Recommended Reading: Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf
January 25, 2012 at 8:00 AM | Posted in AmeriCorps, Announcements, Class, Development, ESOL, Family Learning, Student Stories, Teaching, Tutoring, Volunteers | Leave a commentTags: americorps partners, Basic Adult Literacy, Dyslexia, helping students learn, helping students read, learning tools, literacy, literacy council, literacy resources, Loudon Literacy, Maryanne Wolf, Proust and the Squid, reading disabilities, reading instruction, reading research, recommended reading, teaching resources, teaching strategies, tutoring, Volunteer
One of the challenges in planning the training for the Basic Adult Literacy Tutoring Program is deciding what knowledge of reading and writing is essential for volunteer tutors to possess. Obviously the trainings are not meant to be replacements for advanced degrees and can never answer all questions about why, when, or how to use a particular tool. Instead, the trainings are introductions to basic instruction in beginning reading and writing. The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia tries to provide ongoing support and training to supplement the foundation that is laid during the initial training. Of course, each time one question is answered, at least two more sprout in its place.
If you have some questions about the basic processes of reading instruction, but aren’t interested in obtaining a Master’s degree or digging through the academic research, take a look at Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf (Harper Perennial 2008). This is a quick read that blends history, philosophy, and science to explain the most current understanding of reading research and reading disabilities. It also raises some important questions about our typical conceptualization of what is ‘typical’ and what it means to have a reading disability or Dyslexia.
Wolf directs her attention to typical and atypical reading development in children but it is easy to apply the information to adults; the questions and perspectives she raises are certainly excellent and relevant to Literacy Council learners. She explains the current science of reading clearly and thoroughly to give any reader a good understanding of the processes underlying what so many of us take for granted. She also celebrates the wonder of reading and writing in all types of learners, raising questions about some common assumptions about learning to read that can give even the most seasoned teacher cause to reconsider.
Molly Chilton
Basic Literacy Tutoring Specialist
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
2855 Annandale Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 237-0866
www.lcnv.org
Digital Literacy: Beyond the Printed Page
January 24, 2012 at 10:38 AM | Posted in Uncategorized, Teaching, Student Stories, Tutoring, ESOL, Volunteers, Class, Announcements, AmeriCorps, Development, Family Learning | Leave a commentTags: alumni, AmeriCorps, americorps partners, announcement, Basic Adult Literacy, beyond print, Computer Literacy, digital literacy, Information Technology, LCNV, lcnv learners, literacy, literacy council, networking, skype, students learn computers, teaching, teaching strategies, technology, thank you!, the three r's, tutoring, Volunteer, volunteers
Check out Gavin Dudeney’s “No Place in Class for Digital Illiterates,” which appeared in The Guardian. Dudeney highlights a new aspect of literacy, which is beyond the “three Rs of reading, writing, and arithmetic”: digital literacy.
The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia knows that education includes technology. In 2011, LCNV offered Open Computer Instruction workshops , thanks to the help of a volunteer corps from IBM’s Asian Diversity Networking group, spearheaded by LCNV tutor, Elliot Zhang. The sessions were filled to capacity and learners worked on beginning-level operational skills, email, Skype, and navigating the Internet. Setara Habib, an AmeriCorps Instructor stated: “I am proud to say that my mom is a citizen of the internet. We set her up with an email and Skype account. I saw that other students were joining Facebook and looking for relatives while others were watching YouTube videos and learning about searches. It was a great experience!”
Adapting to the ever–changing and tech-connected world, LCNV hopes to continue to help our learners build their “digital literacy skill set.” Take a moment to read all about digital literacy and its role in students’ lives: “No Place in Class for Digital Illiterates.”
Ines Rivera
Communications Specialist
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
2855 Annandale Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 237-0866 x 109
www.lcnv.org
Learning Resources on the Web: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff
January 23, 2012 at 11:27 AM | Posted in Teaching, Student Stories, Tutoring, ESOL, Volunteers, Class, Announcements, AmeriCorps, Development, Family Learning | Leave a commentTags: teaching strategies, volunteers, teaching, alumni, americorps partners, students, tutoring, Volunteer, AmeriCorps, health literacy, Basic Adult Literacy, web resources, learning resources, financial literacy, queens library, usalearns, rachels english, learning tools, ESOL Learning Tools
The internet contains numerous websites to help people improve their English skills, and new ones seem to pop-up daily. Unfortunately, many of them are not particularly useful for our learners. Some of them are geared towards children, others cost money to use, and still others just are not very good. Separating the wheat from the chaff is time-consuming. There’s an annotated list of some good sites on the tutor resource page of the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia’s website. However, this list could use some updating. We hope to accomplish it soon. Meanwhile, here are a few websites which aren’t on the list yet but look good. All of them are free.
- http://www.migrant.net/migrant/Finanza/index.htm provides a toolbox of materials created by the Geneseo Migrant Center to increase migrant workers’ financial knowledge. The materials, which can be used online or printed out, cover a variety of financial topics, such as opening bank accounts, using credit and debit cards, and buying money orders. Lesson plans, skills practice, and pre- and post-tests are included for each topic. The lessons are non-sequential so tutors can pick and choose among them. All the materials are available in Spanish as well as English.
- www.queenslibrary.org is the website for New York’s Queens Library. If you go to the Library Services A-Z tab on the left-hand side of the homepage and select Adult Literacy from the pull-down menu, you’ll get to English for Your Health. The health literacy program for adults has some online activities for students; it also contains a downloadable curriculum covering such topics as parts of the body, symptoms, making doctors’ appointments, talking to the doctor, and paying for healthcare. Lesson plans, articles for students to read, photos, audio files, and student worksheets at both the beginning and intermediate levels are provided.
- www.theliteracytribune.org, created by United Literacy Inc., provides a bimonthly online newsletter containing articles of interest to adults on subjects such as health, finance, technology, and history. The articles can be read online or printed out. They are written in simple English. Learners who read at the high beginning level could get something out of them.
- www.rachelsenglish.com is a site created to help ESOL students improve their pronunciation. The site includes videos explaining in detail how to create each sound, other pronunciation videos (e.g., the various ways of pronouncing plural nouns, how to pronounce “Thanksgiving” and “Christmas”), and intonation exercises designed to help with English speech patterns. The site would be difficult for many of our students to use by themselves since it contains a lot of terminology with which they might be unfamiliar (e.g., diphthongs, voiced sounds). However, it could prove useful for tutors to use with their learners, provided they have access to computers during their lessons.
- I also want to put in a plug for a website which already is on the LCNV’s list: www.usalearns.org. The contents of the site were spearheaded by the US Department of Education and designed by the Sacramento County Department of Education to improve adult ESOL learners’ English skills. The site is an excellent online resource which students can use by themselves if they have very basic computer skills or with their tutors. The first two levels (beginning English skills and low intermediate English skills) are appropriate for students in our ESOL tutoring program and for many learners in our Basic program whose first language is not English. However, the third level (intermediate reading and writing) would also be useful for native English speakers in the Basic program. The third level contains short articles which can be read and listened to, followed by exercises for vocabulary, comprehension, spelling and writing.
Elise Bruml
Director of Tutoring Programs
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
2855 Annandale Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 237-0866 x 106
www.lcnv.org
“Lose Yourself in the Service of Others”
January 17, 2012 at 2:44 PM | Posted in AmeriCorps, Announcements, Class, Development, ESOL, Family Learning, Student Stories, Teaching, Tutoring, Volunteers | Leave a commentTags: alumni, AmeriCorps, americorps partners, announcement, Basic Adult Literacy, ESOL Tutoring, LCNV Family, LCNV Volunteer, literacy, one-on-one, professional development, students, teaching, teaching strategies, training, tutor training, tutoring, Volunteer, Volunteer Training, volunteers
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
- Mahatma Gandhi
Join our big family of LCNV Volunteers and get Northern Virginia reading, speaking, and understanding English.
Contact volunteers@lcnv.org or 703-237-0866 x 111 to attend the next Tutor Training!
The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia has hit the ground running this year. We’ve got our ESOL Tutor Training AND Spring Classroom sessions coming up. We need volunteer teachers, class aides, and tutors to help improve the literacy skills of area adults who are eager to learn and become full members of the community.
Our ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) one-on-one Tutoring Program provides individualized, goal-oriented English instruction to LCNV adult learners. We need more volunteer tutors to work with students on a waiting list, who need help with speaking, listening, reading, and writing English. If you are looking to help somebody individually, as well as have the flexibility of setting your own schedule and volunteering in your own neighborhood, this could be a good fit for you.
Each tutor is trained, matched with a student, and encouraged to meet weekly for an hour and a half at a location convenient to both the volunteer and the learner. The Literacy Council provides intensive tutor training at our Falls Church office prior to starting an assignment (there is a $40 fee to cover the costs of training materials). The next THREE-DAY training will take place in Falls Church on January 21, 28, and February 4 (all Saturdays) at 9:30 am-3:00 pm. All three days are required.
Our Classroom Programs offer beginning level ESOL classes to adults that focus on helping students improve their English speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. The classes also provide information about American culture and life skills important to the workplace, community, and family.
If you enjoy working with people, learning from others, and are available to give 2-4 hours a week for the next few months, our Classroom Volunteer Opportunities may be a perfect fit! Take a look at the class schedules online: http://www.lcnv.org/schedules.cfm and contact me to sign up!
Absolutely no teaching experience or knowledge of foreign languages is required for any of our volunteer positions! Contact me to find out more and to get started!
Ruba Marshood Afzal
Director of Volunteers
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
at the James Lee Community Center
2855 Annandale Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 237-0866 x 111
www.lcnv.org
Sam Jugus: A LCNV Supporter Earns the Eagle Scout Rank
January 9, 2012 at 2:58 PM | Posted in AmeriCorps, Announcements, Class, Development, ESOL, Family Learning, Student Stories, Teaching, Tutoring, Volunteers | Leave a commentTags: alumni, AmeriCorps, americorps partners, announcement, Basic Adult Literacy, boy scouts, boy scouts of america, Children, community, Connections for Hope, donating, Eagle Scout, Eagle Scout Project, family, Family Learning, friends, give, giving, lcnv supporters, literacy supporters, Sam Jugus, support literacy, thank you!, Volunteer, volunteers
The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia receives the support of countless dedicated volunteers and individuals. Sam Jugus is one of these LCNV advocates.
LCNV's Executive Director, Patricia Donnelly & LCNV Supporters, Sam Jugus & Donor Joe Brickey
This past fall, LCNV’s Connections for Hope Office in Herndon, Virginia, was a beneficiary of four new bookshelves. The donation was part of an Eagle Scout project led by Sam Jugus of Boy Scout Troop 30, in Centreville, Virginia. At the time, Sam was a Life Scout.
Sam started his scouting journey in 2001 as a Tiger Scout in Pack 1682 out of Virginia Run Elementary School in Centreville, Virginia. He joined Boy Scout Troop 30 in 2006, and continued to participate and earn merit badges throughout middle and high school with the goal to attain the Eagle rank, which is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America.
The purpose of an Eagle Scout project is to give a young man leadership experience and provide a service to the community. After talking with LCNV Executive Director, Patricia Donnelly, Sam presented his Eagle Scout project proposal to his Troop leadership in July, 2010. Several months of research, planning, seeking approvals, and securing funding followed. Yet, all of the young leader’s efforts came together in July of 2011: Sam pulled a team of scouts and friends, and began constructing bookshelves that would benefit LCNV’s Family Learning Program.
On August 10, 2011, Sam delivered four well-crafted, white bookshelves to LCNV’s Connections for Hope office; each handmade bookshelf came adorned with a small fingerprint – a little gold plate crediting the craftsman and his troop. Twenty-one individuals participated in the project, which took more than 140 hours to complete and cost more than $650, including $500 in donations.
“Teaching people how to read is an important way to help them take advantage of opportunities in our community,” Sam said. Smiling, he added: “I’m very proud of my Eagle Scout project and that I was able to help out the LCNV’s Connections for Hope office.”
Having successfully completed his Eagle Scout Project, on December 22, 2011, Sam became an Eagle and was honored in the Eagle Scout Court of Honor at the Virginia Run Community Center. LCNV would like to extend a warm thank you to Sam for all of his hard work, and congratulate him on becoming an Eagle Scout. We wish you continued success, Sam!
LCNV’s programs would not be possible without the help of dedicated volunteers and supporters like Sam. We offer many diverse volunteer opportunities. To learn more about the different ways you can volunteer and become part of the LCNV family, please visit Volunteers or contact Ruba Afzal (volunteers@lcnv.org). Get involved or donate today, and support LCNV’s cause.
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
2855 Annandale Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 237-0866
www.lcnv.org
Acumen Solutions Race for a Cause™: LCNV Awarded $8,125!
January 4, 2012 at 3:04 PM | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: 1 mile fun walk, 8k, acumen solutions, alumni, AmeriCorps, americorps partners, announcement, Basic Adult Literacy, community, family, Family Learning, friends, give, giving, Information Technology, LCNV, literacy changes lives, literacy council of northern virginia, literacy services, Loudon Literacy, networking, race for a cause, RAFA, students, technology, thank you!, the race for a cause, tutoring, Volunteer, volunteers
Acumen Solutions 3rd Annual Race for a Cause™ 8K and 1Mile Fun Run took place this past October 16, 2011 in Arlington, Virginia. The race benefited ten DC-area nonprofit organizations – the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia was one of these selected organizations!
Patti Donnelly, LCNV's Executive Director & David JouBran,Co-founder, President and CEO of Acumen Solutions
During registration, participants in the Race for a Cause™ registered for their organization of choice. This year, LCNV and the remaining nine non-profits met the minimum number of runners, which determined that each organization would receive a portion of the proceeds. LCNV came in seventh place with 220 supporters – an impressive feat considering this year was the first time LCNV was selected as a beneficiary of the race. In addition to the tremendous support the event garnered, the race was a great opportunity for LCNV volunteers, Board members, and staff to have fun while exercising and spreading the word about LCNV – the literacy services it provides and the lives it changes.
An awards ceremony, which took place this past November, honored the ten nonprofit organizations spotlighted in Acumen Solutions 3rd Annual Race for a Cause™. A gift of $8,125 was presented to LCNV at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons. Part of the award was generously donated by the SunTrust Foundation. Patti Donnelly, LCNV’s Executive Director, accepted the award on behalf of the organization. The following LCNV Board Members attended the ceremony to show their support: Peggy Balsawer, Paul Byrne, John Odenwelder, Victor Pa, Anne and Jon Spear, and Saurabh Verma. We are particularly grateful to Saurabh, who, as an employee of Acumen Solutions was instrumental in putting LCNV on the very short list of selected non-profits.
Board Members, John Odenwelder (left) & Saurabh Verma (right)
The Literacy Council would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who ran, registered, and rallied support for LCNV’s cause. It is only because of individuals like you that LCNV can provide ongoing services to adults who are eager to learn how to read and write.
To learn more about our next upcoming event, please visit: Reading: A Family Affair.
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
2855 Annandale Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 237-0866 x 109
www.lcnv.org
Last Chance to Give in 2011!
December 31, 2011 at 10:00 AM | Posted in AmeriCorps, Announcements, Class, Development, ESOL, Family Learning, Student Stories, Teaching, Tutoring, Volunteers | Leave a commentTags: 40% State Tax Credit, alumni, AmeriCorps, americorps partners, announcement, Basic Adult Literacy, Class Sites, community, donate, donate to LCNV, family, Family Learning, friends, give, giving, last chance to give, last minute donation, literacy, literacy empowers, networking, student stories, students, thank you!, Volunteer, volunteers
Your support of the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia in 2011 has transformed the lives of our adult learners and their children, as well as our community as a whole. Before the year ends, would you please consider making one final donation that will help us continue our work in the new year?
Thanks to the gifts of your time, talents, and treasure, women like Maria in McLean have the opportunity to improve their English skills and secure better employment.
Center: Maria, LCNV Student
I am grateful for the opportunity to study with LCNV. The people have been a great help teaching me English. I have been studying English here for five years and have progressed a lot, but still have much more to learn; it’s difficult to learn another language. Now I have a job as a housekeeper for a family. I drive their car, cook and do their laundry.
Please make one last donation before the end of 2011 and join LCNV’s family of everyday philanthropists who are ensuring that low-income and immigrant adults in our community have the resources they need to survive and thrive.
Best wishes for 2012,
Patricia M. Donnelly
Executive Director
P.S. Remember, your donations totaling $500 or more in 2011 may be eligible for a 40% state tax credit in Virginia. Make your donation online now using our secure processing system or visit our website for more information about the Neighborhood Assistance Program.
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