Reading at Work Facilitator’s Guide - SKILLPLAN€¦ · The Reading at Work – Facilitator’s Guide and the Workplace Reader are a link to the purposes for reading that are typical

Reading at Work

Facilitator’sGuideCompanion to the Workplace Reader

by Jean Tonski

Project ManagerLynda Fownes

EditorVanya Wong

LESSON

1. PREPARING

2. READING

3. RESPONDING

4. EXPLORING

5. EXTENDING

Introductionii

Companion to the Workplace Reader

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Tonski, Jean, 1950-Reading at Work : Facilitator’s Guide : Companion to the Workplace Reader / Jean Tonski; project manager Lynda Fownes; editor, Vanya Wong.

(Reading at Work)ISBN 0-9739232-1-0

1. Workplace literacy--Study and Teaching (Continuing education) 2. Readers (Adult) I. Fownes, Lynda, 1947- II. Wong, Vanya, 1972- III. Fownes, Lynda, 1947- Reading at work. IV. SkillPlan (Program) V. Title. VI. Series.

LC149.7.F69 2006 428.4’2 C2005-907868-5

Copyright © 2006

SkillPlan – BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement CouncilAll rights reserved. Reprinted 2010

To order copies of this publication, please contact:

SkillPlan – BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement CouncilSuite 405, 3701 Hastings StreetBurnaby, BC, V5C 2H6

Order online: www.skillplan.ca

Financial assistance provided by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

Practitioners are encouraged to photocopy materials in this publication for educational purposes only. Pages may be reproduced, provided that each page used is reproduced in its entirety without modification, with all legal notices maintained. No part of this material may be modified, repackaged, reproduced or used for any commercial purpose or sold by any organization without permission in writing from SkillPlan.

Layout and Design by Art work by

Hallographix Design & Multimedia> greater than graphics

Facilitator’s Guide SkillPlan iii

Reading at Work

AcknowledgementsA National Advisory committee was formed at the outset of this project. The

individuals below allowed us to see Reading at Work through the lens of workplace educator, editor, author, ESL instructor, literacy practitioner, translator and language arts professor.

We thank them all for their participation and support through a challenging development phase. Their collective experience in the field and thoughts about reading instruction were very much appreciated.

• Anne-Marie Ventura, Anne-Marie Ventura Translation Services• Donna M. Palmer, Leading Concepts International Inc.• Jo Dunaway, Jo Dunaway Communications• Karen Geraci, Adult Education, Workplace Training Consultant• Laura Anderson Ho, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology• Linda Conley, Prince Edward Learning Centre• Marilyn Luft, Alberta Workforce Essential Skills • Paul Anderson, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology• Murielle Ballantyne and Stephanie Morin

Skills Information, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

The production of this publication was a collaborative effort of the SkillPlan staff. Thanks to Corinne Volpatti, Workplace Educator, for content review and to Denyse Welwood and Anita Rathje for administrative assistance.

Thanks to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada for financial assistance and for continuing support for Essential Skills research and development of related products.

Sincere appreciation is extended to those who allowed us to use their authentic workplace materials.

And finally, thank you to Michael Hardt, from Performance by Design, who willingly shared his expertise, knowledge and fine humour throughout the process of assembling this publication.

Introductioniv


Mike’s perspective…

Imagine having the power to positively change someone’s life forever. Imagine a power that can change an individual’s sense of self-worth and ultimate ability. That power exists in the document that you now hold in your hands: the power of literacy.

My name is Michael Hardt. I teach at Syracuse University and am the President of Performance by Design, Inc. I know first-hand the power of literacy both professionally and personally. I had the honor and privilege to work for ten amazing years at the side of Dr. Peter B. Mosenthal. Dr. Mosenthal was an internationally known and respected authority in the area of literacy. His two hundred plus publications on the topic helped define the modern concept of literacy. Over the course of Pete’s career he had been involved in designing and developing some of the most important literacy measures used internationally today. The litany of Pete’s accomplishments and contributions could fill numerous pages of this document. However, it was his pure unfettered passion for literacy that made the truest difference.

Pete believed that the development of structured literacy skills was the key to unlocking the universal potential of an individual in any society. The instructional guide and learning activities in this document are born of that genius passion. The skills are contiguously scaled to allow any instructor or learner to enter at their level. The skills are also embedded in a realistic context that provides the learner with a means to see themselves as a successful worker.

I believe, as would Pete, that this document has tapped into the power of literacy. The power that makes a true positive difference in the learning lives of people who need it the most. It has been a great joy seeing the passion and vision of Dr. Mosenthal come to life in the pages of this document. It has also been a tremendous honor to work with such dedicated educators making a significant difference.

Cheers,

Mike

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Reading at Work

Jean’s perspective…This Facilitator’s Guide is designed to support and supplement the Workplace

Reader. It is targeted for use in instructional settings where instructors and tutors work with Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) learners who desire to build and enhance their occupational or workplace reading skills.

Reading is a complex interactive process between the text and the reader that requires a skillful blend of word recognition and comprehension skills. According to Weaver (1994) many aspects effect the success of this process: the activation of the reader’s prior knowledge about the topic, purpose-setting for reading, sociolinguistic factors, matches between the text language and the reader’s language experiences, and expectations about reading that are culturally and experientially based.

With respect to workplace reading, Irwin Kirsch (2005) in his discussions about The International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALLS), stated that “Definitions of reading and literacy have changed over time in parallel with changes in our society, economy, and culture …. Literacy is no longer seen as an ability that is developed during the early school years, but is instead viewed as an advancing set of skills, knowledge, and strategies that individuals build on during their lives in various contexts and through interaction with peers and with the larger communities in which they participate.” He commented that “both the number and types of written materials are growing and where increasing numbers of citizens are expected to use information from these materials in new and more complex ways.” As well, “the fact that people read different materials for different purposes implies a range of proficiencies…. Literacy is not a set of isolated skills associated with reading and writing, but more importantly as the application of those skills for specific purposes in specific contexts …. These uses vary across contexts and among people within the same context …. This variation in use leads us to an interaction with a broad range of materials that have qualitatively different linguistic forms.” He stated that research literature suggests that “different materials or formats are associated with different contexts and that a significant proportion of adult reading tasks in the context of work involve documents – graphs, charts, forms and the like – rather than prose” or connected discourse that is generally found in school situations. (Mosenthal & Kirsch, 1998)

The Reading at Work – Facilitator’s Guide and the Workplace Reader are a link to the purposes for reading that are typical in workplaces. Not only are the contexts varied, so too are the structures, strategies, processes and skills that make

Introductionvi


reading effective. Our goal is to facilitate an understanding of expanded purposes for reading, promote effective instruction of workplace reading skills and, most importantly, improve the learner’s reading skills for success in employment settings. This Guide is a wealth of lessons to suit different instructional styles and pedagogy, and has lessons to meet the needs of different skill levels and learning styles of participants in programs in a variety of settings.

Jean Tonski has worked and learned in a variety of K to university settings for over 30 years in the British Columbia education system.She brings teaching and administrative experience and perspectives to learning.

Jean is currently a Language Arts Instructor and Field Experience Coordinator in the Faculty of Education, Teacher Education Program at Malaspina University College in Nanaimo, B.C.

About SkillPlan SkillPlan, the BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement Council, was

formed in response to the learning needs of an evolving industry. The construction workforce requires increasingly higher levels of reading, writing, numeracy, problem solving and oral communications skills. SkillPlan’s mandate is to provide a solid foundation of these Essential Skills, the Velcro ™ to which all other training sticks. Essential Skills are part of a worker’s life at work and underlie literacy in the wider community.

SkillPlan is a joint labour and management initiative of the construction industry in British Columbia. It was established as a not-for-profit society in March 1991. For more information, visit SkillPlan’s website at www.skillplan.ca.

The author of the Facilitator’s Guide, Jean Tonski, shares a moment with Performance by Design mentors Michael Hardt (left) and Peter Mosenthal (right).

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Reading at Work

Table of Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................................... iii – xii1. Checking Groceries ................................................................................................1 Lesson 1 – Grocery Store Cashier’s Tasks ........................................................2 Lesson 2 – Organic Food Buying ....................................................................23 Lesson 3 – Organic Products – A Closer Look ................................................472. Cleaning for Business ..........................................................................................69 Lesson 1 – The Hotel Room Attendant’s Job ..................................................70 Lesson 2 – Housekeeping Tasks ......................................................................89 Lesson 3 – Safety Considerations ..................................................................1093. Assisting Families ..............................................................................................137 Lesson 1 – The Family Resource Consultant’s Job ......................................138 Lesson 2 – Special Needs Information ..........................................................155 Lesson 3 – Forms and Applications ...............................................................1714. Supplying Parts ..................................................................................................193 Lesson 1 – LacledeTM Dual-Triple Truck Chains ...........................................194 Lesson 2 – Wire Rope Products .....................................................................205 Lesson 3 – Fallstop® Two-arm High-abrasion Shock-absorbing Lanyard ....223 Lesson 4 – Wedge Socket Warning and Application Instructions .................2415. Advocating for Workers .....................................................................................257 Lesson 1 – The Injured Worker’s Case ..........................................................258 Lesson 2 – Documents the Workers’ Advocate Reads ...................................275 Lesson 3 – Review Decision..........................................................................2916. Creating Glass Art ..............................................................................................309 Lesson 1 – Kilns Information ........................................................................310 Lesson 2 – Diagrams and Schematics ...........................................................339 Lesson 3 – Firing Glass .................................................................................367Appendixes 1 – Lesson Template ......................................................................................391 2 – Structures, Processes, Strategies and Skills .............................................392 3 – Resources for Background Information ...................................................399 4 – Complexity of Reading Tasks ..................................................................400 5 – Document Typography ............................................................................402 6 – Canadian Language Benchmark and Essential Skills .............................403 7 – Bibliography ............................................................................................404

Introductionviii


IntroductionPurpose of the Facilitator’s Guide

The Facilitator’s Guide is intended to be a resource for instructors to use with the Reading at Work, Workplace Reader. The Guide uses an eclectic approach to teaching reading. It is based on constructivist and sociolinguistic learning theories, where readers construct meaning as they negotiate and interpret different types of information displays. The Guide is intended to provide the facilitator with a tool kit and introduces a number of structures, strategies and skills that may be transferred to new instructional situations.

The Guide is by no means prescriptive. The instructor may choose all or parts of the lesson depending on the needs of the learners. For example, if the learner is able to easily navigate text, the instructor may decide to use engaging comprehension strategies and activities to construct meaning as the learner reads. In contrast, if an ESL learner’s reading ability is very weak, the instructor may choose to teach a mini-lesson that focuses on the structural analysis, phonics aspects and meaning of key vocabulary prior to reading the text. These words are then recognized at a sight level and the flow of reading is not jeopardized by the frequent emphasis on decoding.

The Lesson TemplateLessons are organized to support the Workplace

Reader chapters. The number of lessons per chapter varies according to the content and context, type of text or document display. The lesson template shown on the next page is used consistently prior to each lesson. This quick reference is followed by details for each of the components of reading instruction: Preparing, Reading, Responding, Exploring and Extending (Tompkins et al, 2004).

Lessons may be taught to individuals, small groups or an entire class. Although some lessons may appear to be content specific, a variety of research-based transferable strategies and skills will be addressed throughout lessons

with an emphasis on the use of best practices. You will also notice that a blank template has been included as Appendix 1 so that you can use this outline when planning lessons using other materials. Answer Keys are shaded throughout the chapters.

see Appendix 1

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Reading at Work

1. PREPaRing(PreviewingandConnecting)Previewing starts with an analysis of information. Questions asked and answered in this section are What is the workplace task? and What are you looking for? and Where will you find the information? You will notice that this process of thinking about the purpose for reading and the organization of the reading material is emphasized in the Workplace Reader by the use of questions and icons that include

What are you looking for? and What are you looking at? Connecting is the next aspect of preparing for reading. By activating the learner’s prior knowledge, the facilitator helps the learner to connect to experiences that provide scaffolding for acquiring new information.2. REading(ReadingforMeaning-structures,Processes,strategies,skills)

The reading stage is a dynamic interaction between the reader and what is being read. Constructing meaning is a skillful blend of word recognition and comprehension. Lessons focus on structures, processes, strategies or skills appropriate to the content of the Workplace Reader, the Activity or complementary documents. In the Reader this process is represented by

How will you find the information?

3. REsPonding(demonstratingLearning)

For the student, the responding stage is an opportunity to demonstrate learning typically through written or oral communication. For the worker, responding is the completion of the workplace task. This response is represented in the Workplace Reader by

What is your answer? and How will you check your Answer?

4. EXPLoRing(analyzingFurther)

At the exploring stage, the lessons take a closer look at aspects of comprehension and word recognition skills.5. EXtEnding(transferringLearning)

Expanding provides opportunities to apply newly acquired structures, strategies and skills to other workplace settings and reading materials.

Introductionx


About the AppendixesThere are also appendixes at the end of the Facilitator’s Guide which you may want to look at for background information, an explanation of complexity levels and additional resources.

Title What is each appendix about?Appendix 1 Lesson Template A blank template is provided for

photocopying to encourage best practices in reading instruction.

Appendix 2 Structures, Processes, Strategies and Skills

There are two listings. One provides an overview of the strategies andof the strategies and processes described in the Guide. Another provides a summary of skills practised in this Guide.

Appendix 3 Resources for Background Information

You may be interested in finding out more about the ideas presented.

Appendix 4 Complexity of Reading Tasks

Difficulty “dials” are used in the Reader to indicate the level of complexity of reading tasks. Learn more about the factors that contribute to complexity.

Appendix 5 Document Typography The visual arrangement of information can be classified into major and sub groupings.

Appendix 6 Canadian Language Benchmarks and Essential Skills

A comparison framework is provided linking Benchmarks CLB to Essential Skills complexity levels. This appendix will be of interest to ESL teachers.

Appendix 7 Bibliography A selected list of additional references is included for further lesson ideas and clarification of some of the theories used in the Guide.

The Workplace Reader also has a list of appendixes which covers the following topics: Reading Text and Document Use (Appendix 1), a cross reference of chapters which practise the same reading skills (Appendix 2), question complexity (Appendix 3), document complexity (Appendix 4), and a glossary of terms used in the Reader (Appendix 5). Facilitators will find these resources useful in planning instruction.

Facilitator’s Guide SkillPlan xi

Reading at Work

Instructional settings

Why use the Workplace Reader and Facilitator’s Guide in instructional settings? Here are some possible “fits” suggested to us by adult basic educators, teachers of English as another language, workplace educators and K to 12 teachers. To reinforce and support curriculum topics:

• Real world examples reinforce the importance of what is being taught in instructional settings. Learners benefit from experience relating reading skills to workplace settings.

To supplement learning objectives with practice opportunities:• With conscious repetition of thinking patterns comes skill development.

The Facilitator’s Guide provides lessons that supplement instructional objectives.

To assess transfer of learning:• Moving from theoretical concept to application involves the integration of

skills and practice in order to ensure that transfer takes place.To make connections with other Essential Skills:

• Discussing and evaluating the effectiveness of writing not only develops reading skills, but emphasizes the link with thinking skills. Connections to writing skills and oral communication can also be explored.

To confirm identified career goals:• Many adults and some young people have career paths clearly in focus.

Attempting the reading tasks performed in the occupations described may challenge or confirm skill levels that will be needed for success in these chosen occupations.

To provide career research through exposure:• While the reading tasks are specific to an occupation, they are typical of

workplace tasks in many occupations. Learners have an opportunity to simulate work experiences and learn more about occupations.

To build confidence based on experience:• Many adults in learning programs will have experience with job related

reading tasks. Recognizing familiar tasks and demonstrating their own strengths allows learners to take on further learning with greater confidence.

Introductionxii


Reading at Work, Facilitators’ Guide is a starting point to stimulate thinking about the processes, structures and strategies that lead to transferable reading skills. As professionals, you will judge how to best use and expand on what is offered. The binder format is an invitation to photocopy and to add your own material. We believe that information about real workers doing real tasks will reinforce the value of the skills taught through reading instruction. Practice in reading strategies for a wide range of purposes will help learners understand how these skills contribute to preparing for work and continuing employment.

We appreciate your feedback about Reading at Work, the Facilitator’s Guide and the Workplace Reader. SkillPlan’s goal is to improve the Essential Skills of workers. While we provide the connection to workplace applications, it is practitioners in the field who touch the lives of those who are preparing for work or who are hoping to improve their chances of continuing employment. Thank you for your contribution to a more skilled Canadian workforce. Your comments demonstrate value to funders and allow us to refine our ideas and presentation. Please write to us at [email protected]. For information about other “at Work” publications, visit SkillPlan’s website at www.skillplan.ca.