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Building the Fire |
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Section II - Program Content & Instruction Assessment Files Organizing and preparing materials prior to the start date eliminates confusion, provides direction, and is necessary for a quality program. Each student should be interviewed and their literacy skills assessed by the instructor. A variety of forms are needed at the beginning and at the end of the program for each student's assessment. It is time efficient to compile these forms into files for each student before the program begins. A master copy should be kept in the instructor's files for easy access since students enroll throughout the program . Badar's Reading and Language Inventory (1983), and Taylor's Literacy Portfolio Assessment: A Resource for Literacy Workers (1994) were used. The portfolio assessment package will vary with instructors. The following forms were used in this program:
Collecting Materials Finding appropriate reading material takes imagination and initiative, especially when the range of abilities is anywhere from pre-primary to grade nine. It is important to know the resources in the community. Schools, libraries, and the community college are places to find materials. Second-hand bookstores, garage sales, and local donations are other resources to use to develop a library with a variety of reading materials. Be selective and up to date as much as possible. The students' awareness of outdated materials, such as Dick and Jane readers donated from the school, will not motivate them to read. There were several outdated materials donated to this program that were not used. They were not even visible in the classroom. Reading materials should be at a variety of reading levels, with content that is interesting to adult learners. Specific materials such as children's books, Aboriginal literature, specific program workbooks, and instruction manuals, should be ordered in advance to ensure availability. At least 10 sets of 11 children's books were ordered for the family literacy component. Math textbooks were borrowed from the high school and college, and dictionaries were purchased from the second- hand book store before the program began. Students' supplies were also purchased in advance. Several items were included: pens, pencils, erasers, paper, binders, and notebooks. General supplies such as staplers, rulers, markers, glue, pencil crayons, and scissors were also available to the students and their children. Collecting resources and creating materials is an ongoing process since different students' needs arise and new resources are developed and made available. Tutors The LEARN program sent tutors as needed. The coordinator of LEARN was informed of the particular student's needs and a list of potential tutors was given to the instructor. This was great as it lessened the instructor's work load. Advertising in the local newspaper or inquiring into the community volunteer organization are other ways to meet this need. If there are funds available, a paid assistant is another alternative. The extra assistance is necessary, and community resources should be known and contacted before the start date to insure assistance. Since consideration must be given to compatibility when matching a tutor with a student, it might be necessary, in some cases, to assess the student and then find a tutor. Schedule Consistency in the schedule allows the students to plan ahead and organize their personal schedules. A copy of the schedule should be prepared in advance and distributed to the group on the first day. Students in this program preferred longer hours and fewer days to less hours and frequent days. This way, transportation costs were less since students attended only 3 days a week. Changes in the schedule were made throughout the program to accommodate the needs of the group and the individuals. Below is the schedule which was specific to the content used in this program. There were a variety of activities that fit into this schedule on any given day. Weekly Schedule Tuesday 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Thursday 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Every third Tuesday - library visit with children Community Awareness Ads in the local newspapers and on television and posters in public buildings were some of the methods used to advertise this program before it began. Meetings with the Saskatchewan Social Services Supervisor and letters to the students' social workers provided information about the program which assured the necessary support. Word of mouth, in a small community, is another effective way to promote awareness of new programs. Articles in the local newspapers kept the community informed of the events in the program throughout the year. Child care Arrangements for child care should be done before the program begins. By compiling a list of phone numbers for local baby-sitters, daycares, and dayhome programs in advance, the students can discuss the choices available at the initial interview with the instructor. Funds for child care should either be secured through the program budget or through social services before child care workers are employed. If social services funds child care, it is important to find out the procedure and expectations for payment to eliminate confusion and insure prompt payment. If child care is offered in the same facility as the literacy program, then a trained child care worker should be employed and the child care program developed before students arrive. Transportation Arrangements with the local taxi company were made by the instructor to guarantee co-operation in case students needed to use cabs. Students and/or volunteers who transported other students needed to be reimbursed for gas mileage. Provisions for transportation need to be made before and throughout the program with appropriate forms available for the drivers. |
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