouts (with answer sheets!), reading and writing exercises, science and social studies worksheets, websites that enable you to design specific subject exercises, and more. Everyone can add posts,
Offer advice, etc. - but you must sign up for an account to do so. I will need your email address (and permission) to
Add you to the member list.
The URL is wikis.westchesterlibraries.org/ged
Contact me at rosborne@wlsmail.org