Section 1


Joining a Library and Reading for Pleasure Amanda Easto


Amanda Easto is an Adult Literacy Tutor at Croydon Adult Learning and Training (CALAT). She's been teaching there since 2007, and in that time she has worked with groups of adults of all levels from Entry 1 to Level 1. She has taught mixed level groups and some embedded literacy classes. Before training to be a teacher, she was a graphic designer. You can contact her at amanda.easto@btinternet.com


Introduction


I'd like to share an outline of three lessons, and then two profiles and short stories, which were written by two inspirational people in my Entry Level 3 class. I think their stories are great, and I hope you enjoy reading them.


I have used the following lesson format to introduce the topic of joining local libraries and reading for pleasure within Entry Level adult


literacy groups for the past few years. I vary the tasks and resources used to suit the levels and interests of the groups. Usually these lessons coincide with a visit to a local library if it is possible to arrange. This is how the topic was used over three lessons with a group of 11 adult learners in an E3 literacy class in November 2012.


Lesson 1


1. Reading a news article, discussion and vocabulary


The group shared a news story about a library reading group. Learners each read a paragraph of text aloud, and then the group had a


discussion about the article. The discussion was facilitated by topic cards. This was followed by a vocabulary activity that involved finding


sheets can be differentiated to suit learners' reading ability and confidence with using a computer. If no computers are available in the classroom, I would print off the web pages for the learners to use as information.


3. Homework and additional tasks


There were two tasks: filling in a form to join the library and putting the names of local libraries into alphabetical order.


Lesson 2


1. Group discussion on reading for pleasure As it was not possible to arrange a library visit for this group, I brought in a selection of books from the local library for the learners to look at. The group then talked about their interests, the


kind of books they read or would be interested in reading, and which books (from the selection) appealed to them from looking at the covers and reading the introductions.


2. Reading and talking about a short story The group then shared a short story, each reading aloud in turn and stopping at intervals to


lesson was Henry by Elizabeth Brassington. It is included in The Sun Book of Short Stories, which


discuss the story. The story chosen for this 1


synonyms for words from the article, and looking was one of the 2007 Quick Reads titles. up words in a dictionary.


News stories I have previously chosen have been person by a seemingly downtrodden, long- about the closure of libraries, reading groups, homework clubs and the relocation of a local library. I have sourced news stories from the BBC website, and local and national newspapers. Usually, I copy and paste the text into a Word document, change and enlarge the font and add a picture or two to make the article more accessible to read. It doesn't take long to do!


2. Using the Internet to find information


Learners looked up information about local libraries on Croydon Council's website


(Croydon.gov.uk). They worked in pairs, using a question sheet to find out about joining a library.


The question sheet contained step-by-step instructions on how to log in to the website and access specific pages, as well as comprehension questions on the web pages. These question


1. The full story is available here: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/19609/ Henry-is-our-best-short-story.html


6


In brief, Henry is a short story told in the first suffering husband. His wife buys an inflatable


man to keep her company and fend off muggers when she is driving alone in her car. She is delighted with Henry, and it soon becomes apparent who she prefers. Her husband becomes more and more jealous of Henry, and eventually tries to destroy him.


3. Writing a response to the story, Henry. Learners were given a writing task, as follows:


After you have read and discussed Henry by Elizabeth Brassington, choose one of the following options:


1.Retell the story from the point of view of the wife.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44