Literacy Links

Equipped For The Future

FREE ... Yours for the Asking ...

ALL of these FREE materials may be requested from the Adult Literacy Clearinghouse by calling 1-800-441-7323.

Equipped for the Future

Equipped for the Future Hot Topic Packet. Texas Adult Literacy Clearinghouse (December 2000). Texas Center for Adult Literacy and Learning. Printed Materials: FREE copies available IN TEXAS ONLY. Outside Texas, see EFF Special Collection of Web-based resources at http://www.nifl.gov/

Student Goals and Public Outcomes: The Contribution of Adult Literacy Education to the Public Good. Demetrion, George (Fall 1997). Adult Basic Education Journal, Volume 7, Number 3, 145-164. Examines the relationship between student goals in adult literacy programs and policy mandates calling for outcomes related to workplace and family literacy.

Equipped for the Future Content Standards: What Adults Need to Know and Be Able to Do in the 21st Century. Stein, Sondra (2000). National Institute for Literacy. This document describes the process by which Equipped for the Future was developed, how the EFF Standards work, examples of how teachers from the field development process have used EFF for teaching and learning with the EFF framework, and where EFF is headed in the next few years as the EFF assessment system is developed and research and data collection are continued. FREE copies available IN TEXAS ONLY.

Literacy for Life: Life Application Curriculum Sourcebook Lessons. Demetrion, George (2000). Literacy Volunteers of America - Connecticut River East. Provides lesson outlines organized along the categories of employment, family education, and community/civic participation to correspond to the Role Maps developed in the Equipped for the Future project. A theoretical overview of the curriculum is included as well. FREE copies available IN TEXAS ONLY.

Adult Learners as Citizens/Community Members

Adult ESL Learner Out- comes Curriculum: With 1998 SCANS Supplement. ESOL Project, Texas A&M University-Kingsville (1998 Revision). Kingsville, TX: ESOL Project, Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Section A provides basic background information on how adults learn, language acquisition theory, what to teach in ESL classes, and an overview of ESL assessment. Section B includes the Adult ESL Learner Outcomes Document, explaining five ESL levels from pre-literate to advanced, the outcomes for each level, and class checklist for each. Section C covers the contents of the curriculum and sample contents for lesson development. 1998 SCANS Supplement incorporates SCANS Competencies and an updated section on Assessment. Section D offers additional resources. Content areas are: Money Management, Civic Rights and Responsibilities, Community Services, Employment, Health, Shopping, and Transportation. Printed Materials: FREE copies available IN TEXAS ONLY. Available outside Texas for cost of shipping/copying ($17.00).

Civics Education for Adult English Language Learners: ERIC Q & A. Terrill, Lynda (December 2000). National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. This four-page Q & A discusses key terms in civics education (distinguishing between citizenship education and civic participation education) and events that have shaped civics education for immigrants during the last 100 years. It also describes approaches and activities that integrate language learning with civics content for beginning, intermediate, and advanced level learners. A list of additional resources to aid in curriculum development is included.

The Change Agent Issue 10: Focus on Connections to Our Environment: Taking Action. Horchler, Marie, Editor (March 2000). New England Literacy Resource Center. Published twice a year, the mission of The Change Agent is to provide news, issues, ideas and other teaching resources that inspire and enable adult educators and learners to make civic participation and social justice related concerns part of their teaching and learning. This sample issue focuses on environmental issues. See all back issues and subscription information online at http://www.nelrc.org/changeagent/

Family Literacy Project: Community. Kane, Rakmatou, Beckett, Janecka, and Moran, Scott (Summer 1999). Texas Center for Adult Literacy and Learning. This proposed set of activities for a family literacy program was an assignment for a graduate course in family literacy taught by Don and Anna Seaman, Department of Educational Human Resource Development, Texas A&M University. The curriculum includes a schedule of activities and lesson plans for adult education, early childhood education, parent education, and PACT (Parent and Child Together) activities, all based on the theme of community.

Collaborating With Neighbors: Tierra de Opportunidad Module 19. Kissam, Ed and Dorsey, Holda (1997). Latino Adult Education Service Project. This module, which may be used as the basis for a special topic unit in adult basic education or ESL courses, discusses how to become involved in the community and to advocate with neighbors to meet community needs. Module contains: teaching points for the instructor; sample learning activities; a list of nine resources; a sample lesson plan; and pre- and post-assessments. FREE copies available IN TEXAS ONLY.

Other Subjects

Family and Intergenerational Literacy in Multilingual Communities: ERIC Q & A. Weinstein, Gail (1998). National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. Reviews selected research, current policies, goals, models for program design, and curriculum approaches. Promising trends in family and intergenerational literacy include collaboration between parents and schools to promote more effective programs, efforts to strengthen families and communities, planning and instruction beginning with inquiry into learners' lives, targeting of learner-defined needs, encouragement of inter- generational sharing of knowledge; and fostering of learning communities among both learners and practitioners.

Beyond Welfare-to-Work: Bridging the Low-Wage- Livable-Wage Employment Gap. Jenkins, Davis. (January 1999). Chicago Workforce Development Partnership. Addresses skills needed for the transition from "semi-skilled jobs" and "skilled operator jobs". The former tend to be low-paying and offer few opportunities for learning and advancement. This transition is difficult because employers look not only for a GED or high school diploma, but also for skills in the areas of employability, trainability, and technical literacy. The author discusses "bridge" programs that attempt to address this gap for educationally and economically disadvantaged individuals, including Project QUEST in San Antonio.

Effective Family Strengthening Interventions: Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Kumpfer, Karol L., Ph.D. and Alvarado, Rose, Ph.D. (November 1998). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. The authors summarize the effectiveness of family intervention programs, behavioral parent training, family therapy, and family skills training. Families are the primary means of support and guidance for children; effective programs must build on the strengths already in existence in most families and must concentrate on the family as a whole rather than just on the child.

Changes in Learners' Lives One Year After Enrollment in Literacy Programs: An Analysis from the Longitudinal Study of Adult Literacy Participants in Tennessee. Bingman, Mary Beth, Ebert, Olga, and Smith, Michael (December 1999). National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. This final report examines the responses of 199 adults participating in a follow-up interview approximately one year after initial enrollment in Tennessee adult basic education (ABE) programs during the period 1991 to 1995. Two research questions were addressed: What aspects of life change one year after enrollment in an ABE program? Will substantial involvement in an ABE program produce more change than limited participation?

Welfare Reform: Work-Site-Based Activities Can Play an Important Role in TANF Programs. Health, Education, and Human Services Division (July 2000). United States General Accounting Office. Under the requirements of welfare reform, states must ensure that increasing proportions of adult TANF recipients are working or engaged in federally specified activities for increasing numbers of hours through fiscal year 2002. These activities can include: those that focus on finding a job; those that take place in a classroom or other educational setting; and those that take place at a job or work site. To better understand work-site activities currently in place and the role they may play as TANF evolves, the GAO was asked to review (1) the key characteristics of work-site activities states and localities are using in the TANF programs, (2) the key challenges to implementing and administering work-site activities and some of the ways states and localities have addressed these challenges, and (3) what is known about the effects worksite activities have had on participants' ability to successfully make the transition to unsub- sidized employment and on their communities.

Benchmarking Adult Literacy in America: An International Comparative Study. Tuijnman, Albert (September 2000). U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education. This monograph sponsored by DEAL lays out ten policy targets to ensure that everyone has adequate literacy skills by integrating literacy into a broad range of public policymaking activities. Policy targets include promoting: access to adult education; cultures of "life-long and life-wide learning;" workplace literacy programs; and literacy-rich environments at work, at home and in communities. The author heads the Institute of International Education at Stockholm University.

Even Start Family Literacy Procedure Manual. Merriman, Dianna and Clark, Kathy, Editors (1996). Austin, TX: Even Start Directors' Meeting. This is a collection of sample procedures and forms developed by Texas Even Start Projects to assist new project managers with procedures, policies, and forms needed to develop an efficient program and accomplish program goals. Several examples are provided for each of the following procedures: registration/application; intake; orientation; documentation; dismissal/withdrawal and re-entry; job descriptions; sample monthly tasks, and miscellaneous forms. FREE to Texas programs - loan copies available for out-of-state requests.

Modules for Training Teachers to Work among Learning Disabled (LD) Adults. Hanson, Marcie, Simons, Ardith R. Loustalet, Palmer, Jacqueline and Wise, Leecy (Fall 1999). Southwest Virtual Resource Center. Developed by a team of Colorado adult educators, these four modules were presented at the CAEPA (Colorado Adult Education Professional Association) Conference in Fall 1999. Modules include: Definitions, Legal Issues, Screening, and Diagnosing; Teaching ESL; Teaching Reading and Writing; and Teaching Math - all for students who are adults with LD. Other resources utilized in these training modules include Bridges to Practice: A Research- Based Guide for Literacy Practitioners Serving Adults with LD (NIFL/NALLD, 1999) and Bringing Literacy Within Reach: Identifying and Teaching Adults With Learning Disabilities (LDAC, 1991). Both those titles are available on loan from the Clearinghouse.

So I Made Up My Mind: Introducing a Study of Adult Learner Persistence in Library Literacy Programs. Comings, John T. and Cuban, Sondra (August 2000). National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. The first in a series of four publications that will result from a study of adult learner persistence in library literacy programs. This NCSALL project is observing the actions of five library literacy programs in California, South Carolina, and New York that are attempting to increase learner persistence.

The Changes Project: Final Report. Western Regional Resource Center, MA. SABES System(2000). Boston, MA: System for Adult Basic Education Support. From 1997 through 1999, more than 30 adult learners (ESOL, beginning literacy, ABE, GED, and transition to college) from five Adult Basic Education programs in western Massachusetts conducted a participatory action research project focused on the impact of welfare reform, immigration reform and the changing nature of work on 620 of their fellow adult learners. The work of the Changes Project, as it is called, paints a picture of the impact of these three issues on the lives of adult learners at these five programs. Researchers make recommendations for ABE programs, fellow learners, legislators and policy makers. FREE copies available IN TEXAS ONLY. The full report is also available on line at: http://www.sabeswest.org/publications/oeri/changes1.htm

Changing Career Patterns: ERIC Digest No. 219. Brown, Bettina Lankard (2000). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career and Vocational Education. Today, many workers are pursuing varied career paths that reflect sequential career changes. This set of ongoing changes in career plans, direction, and employers portrays the lifetime progression of work as a composite of experiences. This Digest explores how changing technologies and global competitiveness have led to redefinition of interests, abilities, and work options that influence career development.

Employability Skills: An Update: ERIC Digest No. 220. Overtoom, Christine (2000). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career and Vocational Education. What skills do employers want? How do these skills match those that youth and adults are developing through their school and work experiences? How can education and training programs prepare individuals to enter a rapidly changing workplace? These and other questions are examined in this Digest that explores skills currently needed for employment.

Learning Disabilities and Spanish-Speaking Adult Populations: The Beginning of a Process. Division of Adult Education and Literacy (2000). Washington, DC: Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education. A meeting was held in San Antonio, Texas in April 2000 to begin the process of identifying a diagnostic instrument to screen for learning disabilities (LD) in the Spanish-speaking adult population. The meeting identified areas in which current knowledge and practice are lacking, evaluated currently available screening tools, developed preliminary recommendations, and planned field testing of instruments. Appendices include: learning disabilities defined; current diagnostic procedures; a list of conference participants; and more. FREE copies available IN TEXAS ONLY. Also available online at  http://www.ed.gov (search by title of report.)

Poverty Research News , Vol. 4, No. 5. Barbara Ray, Editor (September/October 2000). Chicago/Evanston, IL. Poverty Research News is published bimonthly by the Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research. This issue looks at the effects of welfare reform in rural areas. Article topics include: policy implications of failing to recognize the different implications of welfare reform in different regions of the country; small towns and welfare reform; the impact of welfare reform in persistently poor rural regions, and more.

The Prevalence of Education and Training Activities Among Welfare and Food Stamp Recipients. Bell, Stephen H. (October 2000). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. According to this analysis of 1997 National Survey of America's Families data, even before national welfare reform in 1996, a greater share of welfare recipients (around one in four) invested in new work skills each year than was true of adults generally. Texas is one of the 13 states for which state-level data was analyzed and included in this report.

State Welfare-to-Work Policies for People with Disabilities: Implementation Challenges and Considerations. Holcomb, Pamela A. and Thompson, Terri S. (August 2000). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. This report examines key operational issues and implementation challenges associated with serving welfare recipients with disabilities. Welfare agencies must address how to identify disabilities among TANF recipients and how to create and structure services to assist in their transition from welfare to work. These needs provide the conceptual framework for the study. FREE copies available IN TEXAS ONLY. Also available online at: http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?NavMenuID=95 (Search by Author. Use the name Pamela Holcomb.)

Swords and Pens: What the Military Can Show Us About Teaching Basic Skills to Young. Adults Sticht, Thomas G. (Fall 2000). Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers. Sticht discusses the origins of functional context education during World War II, as well as later military research and experience in training and educating military personnel. Sticht goes on to discuss application of what the military has learned to teaching and learning in adult literacy education, as well as for youth in the K-12 school system. This article appeared in the Fall 2000 issue of The American Educator, published by the American Federation of Teachers.

Web-Based Training: ERIC Digest No. 218. Brown, Bettina Lankard (2000). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career and Vocational Education. Training and education via the World Wide Web are growing rapidly. Reduced training costs, world-wide accessibility, and improved technological capabilities have made electronic instructional delivery to adult learners a viable alternative to classroom instruction. This Digest examines the efficacy of Web-based (WBT) training, including issues of market demand, learner participation, training options, and program design. It also discusses learning outcomes and gives suggestions for how these outcomes can be improved through implementation of appropriate instructional design principles.

How can our lending library help you?

The Adult Literacy Clearinghouse Lending Library offers loans of over 3,000 books, curricula, and other materials for adult education  teachers and administrators in Texas.  We even send you a POSTAGE PAID address label to return the items free.

• We offer many free materials for you to keep. Now, that's a bargain!
• We offer free catalogs of resources (annotated bibliographies) of all the materials we have available at the Clearinghouse. These catalogs of resources are available via our Hotline (800) 441-7323, e-mail tcall@tamu.edu  or on this Web site. Visit our Library Search Page.