Invisible Struggles

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Invisible Invisible Struggles Struggles How to help low-literacy How to help low-literacy students in the STAR Classroom students in the STAR Classroom

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Invisible Struggles. How to help low-literacy students in the STAR Classroom. Handouts:. Two minute test Retention Pyramid Bloom’s Taxonomy of Scale. Activity:. A test: Two minutes to decipher the handout in front of you. Do not get help from others Do not look at it until timing begins. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of Invisible Struggles

Page 1: Invisible Struggles

Invisible StrugglesInvisible Struggles

How to help low-literacy students in How to help low-literacy students in the STAR Classroomthe STAR Classroom

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Handouts: Two minute test Retention Pyramid Bloom’s Taxonomy of Scale

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Activity:A test: Two minutes to decipher the handout in

front of you. Do not get help from others Do not look at it until timing begins

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Three groups:1. Those who read easily

2. Those who need to take additional steps to read

3. Those who cannot read at all

What did you feel during the activity?This is how our students feel.

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It is all around us. . .

40 million Americans are functionally illiterate

One in three prisoners/parolees function at a low reading and math level (below 6th-7th grade)

--National Adult Literacy Survey, 1992

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What is Literacy?The U.S. Congress incorporated the following definition

into the National Literacy Act of 1991:

“An individual's ability to read, write, and speak in English and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential."

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People with Low Skills: Cannot write out numbers on a check Cannot read a map Cannot count correct change Cannot complete a job/DMV application Cannot understand prescription doses Cannot understand a meeting schedule

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Literacy Scale:Prose Literacy: knowledge and skills needed to understand

information from a text.Document Literacy: knowledge and skills needed to locate and

use words and symbols in materials such as job applications, transportation schedules, maps, tables and graphs.

Quantitative Literacy: knowledge and skills needed to to apply math operations (alone or sequentially), using

numbers embedded in printed material. Needed for balancing a checkbook and figuring out interest or loans.

--National Adult Literacy Survey, 1992

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One in Three Parolees. . .One in Three Parolees. . .Scored at the lowest tested level:Scored at the lowest tested level:

Prose Literacy Level 1Prose Literacy Level 1

The knowledge and skills needed to understand information from a text:

Read signs Read a white board Read a handout

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These parolees do not have:Document Literacy: knowledge and skills needed to locate and

use words and symbols in materials such as job applications, transportation schedules, maps, tables and graphs.

Quantitative Literacy: knowledge and skills needed to to apply math operations (alone or sequentially), using

numbers embedded in printed material. Needed for balancing a checkbook and figuring out interest or loans.

--National Adult Literacy Survey, 1992

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The research shows. . . Lack of literacy skills increases a person’s

sense of disconnection with the community in which they live

Criminal behavior is more likely to occur among people who feel a sense of “exile” from the community in which they live

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How do you know & What can you do? How can you tell someone has low reading

and math skills? How can you meet their needs in the

classroom? What are the “Do’s and Don’ts” with low-

literacy students?

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How can you tell? You can’t Your students will hide it These students feel shame and

embarrassment every day They will avoid situations that may cause

them more embarrassment or exposure

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Identification. . . They will ask to take the work home They will say they don’t have their glasses They will ask you to read things for them They will say they are sick and don’t want to

participate They will act out when confronted (asked to or

expect to be asked to read out loud) They will get other students to write for them

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They will also. . . Ask a lot of questions about written information (or

ask for a printed handout of what is on the board) Have trouble reading cursive Ask you how to do the assignment after you have

given it in detail Carry a book or newspaper Never take notes Pronounce words incorrectly based on the way they

hear them, but not from having read them

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Easy to miss. . . Sometimes it looks like a refusal to

participate Sometimes it looks like repeated

socializing during instruction Sometimes it looks like defiance Sometimes it looks like rage Sometimes it looks like manipulation Sometimes it is absence. . .

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Some will not return. . . If a student fears exposure, he or she may

risk returning to prison rather than being found out

If the learning environment replicates the same uncomfortable atmosphere that the student remembers from childhood, he or she will shut down

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We Can’t Solve Their Problem: But we can ensure that learning happenslearning happens

through: Multi-modal learning strategies Using Audio, Visual and Kinesthetic

strategies simultaneously Using Group work Ensuring a safe, non-judgmental

environment

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Helpful Strategies: Five-step Process Review, Review

Review (let’s go back and make sure we’re all on the same page)

Rephrase 4 and 5 times if needed

Always reward participation

Summarize what you’ve covered

Check for understanding (not a Yes or No question)

Ask open-ended questions

Always ensure that the board, the handout and your discussion match

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Levels of Comprehension:1. Knowledge – recall, recognition

2. Comprehension – interpret

3. Application – use the information

4. Analysis – examine in detail

5. Synthesis – originates, integrate ideas

6. Evaluation – assessment, criticism

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Retention Pyramid How much do you remember from

college? From High School? From Grade School?

Why do we lose students as they increase in grade level?

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Do: Don’t: Look for literacy issues when

there is defiance or resistance Notice/point out student

progress Use multiple strategies Respect student confidentiality Draw students into discussions Treat these students like

everyone else Reassure students when taking

pre-post tests

Point out students to read; instead, ask for volunteers

Make the reader analyze the reading, open up for others

Embarrass or single out the student

Hand students forms or papers to fill out alone

Confuse students, be visually, audibly and kinesthetically consistent

Push a student if you do not know his literacy level

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Always ask yourself. . .

Could this be a literacy issue?

Before you assume the student is

simply non-compliant

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Helpful Tools for Students: Free tutoring at every

library Word banks Phone book for words Prison literacy

programs Hooked on Phonics

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Review How do you identify it?

A helpful strategy. . .

Something you should not not do. . .