These activities for students with special needs are arranged in the following categories: (1) basic personal and home living skills; (2) leisure and recreation skills; (3) communication skills; (4) employability skills; (5) academic skills--math; (6) academic skills--language arts; (7) additional resources; and (8) commercially available…

This handbook is for volunteer tutors, student interns, and VISTA volunteers working with adult basic education (ABE) and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners. The community-based handbook contains information about adult literacy and tutoring--what tutors do, who the learners are, and how the literacy learning process works. Introductory…

This primer is designed to provide a step-by-step guide for state policymakers and state agency officials interested in assessing the literacy skills of the people of their state. Chapter 1 describes the importance of assessing the literacy skills in each state. Literacy is discussed as an economic necessity, a requirement for a healthy democracy,…

Based on a program developed to help the integration of deaf persons into the world of work, this manual is intended to familiarize adult basic education (ABE) teachers with the special needs of deaf persons. Information is provided to answer questions such as: (1) What is so different about deaf students? (2) What is "deaf culture"? (3)…

A research study examined the relationship between illiteracy and health. The study used the following methods for gathering information: review of health status data from major Canadian health status surveys; multidisciplinary literature review across areas including medicine, health education, development, literacy, education, poverty, and…

Site visits to 17 workplace education projects funded in the second year of the Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative are reported for year 1 and year 2 projects. The year one projects are as follows: EASCO Handtool Company (Springfield), T.J. Maxx Distribution Center (Worcester), laundry workers (Boston/Lynn), AT&T (Lawrence), and…

Breaking the continuing cycle of low literacy levels transmitted from one generation to another is the philosophy behind family and intergenerational literacy programs. This Practice Brief describes some of the family literacy program models that are proving effective. It also summarizes strategies and resources that can help practitioners. The…

The mission of the Florida Model Noninstructional Adult Literacy Centers is to identify, contact, and counsel adults (16 years of age or older) who lack basic or functional literacy skills and to refer them to appropriate private and public agencies. The centers were mandated by Florida state laws. Funding is provided by the state and through…

This report summarizes the 18 programs that have received Governor's Workforce Excellence Awards in Ohio over the past 3 years. The 18 award winning programs (based in companies employing from 75 to 16,000 employees) focus on the basic literacy, thinking, and personal skills that every Ohio worker must possess. They were selected from nearly 100…

CertainTeed's Precision Strike training program was designed to close the gaps between the current status of its workplace and where that work force needed to be to compete successfully in global markets. Precision Strike included Skills and Knowledge in Lifelong Learning (SKILL) customized, computerized lessons in basic skills, one-on-one…

A workplace literacy survey was developed and distributed to 4,104 private-sector businesses throughout Illinois to gain a complete and statistically reliable profile of workforce literacy programs. Employers returned 1,340 usable responses. Findings indicated that 53 percent of Illinois firms reported a need to upgrade employees basic skills, yet…

A pilot adult basic education (ABE) language experience curriculum was designed and implemented with older adults in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The objectives were to improve writing skills, to increase self-esteem, and to create a historical record of the area as seen through the eyes of the average older citizen who had lived through many…

A project sought to determine if reluctant learners, about 30 percent of the adult basic education (ABE) population, can be retained in ABE classes through accommodations in the program structure and more effective teacher/counselor intervention. The project was based on earlier research findings that most ABE learners who drop out do so in the…

This packet contains eight workbooks of lessons covering daily living skills for adult basic education or adult literacy education students. The books contain 160 short lessons organized in 13 units. The units cover the following topics: filling out forms; numbers, days, months; money and banking; monthly bills; post office; alphabetical order;…

Ohio's Literacy 2000 initiative was launched in fall 1992 to examine opportunities and challenges for meeting the state's adult literacy needs. More than 600 Ohioans discussed their concerns regarding critical aspects of literacy at four regional summits. Nationally recognized leaders in adult literacy, representatives of exemplary local literacy…