This is my last “resources tip” for this series, and it’s all about going beyond typical reading resources and finding unusual reading opportunities.
5. Find unusual opportunities for reading
Last, don't forget that anything that has words is a reading opportunity! I was struck by the notion of unusual reading opportunities as I picking up the mail one day in the midst of my 'produce problem.' As I flipped through the junk mail I paused on the Kroger advertisement. It had words, and pictures, and LOTS of fruits and vegetables! It wasn't a book, or a worksheet, or even much of a text, but it was a start! Sometimes resources for literacy learners might not seem like texts to experienced readers. In my daily life, the Kroger ad isn't an opportunity to read, it's just junk mail. As a teaching device, though, it offered tons of opportunities! I could use it as the basis of a writing exercise, a reading exercise, or even a math exercise; and the pictures were perfect to offer sight word support! After the ad experience, I've since had a number of opportunities to think about 'junk mail' as a teaching device and to think more about other non-typical texts that might be useful opportunities to supplement my tutoring.
Don't be afraid to think beyond books, worksheets, and typical texts, especially when you come across something that might be useful for your student. Maybe you have a student who is interested in yard sales - craigslist has a whole page of listings for them (http://memphis.craigslist.org/gms/)! Or maybe she's interested in local music - be on the lookout for concert flyers! Yes, literacy learning does mean reading, but reading counts whenever there are words, not just when there are a bunch of them all strung together into fancy sentences and paragraphs! These non-texts might not be great for a whole lesson, but they might supplement the texts you are already using, or spark some ideas for new texts to try!
Whatever your method of finding resources, though, the biggest thing that I'm beginning to learn is to choose fearlessly. Let your student's words and motivations guide you and trust your own intuition. What works isn't that one perfect text that makes everyone who reads it a better reader, unfortunately a perfect text doesn't exist. Whatever resources you find, whether they are ELL texts, novels, children's books, worksheets, web resources, or anything else you can imagine, if they work for you and they work for your student, then they are as perfect as it gets!
5. Find unusual opportunities for reading
Last, don't forget that anything that has words is a reading opportunity! I was struck by the notion of unusual reading opportunities as I picking up the mail one day in the midst of my 'produce problem.' As I flipped through the junk mail I paused on the Kroger advertisement. It had words, and pictures, and LOTS of fruits and vegetables! It wasn't a book, or a worksheet, or even much of a text, but it was a start! Sometimes resources for literacy learners might not seem like texts to experienced readers. In my daily life, the Kroger ad isn't an opportunity to read, it's just junk mail. As a teaching device, though, it offered tons of opportunities! I could use it as the basis of a writing exercise, a reading exercise, or even a math exercise; and the pictures were perfect to offer sight word support! After the ad experience, I've since had a number of opportunities to think about 'junk mail' as a teaching device and to think more about other non-typical texts that might be useful opportunities to supplement my tutoring.
Don't be afraid to think beyond books, worksheets, and typical texts, especially when you come across something that might be useful for your student. Maybe you have a student who is interested in yard sales - craigslist has a whole page of listings for them (http://memphis.craigslist.org/gms/)! Or maybe she's interested in local music - be on the lookout for concert flyers! Yes, literacy learning does mean reading, but reading counts whenever there are words, not just when there are a bunch of them all strung together into fancy sentences and paragraphs! These non-texts might not be great for a whole lesson, but they might supplement the texts you are already using, or spark some ideas for new texts to try!
Whatever your method of finding resources, though, the biggest thing that I'm beginning to learn is to choose fearlessly. Let your student's words and motivations guide you and trust your own intuition. What works isn't that one perfect text that makes everyone who reads it a better reader, unfortunately a perfect text doesn't exist. Whatever resources you find, whether they are ELL texts, novels, children's books, worksheets, web resources, or anything else you can imagine, if they work for you and they work for your student, then they are as perfect as it gets!