English Language Acquisition for Adults

Newsletter - November 2023

Whole-Part-Whole

The Whole-Part-Whole reading strategy can streamline your lesson planning and help students develop their reading skills. It's easy and low-prep, especially since Kate has already done the work for you! Check out this month's video and the links below to learn more!

Why Round Robin Reading Doesn't Work

Round robin or popcorn reading, where one student reads a sentence or passage aloud while others listen, has a long history in the classroom.

However, this strategy lacks a research base and has the potential to reinforce faulty reading habits. Check out this article to learn more!

For Students: Literacy Reads Collection

The Pima County Public Library has a fabulous collection of hi-lo adult readers that are available for checkout. These are high interest books for adults or teens with gripping storylines and adapted reading levels. These books feature simple vocabulary and grammar, short chapters, and a slim page count.

If you are teaching at a library branch, ask at the front desk about the Literacy Reads collection and show it to your students! Learn more about the collection here!

Question of the Month: Earn 1 Hour Credit

Here's a super easy way to earn 1 hour towards your goal of 6 hours of Continuing Education per year! Just read this month's newsletter and answer this month's question!

This month's question: What 3 new ideas or strategies for teaching reading are you taking away from this month's newsletter? Submit your answer here !

Teaching Thanksgiving

ELAA classes end before Thanksgiving, but if you're thinking of touching on the topic, check out Lizzy's 2021 session on how to teach Thanksgiving in ELAA class. You can access the video here .

Strengths-Based Series:

So many books, so little time!

We all care about our learners and want the very best for them. How can we choose materials that will truly set our students up for success?

Join us on 11/4, 10-12, at Literacy Connects for "Bias in Books!" We'll explore:

why it's important to consider bias when selecting materials
how to identify different forms of bias in materials
how to choose high quality, strengths-based materials that are as free from bias as possible

Check out this article for a sneak peak into the 7 tools we'll be using on Saturday, 11/4 and make sure to RSVP here.

Celebrating Student Leaders

Do you have a student who shines as a leader in your class? Let Kate know so we can celebrate them in the newsletter!

This month's student leader is Asma, who is a student in Mike Mitchell and Désiré Tossoukpe's intermediate Zoom class:

"Asma is a kind woman, an eager learner and a supportive student leader. Asma is always one of the first to volunteer when I need a student to model an exercise. She assists her classmates in breakout rooms, helping her partners complete exercises without the teacher present. I also recall occasions where Asma has helped explain what another student is saying or asking, when it’s not clear to me what the struggling student is trying to express."

Thanks for sharing, Mike & Désiré! Three cheers for Asma!

Reminder: Celebration of Learning is Coming!

Reminder – the Celebration of Learning materials are coming to you soon!

The student questionnaire and teacher feedback are the ONLY student assessment tools we use, so this data is vitally important to the sustainability of the ELAA program and keeping our classes free of charge for our students.

We ask that all teachers take one day of class to work with their students to complete the questionnaire before the session ends. Keep an eye on your inbox for more information this Friday, November 3rd.

Sharing with Sharon

Join our Executive Director, Sharon O'Brien, for a "Sharing with Sharon" session where you will have the opportunity to ask questions, get deeper insights, share your perspectives, and offer support for this organization we all love!

Each session will include light refreshments and beverages.

Please click on the session you would like to attend to RSVP:

November 2nd, 4:00- 5:00 PM

November 14th, 12:00- 1:00 PM