Project Read - San Mateo
Tutor Newsletter
Fall 2015
In This Issue:



Spotlight on Tutor
Project Read 30th
Anniversary Celebration
Report on Recent Project
Read Events
Success Stories

Tutor Resources

Office Hours:
Main Library, 2nd Floor
Monday:
10:00am-5:00pm
Tuesday:
10:00am-5:00pm
Wednesday: 10:00am-5:00pm
Thursday:
10:00am-5:00pm
Friday:
10:00am-5:00pm
Saturday:
Closed
Sunday:
Closed
Contact Us:
San Mateo Public Library
Project Read
55 West Third Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94402
650-522-7848
http://www.smplibrary.org
Karen Gardner
Literacy Specialist
Donya Sultani
Library Assistant
I
Spotlight on tutor Steven Cady
grew up in an Air Force family in Kansas. Much of
my youth was spent in the enjoyment of comics,
monster movies, and science fiction literature (much
of which came from libraries). I graduated from the
University of Kansas with a degree in Spanish. I was then
drafted and spent 2 years in the Army in Oklahoma. I left
military service in California and did some further
graduate work in Spanish. I was hired by the San Jose
Public Library as a book mender in 1972. I met library
staff who were supportive, intelligent, and quirky; and I
had found my home. I worked in most of the clerical
library positions and received my library degree from San
Jose State in 1975. Working in library branches in East
San Jose I was able to use some of my Spanish language skills. In 1983 I was hired
by the San Francisco Public Library and worked for over 20 years at the Mission
Branch. Much of my career involved Spanish services and the struggle to provide
equitable library services to non-English speaking populations. I was active in
Bibliotecas Para La Gente, the Northern California Chapter of REFORMA, an
association supporting Latino library services. My final years in San Francisco were
as a District Manager for 5 branch libraries.
In my library experience I would often provide orientations for ESL classes and do
outreach to under served communities. Literacy and early reading have a great
influence on an individual's success in life, and it is important to promote these
advantages to all community members.
For San Mateo Public Library's Project Read I have been tutoring one student for
around 3 years and have begun to help with English language education at Peninsula
Family Service.
I also volunteer for the Millbrae Public Library, The Burlingame Music Club, and am
involved with Burlingame's Citizen's Environmental Council.
Since retiring in 2010, I have spent time travelling with my wife, several times to
Japan, gardening, and working on house projects. I enjoy reading, movies, and
music of all kinds. It is gratifying to be able to help others learn reading skills which
have been so helpful and enjoyable to me and my family.
30th Anniversary Celebration
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Project Read celebrated its 30th Anniversary on September 20. It was an honor to
hear from Carla Lehn from the California State Library and from a number of tutors
and students who shared their literacy stories. Thanks to all who were able to attend
the event.
Carla Lehn
Eric-former student
Mary-student
Turnbull English Classes– Storytime
Turnbull English Tutoring class families celebrated Halloween and Día De Los
Muertos on October 29. Connie Sutton, Early Childhood & Family Literacy
Coordinator visited the class and presented a fun filled storytime, followed by a
craft and snacks. Families each received a new copy of a fun book entitled
Acorns Everywhere! by Kevin Sherry and they selected “gently-used” Halloween
and Autumn books to take home for their home libraries.
Do you have any favorite recipes that you’d like to share?
The Library’s Social Media Team is planning a series of posts for the
Library’s Facebook page. Staff and volunteers are invited to submit their
favorite holiday recipes. It can be a family recipe or just something you
enjoy cooking around the holidays. Favorite recipes will be posted
regularly throughout November and December. Please send your
recipe directly to Donya Sultani (dsultani@cityofsanmateo.org). Posts
will include your first name unless you say otherwise.
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Reading Comprehension Small Group Class
The Reading Comprehension class led by tutor Fabio Bullara, continues
to meet on Monday evenings at 6:00-7:30 in the Cedar Room of the Main Library. The class has space for more students and drop-ins are welcome to
attend. Please contact the Project Read office for more information or if your
learner is interested in attending the class.
The Library will be closed on the following days:
Day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday November 25 (closing at 5:00)
Thanksgiving, Thursday November 26
Christmas Eve, Thursday December 24
Christmas, Friday, December 25
New Year’s Eve, Thursday December 31 (closing at 5:00)
New Year’s Day, Friday January 1
Learner Accomplishments
Ana says:
“Project Read is the best part of my life. It helped me to make appointments with
the doctor and my children’s teachers.”
~ Turnbull School ESL class
Tutor Katie Flynn tells us that Patricia is now able to contact her daughter's
teacher by email; daughter's grades improving post parent-teacher emails.
Edward says:
"I am more confident reading and writing, which makes my job easier."
Tutor ~ Patrice Lilly
Tutor Resources-Tutoring Tips
Second Language Learners– Reading & Writing
"I can't speak very well. I need to practice my English." Have you heard this from your
learner before? In training, literacy staff says, " Your student can speak basic English.
He/she is a reading and writing student." What do you do? Role plays and dialogues
are a great strategy to help students improve their conversation skills and gain
confidence while also working on their reading and writing.
Think of real-life situations. Pretend to be at the grocery store, at the gas station,
or meeting someone for the first time. If you are having a hard time creating your
own role plays and dialogues, try using pictures and items from home to talk
about.
If you are still struggling, search the internet for ready-made dialogues.
Through role-playing, students learn words and phrases they can use in real-life.
They get to practice and improve their English, while at the same time they are
improving their reading and writing skills.
Native English Speakers-Reading & Writing
One of the best ways to teach reading comprehension is by using a strategy
called "Think Aloud." Saying out-loud what you think about and do while reading
can teach your students important skills to improve their reading comprehension.
Most beginning readers think they should be able to read something one time
and understand it. They don't know that even the best readers don't understand
everything the first time. Sometimes it is necessary to ask questions, look around
for answers, guess what a word means, re-read a section, or predict what will
happen next. There are many things that we do and it all happens silently in our
heads. Beginning readers can benefit from hearing these thoughts.
When you are reading out-loud with your student, verbalize your thoughts. Go
ahead and say, "Let me read that again," or, "I think I may have missed something.
Let's look back and see…"
By sharing your thoughts, you are modeling important reading comprehension
skills. Encourage your student to "think aloud" too. Have them ask questions,
underline difficult words or passages, and re-read sections. You are showing
them that it is ok not to know everything while at the same time teaching them
skills and techniques that will help them become better readers.
Joanne Wright, Literacy Program Manager, Solano County Library
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