Teaching about the Election

ESOL, HSE, Pre-HSE,
New England Literacy Resource Center Election Resources
· Appropriate for: Use in class, For student independent work · Available: Lessons, Texts/Readings, Videos, Hands On Activities · Readiness: Resources can be used as they are · Engagement: 2 = engaging

If you’re like me, you’re compulsively reading news about the candidates for president, thinking about the state of our democracy and anxiously waiting for Election Day. Recent news has probably come up in discussion among your students as well. This is a great opportunity to connect your curriculum with the issues at play in this election, but it’s important to have appropriate materials and advice for handling these discussions.

Luckily, the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC) has put out a great collection of resources on teaching the election in adult literacy, HSE and ESOL. Continue reading Teaching about the Election →

Byte the Bullet! Teach Grammar!

HSE, Writing,
Grammar Bytes!
· Appropriate for: Building teacher background knowledge, Use in class, For student independent work · Available: Lessons, Videos, Hands On Activities · Readiness: Resources can be used as they are · Engagement: 2 = engaging

The GED RLA  test requires that students understand basic sentence structures, punctuation marks that are used with these structures, and an understanding of certain types of grammatical errors.  Grammar Bytes has a wealth of resources to help both teachers and students develop a firm grasp of these often tricky points.  And, it can actually be fun!

Here are some of the GED emphases for grammar:

  • Sentence-combining;
  • Proper use of commas;
  • Parallel structure;
  • Active and passive voice.

Grammar Bytes has the following resources to help students “conquer” these grammar points: Continue reading Byte the Bullet! Teach Grammar! →

Supporting 1st Generation College Students

College and Career Readiness, HSE
All the Difference (POV)
· Appropriate for: Use in class · Available: Videos · Readiness: Resources can be used as they are · Engagement: 3 = very engaging

We work hard to help our students build their academic skills and develop the content knowledge they need to earn their HSE diplomas, but there are many other factors that can make or break our students as they attempt to successfully cross the divide into college coursework and degrees. For graduating high school seniors who are the first in their families to go to college, being successful in college can be extremely difficult because of academic, social and financial pressures. For adult students, after they struggle to get their high school equivalency diploma, a college degree can seem impossible. It is important that they see people like themselves struggle and pick themselves up as they work through college. Our students need to see resilience at work and prepare themselves for some of the same challenges. Continue reading Supporting 1st Generation College Students →

CUNY Webinar: Exploring the Science Item Specifications

HSE, Science
webinar recording
· Appropriate for: Building teacher background knowledge · Available: Assessments · Readiness: N/A · Engagement: N/A

In June of 2016, DRC CTB released item specifications documents for each of the five tests on the TASC exam. The documents define the content and format of the test for item writers, but they also give teachers more specific information about what is being tested than we have had before. In a July 11th webinar hosted by the CUNY Adult Literacy/HSE Program, panelists discussed a standard in life science in order to explore how the item specifications work. Goals of the webinar included increasing understanding of the item specifications documents and, specifically, the content standard on cellular division and differentiation (p. 51), while exploring ideas on teaching these science topics. Continue reading CUNY Webinar: Exploring the Science Item Specifications →

Bring Math and Student Thinking Alive in the Adult Ed Classroom

ABE, HSE, Math, Pre-HSE, , , , , , , ,
MathMemos
· Appropriate for: Building teacher background knowledge, Use in class, Knowledge of teaching · Available: Problems · Readiness: Resources can be used as they are · Engagement: 3 = very engaging

One of the most common questions we hear from math teachers is “Where can I find good problems for my students?”. There are more than a dozen sites reviewed on CollectEdNY that answer that question but we are really excited to share MathMemos which, like CollectEdNY, is entirely focused on adult education math teachers and students. Continue reading Bring Math and Student Thinking Alive in the Adult Ed Classroom →