Beginning Writing Skills

Family Literacy Tutor Resources

January 27th is Family Literacy Day! Family Literacy Day was introduced in 1999 by ABC Life Literacy Canada. This initiative highlights the benefits of family involvement in the literacy development of children. It encourages and celebrates the idea of adults and children learning together, while engaging in a variety of entertaining and educational activities every day. Share Family Literacy Day with your learner and use it as a starting point to get them thinking about ways that they can make it a part of their everyday living. Explore new resources and encourage them to discuss these ideas with family and friends. Learning …

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Writing Sentences – Grammar and Punctuation

Writing Sentences For many adult literacy learners, grammar and punctuation are the stumbling blocks in writing texts of any length. But what are some effective strategies for helping a learner write complete sentences? And how can you help an adult learner have fun with punctuation? What resources can you find to practice writing verbs in the right tense? Introducing Grammar Some great strategies to use in your tutoring sessions include: Use a model text and a highlighter pen – with your learner, highlight the different sentence in differerent colours. Compare the sentences and look for patterns. Sentence jumbles – cut …

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Taking on the writing challenge

Taking on the writing challenge If you are working with a learner on their writing skills, this post provides some tips and resources to help you guide your learner through the writing process. This introductory presentation was made during a Let’s Zoom Tutors and Tea mini-training for LU tutors. In the presentation, we think about the writing task. We look at the various skills that we need to be good writers. We think about the first steps for a tutor working with an adult learner as they seek to improve their writing skills. The presentation highlights how important it is …

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Family Literacy Day 2021

January 27th is Family Literacy Day! “The more that you READ, the more things you will KNOW. The more that you LEARN, the more places you’ll GO.” Dr. Seuss Created in 1999 by ABC Literacy Canada, their goal is to remind families of the importance of participating in reading and learning activities together on a daily basis. Below are some fun activities that will help celebrate the day. Enjoy! ABC Life Literacy – Illustrator Barbara Reid, Canadian Author and Illustrator – EVENT – Grades 1-6 The Family Literacy Day honorary chair this year is Barbara Reid, Canadian author and illustrator …

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Setting Goals

Setting Goals Where am I now? What are my strengths? Where do I want to be moving forward? How can I get there? In this session, we will think about: What goals are? Why setting goals can be helpful to a learner and to a tutor How to help a learner reflect on their goals – tools and guides In the following session, we will develop these ideas further and think about: How to use a learners goal to suggest learning goals for your sessions Other ways you can support a learner achieve their goals – action plans, journals, check …

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Building Vocabulary and Spelling Skills

Vocabulary and Spelling Skills For many adult literacy learners, building a bank of vocabulary is necessary before they embark on a writing activity. But what are some effective strategies for building vocabulary? And how can you help an adult learner develop the spelling skills they need? Building vocabulary Some great strategies to use in your tutoring sessions include: draw mind maps – use mind maps to generate and expand vocabulary on different topics read model texts – read a text on the topic your learner wants to write about. Ask them to highlight the vocabulary they would like to use …

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Pre-writing Activities

Pre-writing Activities It is always a good idea to begin a writing activity by introducing the activity and reflecting on the topic you will write about. Here are some activities to do with your learner before they start writing a text. Talk about the writing process Talk about how they feel about writing Read and analyze a model text – you can find some on the Reading Resources page Watch a video on the topic and talk about it Talk about a picture on the topic – a writing prompt is a great way to start Brainstorm some ideas – …

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Why Do We Hate Writing?

Why Do We Hate Writing? Many people are afraid of writing. But why are we afraid? What is it about writing that bothers us? Writing is DIFFICULT! We often have to write about something we are not very interested in – writing can be boring! Writing requires a lot of skills. We have to be able to spell, use grammar, use punctuation, and structure our text in sentences and paragraphs. Phew! Writing takes time and a lot of thinking. The written word is often permanent. It can be shared and read by other people. Writing has many forms – we …

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The Writing Process

The Writing Process Many people are afraid of writing. But why are we afraid? What is it about writing that bothers us? Sometimes, when we need to write, it seems overwhelming. We are not sure where to start, how to start, what to include or where to stop. Following a a step-by-step writing process can help make a seemingly huge task into something more manageable. At LU, tutors guide adult learners through a step-by-step writing process: They talk with the adult learner to find out a little more about their skills, interests, and fears around writing They take time to …

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Multisensory Tools – Scissors

Scissors Scissors are great for: Here are some ideas for activities to do with your scissors. Click on each tab to find activities in that category that you can use in a tutoring session. Other Tools for Multisensory Learning Sessions Here are our top tools for Multisensory learning sessions with your learners:

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