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"We
want as many adults as possible to realise the pleasure of
reading as well as the personal benefits this can bring."
- Phil Hope MP, Minister for Skills
"Books have no place in this course; it's about learning
to read!"
Basic skills tutor
The
adult literacry core curriculum (DfES page for teachers)
It can sometimes feel that there is little room for book reading
in the adult literacy curriculum because of its focus on understanding
and interpreting sections of text. But the Vital Link has
shown that library staff can use their reader development
experience and library expertise in the basic skills classroom
to strong effect. Building an effective partnership
between the two sectors is key to success here.
Reading for pleasure is not just an activity in its own right,
but can also be integrated into lessons. A wealth of activity
can be triggered by introducing reading for enjoyment and
interest into work with basic skills learners. Reading development
can be linked into project research and building up research
skills, where the curriculum forms a reference point rather
than a strict framework.
Librarians planning to develop this work, should talk to
the tutor in advance to find out the learners' interests and
their levels of ability. It is important to know the abilities
of the people you will be working with - are they complete
beginners (pre-Entry or Entry 1 or 2) or are they nearer the
threshold of functional literacy (Entry 3 or Level 1)?
Librarians will need to show tutors how reading for pleasure
can cut across all aspects of the adult literacy core curriculum,
from speaking and listening to reading and writing and can
cater for all levels of ability.
Library staff in Essex worked with tutors to map reading
activities to the basic skills curriculum; the table below
shows how this can be done. This work enables tutors to see
the relevance of reading and reviewing activity to their own
aims and helps them to integrate it into the individual learning
plans of students.
Table
mapping reading activities to the basic skills curriculum
Sample workplan for
a basic skills tutor working with a group in a library setting.
The plan shows a scheme of work over five weeks, based in
a library and run jointly with a member of library staff
More
detailed lesson plan that links to the learning objectives
of the adult literacy curriculum
"It's all related to the curriculum we're working with;
the whole thing merges together really well."
Tutor, Essex
"The library role is to support the tutors. We bring
to it our awareness of books and resources, and particular
skills such as reader development, which the tutors don't
have."
Librarian, Essex
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