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Getting started in Adult Literacy and Numeracy
DAY 2 – Session Three and FourWriting Handouts
1. The Six O’Clock News2. a. Responding to learners’ writing b. Text messages c. Emails d. Letters3. Writing Activity 14. Sentence Ordering5. True/False spelling quiz6. Handwriting7. Dear John letters8. Punctuation9. Using a genre approach with adult
literacy learners10. Writing Activity Two11. Stages of Writing12. Writing Checklists13. Evaluation
The Six O’Clock News
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This poem The Six o’clock News by Tom Leonard is used in GS course to highlight hierarchies of language. Replace this by reading out / signing the short poem extracted from: Literacy and Deaf people – Cultural and Contextual perspectives. Brenda Jo Brueggeman, Editor. (ISBN 1-56368-271-0)Page 159 -161We do not have permission to use it in a handout so it would need to be shown via a powerpoint and the book recommended.
The Six o’clock NewsThis is thisix a clocknews thiman said nthi reasona talk wiaBBC accentiz coz yi widnywahnt mi ti talkaboot the troothwia voice lik wannayoo scruff.If a toktaboot thitrooth lik wannayoo scruff yi widnythingk it wuz troo.Jist wanna youscruff tokn.Thirza right wayti spell ana rightway ti tok it. Thisis ma trooth. Yooz doant no thi troothyersellz cawz yi canny talkright. This is the sixa clock nyooz. Belt up.
Replacement poem
Ella Mae Lentz
“We were simply talkingIn our language of signsWhen stormed by anthem driven soldiersPitched a fever by the score of their regime.They cuffed our hands, strangled us with iron reins.
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“Follow me! Line up! Now Sit!”The captian, whip in hand, inflicts his sentence with this command:Speak!“Sh-?”Speak!“-i-?”Speak!“-t?”Damn your chains!We’ll pronounce our own deliveranceAnd articulate our message loud and clear.And for the width of a breathWe grant each other asylumTalking in our language of signs.When they pound, pound, pound.“Don’t answer. Don’t open. It’s bad, don’t.”The thunder rolls again. “But I want to. I want to see.”So, step by step we succumb our silent agreement undone.Come out of your dark and silent worldAnd join us in our bright and lovely world.Look! Those whose ears work are signing!Yes, but such queer speech they shape.What waits out there?To be fair we should see more.Could it be they’ve rearranged the score?And One by OneWe go down the corridor of their sterile syntax,Not knowing……
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Responding to learners’ writing
How would you respond to the following writing practices in the following contexts?
Your learner shows you:
It was written in capitals
It included some Scots words
It was repetitive & difficult to follow
It wasn’t set out in paragraphs
The sentences went “… and … and … and …”
There were some spelling mistakes
Some diary entries
A letter to the landlord complaining about repairs
A housing benefit form
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Responding to writingFor each box on the grid, the tutor’s response will depend partly on:
the learner’s literacy goals their current level of confidence and competence in writing the audience and purpose of the writing
Possible reasons for use of capitals may be the learner’s preferred writing style to disguise uncertainty about correct use of upper and lower case unaware that for some contexts writing in capitals will be considered
inappropriate
Responses may include: discuss with learner if this is their preferred writing style discuss with learner if they know when to use capitals offer option of word processing official letter offer to scribe for the learner ignore the use of capitals and concentrate on the content of the
writing suggest practising handwriting
Possible reasons for the use of Scots style or political choice may not know or may not be an equivalent word in English may be the best word for the purpose may be accurate representation of a dialogue may be unaware that some Scots words will not be understood by
the reader
Responses may include: discuss with the learner why they chose to use Scots discuss the advantages of using Scots comment positively on a particularly effective choice discuss situations where the use of Scots may be counter-productive Scots is recognised by the EU as a language in its own right offer use of Scots dictionary and thesaurus
Possible reasons for “repetitive and difficult to follow” non-fluent writers may write as they would speak. may not be aware of the need to read over and self-correct writing may be tackling a topic that the learner finds difficult to express in
writing may not have thought through the message he or she is trying to put
across
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Responses may include: first establish with your learner why they used repetition, was it for
effect? discuss the purpose of the piece of writing with the learner help the learner to spot the repetitions encourage the learner to read his or her own writing from the point of
view of the reader look at examples of writing relevant to the learner’s purpose discuss the importance of clarity and conciseness discuss examples in everyday literacies where this model is used and
why discuss different conventions of writing
Possible reasons for lack of or inconsistent paragraphing intentional the learner is uncertain about use of paragraphs the learner has been focused on the content and hasn’t noticed the
inconsistency in use of paragraphs
Responses may include: discuss the purpose of paragraphs – they help the reader encourage the learner to build from a single sentence into a
paragraph about a topic practise paragraphing by cutting solid text into appropriate
paragraphs work on learner’s text on the computer where versions with different
uses of paragraphing can be compared easily
Possible reasons for use of ‘and…and…and’ learner is writing as he or she speaks learner hasn’t read over the writing learner not aware of when to start a new sentence
Responses may include: ask learner to read over writing looking for ways of improving ignore issues of style and discuss only any usages that affect the
meaning discuss including work on sentence structure into your plan of work look at ways of providing variety – choosing other joining words,
varying the length of sentences
Possible reasons for poor spelling doesn’t feel that it matters in this context isn’t aware that spelling is wrong finds looking up a dictionary difficult
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doesn’t have a dictionary or spellchecker
Responses may include: discuss whether spelling matters in this context help learner to correct the spelling suggest typing up the writing on a computer and spell checking suggest the learner adds some of these words to their personal
spelling dictionary discuss building work on spelling into your programme of work add these words to a computer spelling program that the learner can
access ignore the spelling until the learner is happy with the content
Text Messages
Text 1
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Text 2
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Not too bad all ok still not back routine tmw see benefits people what bother!
Text 3
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Annie & Clive is fine & cope well Get results from hosp Tell u when we see
Text 4
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Nxt Wed might not go DC as not find babysit – Calum now his home work Glasgow
Responding to writing emails
Corresponding in Email formats:
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As borrow alarm fr their mine broken as bought over no work unsleep 2 wks but it got new ones yesterday so can sleep at uni nxt time
Email 1
From: John<[email protected]>
To: Steven<[email protected]>
Date: 23 September 2008 10.20
Subject: Interview in Glasgow
Dear Steven, It was a pleasure communicating with you yesterday and today. You mention that you would have no difficulty in finding me a position in Glasgow. Yes, I live in Inverness which the reason for wanting to leave my work, is my dad's very poor health condition and had a several heart attacks sometimes last year and recenly this year so he will have a triple heart by-pass operation late this year. I am enjoying my work IT challenges so far and I am experience with different IT software and I am on one month notice period, can interview 12.30pm onwards in Glasgow and will provide BSL interpreter, depends on availability. If not, I can manage on my own and can lip reading a bit and write down with pen & paper. Be patient with for your client feedback. I don't want expect too much for job opportunity. John
Email 2:
From: Karen<[email protected]>
To: Tom<[email protected]>
Date: 23 September 2008 09.35
Subject: Laptop uplift
Hi there just wondering that I will be down in London on Monday till Wednesday and wonder if my laptop will be ready for uplift and this will save expenses for post delivery? (unless not purchased yet?)
Email 3:
From: Catherine<[email protected]>
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To: Julie<[email protected]>
Date: 16 October 2008 13.20
Subject: English lesson
Hi Catherine
When you holiday due ? So will check the dairy to meet you about my English ..Really wow very hard English sentences but feel good for me to learn .Good for my unison am in the committee also Public Partnership Forum..I have told them I am going to ask you for help.also write the sentences for me..Wish should have long time ago but never too late to learn .If possible in March .Thank you.RegardsJulie
Email 4:
From: Glenda<[email protected]>
To: Elizabeth Smith<[email protected]> Amanda Turner<[email protected]>
Date: 13 June 2008 03.15
Subject: Employability Course
hello I have been sending to elizabeth smith and amanda turner and asked them to pass on other deaf people. Yes I am interesting going to april employability course on wednesdey 9th april to 14 may 2008 and i am working sainsbury’s only night time only 1st week is mon, wed and thurs and saturday then 2nd weeks shift is sunday and tues, wed and fri and i spoken to my boss about this course and my boss said fine and go enjoy. I am still looking for a job and better job and good wages. i am going text amanda turner about the employability and will good for david is 17 years old for them self. glenda - ah i have idea i will send to bebo lots of deaf use this.
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Responding to writing letters
A young person you have been working with for some time has asked you to look at a letter s/he has written in response to a job advert:
1. How would you respond to this piece of writing?
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2. What techniques would you use with her/him to develop this piece of writing?
Text needs scanned in or attached
Writing Activity 1
What is a Sentence?Ask people to define what they mean by a sentence? – to write this on a piece of card look at the different definitions – say which one they like most/least/why. Give a definition of a sentence, if you have one you like!!
Getting it right or very wrong!In your small groups, take one of the following and write it in an entirely inappropriate manner:
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The Queen’s speech
A note to your partner saying you will be late home from work
An email to your colleagues giving some information about a project you have been working on
Sentence ordering
A.Thoroughness can only be achieved by using a hose or sprinkler.
B.All watering of plants must be gentle and must be thorough.
C.Be especially careful to use one for watering pot plants or you may wash a hole in the soil.
D.Watering plants sounds a simple enough job, but often it does more harm than good.
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E.Give a steady and prolonged soaking instead of playing about simply wetting the surface.
F.To make it gentle, never use a can or hose without using a rose or sprinkler fitting.
Sentence Ordering - Answers
D.Watering plants sounds a simple enough job, but often it does more harm than good.
B.All watering of plants must be gentle and must be thorough.
F.To make it gentle, never use a can or hose without using a rose or sprinkler fitting.
C.Be especially careful to use one for watering pot plants or you may wash a hole in the soil.
A.Thoroughness can only be achieved by using a hose or sprinkler.
E.
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Give a steady and prolonged soaking instead of playing about simply wetting the surface.
True/False spelling quiz
Statement True/False1. Reading a lot will help with
your spelling.2. Learning to spell can help you
with your reading.3. Your handwriting is important
when learning to spell.4. When you are writing, you
should stop at every word you cannot spell and look it up in a dictionary.
5. The sound of a word is a good guide to how you spell it.
6. Good spellers have a store of word pictures in their mind which they refer to when they want to spell a word.
7. If you look at a word long enough, you will learn how to spell it.
8. Writing a word helps you learn how to spell it.
9. Looking for words within a word can help you remember it.
10. Copying a word over and over is a good way to learn it.
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True/False spelling quiz – Answer Sheet1. Reading a lot will help with your spelling.2. Learning to spell can help you with your reading.
It is true that spelling is a sub-skill of writing and that writing is a language skill related to reading. However, as skills, the two activities differ enormously. The reading process is both more complex and less demanding than spelling. In reading, we do not want to concentrate on the ordering of each letter in a word in order to get meaning from the text, we want to read as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Reading is dependent on recognition skills. Spelling on the other hand is dependent on the skills of recall. We must pay attention to the letters in sequence. Reading more will not necessarily help with spelling. Learning to spell, however, will increase the word bank of words that can be easily recognised and therefore allow more effective reading.
3. Your handwriting is important when learning to spell.Sloppy handwriting can hide spelling difficulties! Good handwriting can help a student to learn spellings more easily as they can more easily see structure and shape of the letters.
4. When you are writing, you should stop at every word you cannot spell and look
it up in a dictionary.Dictionary skills are useful in some contexts and keeping a personal dictionary of useful spellings can be a useful tool. However, beginning spellers or those with difficulties can be frustrated by trying to use dictionaries. If the student’s guess sets them off on the wrong track then they will not find the correct spelling of the word. Dictionaries are good for minor errors such as independent for independent or completely for completely.
5. The sound of a word is a good guide to how you spell it.English spelling must be learned visually. Sounding out words can be disastrous for students. It is true that we need sounds to help us link into the beginning and/or structure of words. However, an overemphasis on sounds will lead to discrepancies and word confusions.
6. Good spellers have a store of word pictures in their mind which they refer to when they want to spell a word.A confident speller will have visual and structural patterns stored in their memory banks. It is useful for students to guess and invent patterns and then be given the correct version to compare and store into long-term memory.
7. If you look at a word long enough, you will learn how to spell it.8. Writing a word helps you learn how to spell it.9. Looking for words within a word can help you remember it.10. Copying a word over and over is a good way to learn it.
There is a hand-out on the LOOK, SAY, COVER, WRITE check method, which is one of the most effective ways to learn spellings and transfer patterns into long-term memory.
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Handwriting
What needs working on?
Neatness Legibility Letter sizes Space between letters Space between words Space between lines Letter position on the line Letter formation Flow and slant: do they stay the same? Joins between letters, and speeding up Layout Turning letters round; remembering to check Bold strokes Individual style, maturity Capitals Punctuation Size of writing Regular practice Other things? --- ---
Try looking at your writing upside down. You will then see the word and line shapes and spaces rather than the words themselves and you may be able to spot the things you want to change.
Write down two aspects of your handwriting you want to improve and talk to the person beside you about these:
Handwriting checklist discuss with the learner what they want to change – size, slope,
particular letters, make more consistent consistency – all small letters, use of joins joining – some letters are joined diagonally and some across the top;
not all letters join easily or need to be joined leave more space between lines use lined paper, or lined paper behind blank paper
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use A4 size for working on handwriting experiment with pens, pencils, different grips and slanting the paper leave concerns about handwriting until final stage of working on a
letter and then make a good copy when the learner can concentrate on handwriting
discuss seating, table height, lighting – learner may be used to writing in an environment that makes good handwriting very difficult
relaxation – some people find music helps when practising; consciously relaxing shoulders
left handers may have developed their own way of forming letters that makes joined-up writing more difficult. Unlearning, however, may not be productive – discuss options with the learner
Beginner writers if you are working with, for example, an ESOL learner who has no
experience with the English alphabet, the approach will be different demonstrate: left to right direction, writing on the line, spacing
between words practise patterns of writing such as loops and zig zags model writing of individual letters practise the letters separately practise groups of letters that start at the same point allow plenty of time for careful writing and checking of writing demonstrate how to form the letters and how to hold the pen work on familiar words such as own name and address practise copying from language experience text learner may not realise they are left handed – encourage
experimentation
Learners with disabilities as with all learners discuss what the learner has tried already and
what their goal is the ICT options may be more useful than handwriting but the learner
may want to practise a signature learners with physical disabilities may prefer a thicker pen learners with visual impairment may require heavy black lines on the
paper
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Dear John
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind and thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior.
You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart.
I can be forever happy – will you let me be yours?
Gloria
Read this letter, and with your partner write a short summary of what the letter is about and what Gloria is feeling about John.
Dear John
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I want a man. Who knows what love is? All about you are generous, kind and thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior.
You have ruined me. For other men I yearn. For you I have no feelings whatsoever.
When we’re apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me?
Yours truly,Gloria
Read this letter, and with your partner write a short summary of what the letter is about and what Gloria is feeling about John.
Punctuation
Individually, try to make sense of this piece of writing.
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1. Where do you put punctuation marks?Which punctuation do you use?
2. Note down the strategies you use to decide.
The following passage is without punctuation. Read through the passage and insert appropriate punctuation marks.
the community learning approach is an inclusive approach which aims to attract the most disadvantaged in society it acknowledges that a lack of literacy and numeracy skills can exclude adults from all sorts of learning opportunities including much of the informal learning that takes place within the work place home or community it aims to provide free accessible learning opportunities at times and places that suit the learners and to negotiate a curriculum that is relevant to the learners lives
What strategies did you use to do this?
Common Punctuation MarksName Use it Example
.full stop
To finish a sentence He went home.
!exclamation mark
To show strong feelings such as anger, joy Stop it!
?question mark
At the end of a questionWhere is it?
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,comma
In a list of words
To make smaller breaks in a sentence
Art, craft and pottery
I saw him, but he ignored me
;semi-colon
To make a longer break than a comma in a sentence
I waited; he calmed down
:colon
Before a vertical listSuch as:
PenPaper
ink
‘apostrophe
To show a letter has been left out Didn’t
‘sapostrophe “s”
To show the owner of something
Jack’s coat
-hyphen
To join two words to make a new word Three-cornered
‘ ’inverted commas
To show that something is being referred to by an
unusual name‘doggy’
“ ”quotation or speech marks round words that are spoken
He said, “I like it here.”
( )brackets
To show additional information which does not
belong to the rest of the sentence
Go along the Sudbury Road (A134) for three
miles.
Capital Letters, full stops and sentences
The most important punctuation to use is a capital letter and a full stop showing the beginning and end of a sentence.
A sentence must make sense.
For example:
‘She went into the office.’ This is a sentence.It makes sense. We know who went where.
‘Into the kitchen.’ This is not a sentence.It doesn’t make sense. We do not know what is happening.
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Read the words that are between a capital letter and a full stop. Do they make sense and tell you what is happening or do you need to know more?
Reading activity. Read the following extract
Exhausted and bleeding heavily from a cut above the eye, Kirkpatrick slowly lifted his head from the dirt floor. He could hear the guns of the two patrols. The sudden ragged bursts of shattering sound cleared the fog from his tired brain. They can’t have advanced far, he thought. Painfully, he hauled his 6’6” to a standing position. With one hand Kirkpatrick found the latch of the door. The old stables, which had served as his hiding place, still contained the faint sour sweet smell of horses. For an instant, he thought of Marcia and his mind’s eye saw her mounted on her favourite grey, etched against the evening sky. Damn it all the hell, he swore, and dragged open the heavy wooden door.
1. Underline the words that relate to the following questions2. Add them to the relevant column
1. GenreWhat kind of written material has this extract been taken from?
2. PurposeWhat is the main purpose of the text (to inform, entertain, persuade, etc)?
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3. Style/StructureWhat aspects of the style/structure do you recognise as being conventions of this kind of writing (emotive language, short paragraphs, descriptive language)?
4. Content What do we “know” about the main
character/the setting after reading only a short paragraph?
What does this suggest about this genre of writing (consider the target audience)?
5. Relation to societyWhat, if anything, does this text reflect about the society in which we live (e.g. the role of heroes in real life/in entertainment)?Using a genre approach with adult literacy learners
A genre approach recognises that we write in different ways for different audiences and different purposes. A letter to a friend is not like a formal letter and a set of instructions is not like a piece of fiction. The differences in purpose and audience lead us to make choices of vocabulary, layout, structure and grammar, which are appropriate for that type of writing. Pieces of text from the same genre will have many common features. Experienced reader can tell from a short extract whether a piece of writing is from a novel or a letter. Authors have their own styles but two authors writing in the same genre will show marked similarities in content, style and structure.If we compare formal letters written by different authors we will find many common features in the layout, vocabulary, sentence structure and use of paragraphs. However, one author may choose to add a comment in the style appropriate for a less formal letter in order to reduce the sense of distance between the writer and reader. In the same way if we look at a selection of detective stories, reports or memos, we will be able to see the common features that texts from the same genre share as well as features that are the style of the particular author.
Literacy learners and tutors may agree that, apart from the surface features of spelling and writing in complete sentences, there is something not right about a piece of writing – it doesn’t sound right. It may be that some of the words used don’t seem appropriate for the kind of writing, that it is difficult to be sure what the purpose of the writing is, or that the writing may seem disjointed.
Competent writers are aware that we write in different ways for different purposes. An adult literacy learner may not have thought about the choice writers make when they write in different genres. However as readers they may already be aware of many different genres and they will be aware of the way that we alter our spoken language to suit different situations and purposes. Talking about genre and looking
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at examples from the same genre as the piece of writing the learner is working on can help the learner to improve their writing.
Advantages of using a genre approach include: It values the existing knowledge and experience of the adult learner. It encourages the learner to look at texts in a more critical way. It encourages the learner to make choices and to make changes, rather than the tutor imposing a different style. It helps keep the surface features of spelling and handwriting in perspective by focussing on the purpose of the writing. It helps inexperienced writers to become more aware of the differences between written and spoken English.
Elements of genre to discuss when working on a letter might be: communicative purpose – why are you writing this letter? What do
you want to achieve? audience – who is going to read this letter? Will there be more than
one reader? writer identity – what is your position in relation to the reader of the
letter? content – have you included all the information required? structure – have you put the information in the best order to make
your meaning clear? Is it easy for the reader to follow? style – are the words appropriate for the kind of letter you are
writing? Are you using sentences of the kind usually found in this type of letter?
Does it sound right now?
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TO ALL STUDENTSAND
VOLUNTEER TUTORS
The committee has been disappointed by the lack of support for the association.
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Elements of a genre approach
Content
Structure
Style
Purpose
Audience
Text
Writer Identity
Notice will be sent out early in September for the Student Association Annual General Meeting.
Please ensure that you make every effort to attend the AGM. If you wish your voice to be heard.
There is a danger of the Association dying a death through lack of interest and support.
Applying questions based on Genre Theory to a piece of writing
1. What are the ideas in this?
2. Why has it been written?
3. Who is it from/to?
4. What is the relationship between the writers and readers?
5. Which words show this relationship?
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6. Which words make this coherent?
7. Does this piece of writing work? Why? Why not?
Writing Activity Two
In small groups, you will share ideas about how you would support a client in a specific writing task.
Choose one of the following writing activities
A personal statement of skills and experiences which will accompany a letter for a job (use a composite of one of your clients)
A letter of application for a job (choose the nature and type of the job in your group)
A letter of complaint about being charged too much money for utilities services in spite of several attempts to talk to someone
An article for a local newspaper on a topic of interest to the local community
Discuss
1. The skills, knowledge and understanding that would be involved in attempting such a writing task.
2. How you would break this down for the client.
3. The order in which you would approach working on the task with the client to build their confidence and skills, etc.
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Stages of Writing
Preparation Tools Time Space Identifying what we need
Planning Ideas generation Information gathering Organising ideas/mapping a structure
Drafting Grouping and structuring ideas into coherent statements Sentences/paragraphs Layout/language
Editing Spelling Punctuation Grammar Re-ordering and chunking information and ideas more effectively Deletion of duplication and replacement of ineffective material Tightening up
Proofing Check for errors in material and information
Finalising Presentation Producing the document in final hard copy Accompanying documents, etc, envelopes Taking a copy for records
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LITERACY SKILLSWRITING
Skills
□ word-processing and texting – using word-processing facilities for planning, drafting, composing, editing and proofreading
□ using sentence length and complexity appropriate to purpose
□ spelling – choosing and using strategies for learning spellings and working out how to spell words
□ using layout, paragraphing and headings to navigate through a text
□ using sequence and links to make meanings clear□ handwriting□ using dictionaries, a thesaurus and spellcheckers□ proofreading
Knowledge
□ there are some writing conventions (eg for a narrative, for a report, for instructions or for emails) which can be learned and used
□ writing is constructed according to conventions and the writer can choose whether or not to follow these conventions. Sometimes, however, in certain environments there are set formats to be used (eg timesheets, job sheets, birth certificates or, in the workplace, business letters)
□ IT and other technologies (such as texting) are increasingly changing the ways people use literacy
□ different people at different times have used literacies in different ways
□ writers need to consider choosing presentation tools which are appropriate to the purpose, for example a pen or word-processor for business letters and job applications
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LITERACY SKILLSWRITING
Understanding
□ spoken and written language are different and that we need to organise them differently, including choosing punctuation37
□ there are many sources of information that can be accessed in different ways (eg internet, library, individuals)
□ English has evolved from a mixture of languages: this can be both a help and a hindrance in spelling it
□ we can write impersonally and in a detached way or we can address the reader directly
□ there are some writing conventions (eg for a narrative, for a report, for instructions or for emails) which can be learned and used
□ writing is constructed according to conventions and the writer can choose whether or not to follow these conventions. Sometimes, however, in certain environments there are set formats to be used (eg timesheets, job sheets, birth certificates or, in the workplace, business letters)
□ IT and other technologies (such as texting) are increasingly changing the ways people use literacy
□ different people at different times have used literacies in different ways
□ writers need to consider choosing presentation tools which are appropriate to the purpose, for example a pen or word-processor for business letters and job applications.
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EVALUATIONDay Two
Name:
1 Overall has the session achieved the aims?yes no partially
comments
2 Which of the activities were most helpful in preparing you to develop work in literacy and numeracy in your organisation?Why?
3 Which were least helpful? Why?
4 Other comments
Thank you !
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