Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Celebrate Constitution Day with Thinkfinity Resources!

Constitution Day is September 17, 2010!

 
Celebrate by including a lesson on the Constitution using Thinkfinity resources.  Lessons cover the Constitutional Convention, the First Amendment and also include an interactive tutorial called, Charting the Constitution.
For more information visit the Thinkfinity/Verizon website:  http://thinkfinity.org/constitution-day



Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Welcome to the Literacy Resource Center’s Social Services Directory.  This tool provides information about a variety of consumer and social services offered in Florida. The directory primarily provides information about state and regional agencies and organizations.  If you do not find information you need about programs in your area, we encourage you to contact one of the agencies listed and ask for a local referral.   

Please select the topic area you are interested in and hit the “submit” button.  The next page will show you all the contacts and phone numbers for that particular topic area.  By clicking on one of the contacts, additional information, including website and address will be provided.

This directory was made possible through the support of the Florida Department of Education, Division of Career and Adult Education.  Special thanks to Florida Division of Consumer services for providing  agency/program information. 

Click below or copy and paste  to get to this website!
http://www.floridaliteracy.org/listFSSD.asp

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Volunteers teach English lessons

Order a reprint of this article now.
Printed on page BM3


Published: Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Literacy Council of Manatee County volunteer tutor Verna Urbanski, left, and her student, Alifonso Casique, study inside the Manatee County Central Library.CORRESPONDENT PHOTO / J. NIELSEN

One person at a time, the Literacy Council of Manatee County is improving lives by helping people with their English skills.
According to a National Center for Education Statistics surveys conducted in both 1992 and 2003, nearly 25 percent of people age 16 and older scored on the lowest level of reading proficiency.
There is a need for people like veteran Ann Zimmerman and newcomer Verna Urbanski to become volunteer tutors, providing free help to people who want to learn to read and write.
Zimmerman, 67, moved to Bradenton from St. Louis more than 20 years ago. Almost as soon as she arrived, she volunteered with the Literacy Council.
"You don't just sit one hour a week and do reading; you get involved," she said. "I've done various things when people need help. Even the simplest of things can seem overwhelming for someone not familiar with the language."
Helping people with difficult tasks, such as navigating the quagmire of government bureaucracy to earn their citizenship, is fulfilling for Zimmerman.
"The Literacy Council does a job on a shoestring that is so important to the community," she said. "People that cannot read aren't able to fully participate in the community. We have a lot of immigrants in this area, and they need to know how to communicate."
Her reason for helping others is simple.
"As a child, I lived in a very small town," Zimmerman said. "There was no television. I grew up reading. I got to thinking about how much I enjoy reading, so I decided there's no reason I can't teach someone how to read."
Urbanski, 61, moved to the area from Springfield, Mass., in 2000. She began volunteering about seven months ago.
"I was looking for something to do on the weekend," she said. "I thought it would be a good fit."
Her reason for volunteering?"I work for the Women's Resource Center in Sarasota County," Urbanski said. "I see the impact we can have on people."

Urbanski was partnered with Alifonso Casique, who waited for two years to be a assigned to a tutor.
In addition to books supplied by the Literacy Council, Urbanski bought her own tutorial books to help Casique.
Focusing primarily on vocabulary during a recent study session, Urbanski also addressed the rudiments of grammar in addition to suffix and prefix work. "He likes to be challenged," she said.
Examples of the evening's spelling words were "imagine," "sandwich" and "paragraph."
Beside Casique was a new book. He recently began reading Jules Verne's "A Journey to the Center of the Earth." He recently finished reading Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea."
"I let him choose his books to read," Urbanski said.

Casique, originally from near Mexico City, has been in the United States for 11 years and works full time in masonry. He and his wife have three young boys, ages 4, 6 and 10.
"Four months ago, my children had no interest in me reading them a book," Casique said. "But now they come to me asking 'Poppy will you read me a book?'"
And that is rewarding for his tutor.
"He's a good student," Urbanski said. "He's prepared. He's not wasting my time, and there are many more like him out there. He wants to learn."

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

ONLINE COMIC STRIP GENERATOR




MAKEBELIEFSCOMIX.COM LAUNCHES FREE SUMMER  FUN FACEBOOK FEATURE


I’m excited to let you know about some of the new things available on MakeBeliefsComix.com, the online comic strip generator used in literacy programs.
Beginning July 26, MakeBeliefsComix.com each week will post a new theme or topic for students to create a comic strip with our comic strip generator and submit to us. After reviewing all submissions, we’ll  select a sample to post on our Facebook wall.
The theme for the first week is:  A Day In Your Life: What’s Happening?
Our educational online comic strip site also has added another feature that enables users to post their comic strips on their very own Facebook walls.   Those who create a comic strip and send it to themselves will receive an email with two links: one to view and print the comic, and the other allowing them to post  the comic to their Facebook wall to share with friends and family. 
Posting or publishing these comic strip creations in a public arena helps validate all the effort a youngster puts into creating the comic.
Since MakeBeliefsComix.com was launched four years ago, over 2 million people from 175 countries have visited our free educational resource. Google and UNESCO  named us as among the world's most innovative web sites that encourage reading and literacy and we won the Parents' Choice Foundation’s Recommended Award.  This year the American Library Association selected MakeBeliefsComix  for its  annual ‘’Great Web Sites for Kids ’’  listing. The site offers 80 different characters, blank talk and thought balloons to be filled in with text, story prompts and printables, and accepts text in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Latin.    
Our site is used by educators to teach language, reading and writing skills in an easy, fun way.  It also is used by  students in English as a Second Language programs to facilitate self-expression and storytelling, as well as to gain computer literacy.  Some educational therapists use the online comics  for children with autism or for those who are deaf to help them understand concepts and communicate. Parents and children also can create stories together, print them to create comic books or email them to friends. There also are printables and writing prompts on the site.
Please try the new summer fun feature with your students and send me your feedback at wmz@aol.com. We want to be the best educational web site we can be for you. We hope you will share what we are doing with your family and friends.

Sincerely,
Bill Zimmerman
Creator, MakeBeliefsComix.com

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Free Citizenship Preparation Resource

Free Citizenship Preparation Resource

 

 
 
 
I wanted to let you know that our website: http://www.citizenshipstudyguide.com has transitioned to a completely free site.  There is no longer a user/login or member requirement and all study pages, flashcards, questions and quizzes for US citizenship preparation, in both English and Spanish, are now completely accessible to anyone who accesses the site. This resource can now be used not only jointly by the tutor/instructor but also by the student independently, 24/7.



Jo Woodfine-CitizenshipStudyGuide Administrator

Monday, July 26, 2010

GOOD NEWS!!!

A lost book, useful to tutors and students has been replaced in the Council Library. The book is titled, "How The Brain Learns".  This book is also available for checkout from the collection of the Manatee County Public Library. Five chapters provide recent and useful results of the surging research on how the brain functions and lessons for tutors that can facilitate literacy learning.  Please call the office or come by if you would like to check this book out! Thanks to Don Meals for purchasing this book for LCMC.

Friday, July 2, 2010

ONLINE CLASSES THROUGH FATDEC

DON'T HAVE TIME TO MAKE IT TO CLASS? ONLINE COURSES MAY BE RIGHT FOR YOU!

FATDEC, Florida Adult and Technical Distance Education Consortium, a group of public schools, school districts, and community colleges who are working together to deliver curriculum in a web-based environment for adult education and career technical programs in Florida's postsecondary public institutions.

Benefits of Online Courses

Many courses are free
Make your own schedule; 24/7 access
Work with a certified instructor by email, chat, discussion boards and phone conferences
Current courses include adult high school and career/ technical education

For complete information go to  http://www.fatdec.com/

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

THE BEE!

“Bee” a Part of It!


Literacy Council of Manatee County AND Rotary Club of Palmetto

4th Annual Adult Spelling Bee

6 p.m. — Saturday, August 21, 2010

Bradenton City Auditorium, 1005 Barcarrota Blvd.

Everyone is Invited,  Don’t Miss It! 

Ticket (includes dinner): $30
Cash Bar Available
For tickets or more information, call Lori Johnson (746-8197) or e-mail: manateeliteracy@yahoo.com

Join nearly 500 of your friends, family and neighbors who are expected to attend to cheer on their favorite teams, enjoy a delicious dinner and “Bee” entertained

REMEMBER!
More than 20% of adults in Manatee County function at the lowest level of literacy. They can’t fill out a job application, read road signs or understand prescription instructions. Your support of the Bee will help provide a lifetime of better literacy opportunities for thousands of adults and families in our community.

Reserve your ticket today!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

WRITING TO IMPROVE READING

Having students write about what they read enhances their reading ability and comprehension, according to a new report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Please click on the link below to read the results of a large scale statistical review that identifies writing practices that improve students' reading ability.

http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/WritingToRead_01.pdf

Friday, June 11, 2010

Thinkfinity Free Online Courses: Another Great Site


Thinkfinity Literacy Network's free online courses guide educators, program managers, students and volunteers in the best literacy instruction and lifelong learning habits. Search by audience, or use the Thinkfinity Literacy Network Course Catalog or Suggested Content Clusters to receive targeted, effective, easy-to-use online training.

Access it  at  http://literacynetwork.verizon.org/TLN/courses



Thursday, June 3, 2010

Virtual Tutor/Teacher Trainings

FLC is offering TWO virtual tutor/teacher trainings this month.  These trainings are free; participants need to have telephone and internet access simultaneously to participate.  Click here to read the presenters’ bios. These training sessions are specifically designed to assist literacy tutors and teachers.
TRAINING 1
  • Training Topic: Strategic Reading Instruction to Improve Comprehension for Struggling Reader
  • Date: June 22
  • Time: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. 
  • Instructor: Iris Strunc, Northwest Florida State College
  • Description: Although many school hours are devoted to reading instruction, many students simply do not understand what they read.  This training will explain how strategic analysis of text can help focus struggling readers on the text and task in front of them.  Participants will be shown specific comprehension strategies using highlighters, post-it notes and index cards to assist ineffective readers to analyze and comprehend text better.  
 TRAINING 2
  • Training Topic: Effective Vocabulary Instruction for the Struggling Adult Learner
  • Date: June 30
  • Time: 12:00-1:30 p.m.
  • Instructor: Cecilia A. Hicks, Florida State College at Jacksonville
  • Description: Many adult learners struggle with reading for a variety of reasons. This workshop will explore several of these reasons and offer instructors  research-  and evidence-based solutions to this literacy dilemma. The primary focus of this training will be on vocabulary development. Participants will leave with proven strategies and activities designed to foster vocabulary development in the adult learner.
HOW IT WORKS
Participate from the comfort of your own home or office.  All you need is a telephone and access to the Internet. We will send you a toll-free number and web address (URL) when you register. On the evening of the workshop, you simply join the conference call and go to the web site which will allow you to access the slide show.
Register today!
Questions?  Contact Yari Payne at payney@floridaliteracy.org or (407) 246-7110 ext. 203. 
These trainings are collaborative learning events brought to you by the Florida Adult Literacy Resource Center, a program of the Florida Literacy Coalition. These trainings are made possible through the support of the Florida Department of Education, Division of Career and Adult Education.   

Thursday, May 27, 2010

10 Resources for ESL & Foreign Language Students

Tutors: Check these out! There's sure to be something you can use with your students. Thanks to the Florida Literacy Coalition for posting this on their Facebook page. If you need help with any of this, contact Lauretta at the LCMC office 746-8197. Please leave comments on this page about the sites you reviewed.

From the site Free Technology for Teachers posted by Mr. Byrne

website: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/05/10-resources-for-esl-and-foreign.html



While writing about LangMedia yesterday I realized that I've reviewed a lot of resources for foreign language and ESL/EFL students and teachers over the last couple of years. Here are ten of the better free resources for foreign language and ESL/EFL students.
Smart.fm is a free service designed to help you learn languages, mathematics, and history independently. At it's most basic, Smart.fm provides a flashcard-like service for learning languages, learning formulas, and learning facts. You can hear the flashcards read to you, read the flashcards, and play games based upon the flashcards you're studying. Smart.fm takes the flashcard concept a step farther by offering a personalized repetition schedule based upon what you've learned and what you haven't yet learned. The schedule adjusts each time you revisit your account.
Vocabulix provides numerous free tools for learning Spanish, German, or English. Vocabulix can be used to create quizzes or take quizzes online. Vocabulix provides dozens of drills and activities designed to help students learn Spanish, German, or English. The verb conjugation chart can be used on the Vocabulix website. The verb conjugator code is freely available for use in third party blogs, wikis, or websites. As most new language learning websites do, Vocabulix has a social networking option that helps match native speakers with learners.
Forvo can best be described as an audio wiki for word pronunciations. One of the problems with learning to speak a language that is not phonetic is trying to figure out how to pronounce the words. Forvo hosts hundreds of recordings of word pronunciations by native speakers. Currently there are nearly 200 languages supported on Forvo. Along with word pronunciations, Forvo provides some basic demographic information about each language. Forvo's content is user supported and user generated so new pronunciations are added every day.
CAPL, Culturally Authentic Pictorial Lexicon, is a project developed by Dr. Michael Shaughnessy at Washington & Jefferson College. The purpose of CAPL is to provide images that demonstrate the true meaning and intention of the words in a language. CAPL currently has collections of images for teaching and learning English (North American), German, French, Chinese, and Spanish. CAPL also has images for Japanese, Russian, and Ukranian. All of the images in the collection are licensed under a Creative Commons license that allows for re-use and manipulation for non-commercial purposes.
The Story Place is a children's digital library produced by the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg counties in North Carolina. The Story Place features digital stories in English and Spanish for students of pre-school age through elementary school. The digital stories are arranged by age group and by theme. I looked at the pre-school story about firefighters and thought it that it is the type of story I would share with my pre-school aged child, if I had kids. Along with the digital stories are activity guides for parents.
Verbs Online provides foreign language students with a good selection of activities for practicing verb conjugations. Practice activities are available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese. The practice activities deal with the past, present, and future tenses of regular and irregular verbs. Students can choose to do the activities in sets of ten through fifty practice items.
WordSteps is a resource for learning the vocabulary of your choice of nine languages. To start learning vocabulary with WordSteps select the language you are trying to learn then choose a set of vocabulary words in that language. WordSteps provides six types of practice activities for each set of vocabulary words. The sets of vocabulary words are called dictionaries by WordSteps. You can use the dictionaries made by other WordSteps users or create your own dictionary. WordSteps can be used without creating an account, but in order to create your own dictionary you must create an account.
Kindersay is designed for use by pre-K students. The user interface is easy to navigate using clear, kid-friendly icons. There are more than 500 activities that students can use. There is not any distracting advertising on Kindersay.

ESL Basics is a site that provides short video vocabulary lessons for beginning and advanced ESL students. For teachers, ESL Basics has a small collection of suggestions and ideas for teaching ESL. ESL Basics is adding new content on a regular basis.
Make Beliefs is a free comic strip creation tool that provides students with a variety of templates, characters, and prompts for building their own comic strips. Make Beliefs provides students with a pre-drawn characters and dialogue boxes which they can insert into each box of their comic strip. The editing options allow users the flexibility to alter the size of each character and dialogue bubble, bring elements forward within each box, and alter the sequence of each box in the comic strip. Students that have trouble starting a story can access writing prompts through make beliefs. Most impressively, Make Beliefs allows users to write their comic strip's dialogue in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portugese, or Latin.

Friday, May 21, 2010

An Online Training Opportunity!

EL/Civics Online is a unique professional development opportunity for ESL instructors and volunteers who wish to incorporate EL/Civics content into their adult ESL classrooms. 
This series of online courses will assist teachers in creating interesting, effective ESL lessons in these areas:


 Get started now by going to:
http://www.elcivicsonline.org/

Monday, May 17, 2010

SAVE THE DATE!!!

Literacy Council of Manatee County/Rotary Club of Palmetto

4th Annual Adult Spelling Bee

6 p.m. — Saturday, August 21, 2010

Bradenton City Auditorium, 1005 Barcarrota Blvd.

For tickets or more information, call Lori Johnson (746-8197)or e-mail: manateeliteracy@yahoo.com

Bee Objective: The purpose of the Spelling Bee is to have fun, be entertained and raise funds to benefit the Adult Literacy Program of the Literacy Council of Manatee County.

“Bee” a Part of It!
Queen Bee—Title Sponsor: $3000

Title sponsor receives “naming rights” for the Bee, plus your choice of team entrance fee or a table for eight (8). Also includes logo on decorative tile presented to all team participants, display of your banner at the Bee, plus name/logo in program and all publicity, and on t-shirts presented to all Bee spellers and guests.

Honey Bee Sponsor: $1000

Includes recognition in program and publicity and on t-shirts presented to all Bee spellers and guests.

Team—Speller Sponsor: $500
Includes team entrance fee and dinner tickets for three (3) spellers, plus one Spellagain card, recognition in program and publicity and on t-shirts presented to all Bee spellers and guests.

Bumble Bee—T-Shirt Sponsor: $375

Includes name on t-shirts presented to all Bee spellers and guests.

Alphabet Letter Sponsor: $100

Promote your company or organization by “sponsoring” a letter to be displayed with your name in program.

Donate a Silent Auction Item

Recognition at event through auction materials.


Sponsor a “Lifeline”

Teams (or audience members) may purchase these “lifelines” for a team, prior to start of Bee.

· Bribe-the-Judge Card: $100.00 (one per team) Allows team to continue play as if they had spelled their word correctly.

· Phone-a-Friend Card: $50.00 (one per team) Allows team to call someone in the audience or at home to spell the word. Clock will be stopped while Phone-a-Friend is being used.

· Spellagain Card: $20.00 (three per team) Allows team to spell a word again or request a new word.





Everyone is Invited

Don’t Miss It!

Ticket (includes dinner): $30

Cash Bar Available


Join nearly 500 of your friends, family and neighbors who are expected to attend to cheer on their favorite teams, enjoy a delicious dinner and “Bee” entertained.

DID YOU KNOW?
More than 20% of adults in Manatee County function at the lowest level of literacy. They can’t fill out a job application, read road signs or understand prescription instructions. Your support of the 4th Annual Adult Spelling Bee will help provide a lifetime of better literacy opportunities for thousands of adults and families in our community.

Reserve your ticket today!

The Literacy Council of Manatee County is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. Your donation is tax deductible in its entirety. Words are selected by the Manatee County Library staff without input from the Literacy Council or the Rotary Club of Palmetto.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

COLLEGE FOR ADULTS- Making the Transition


The National College Transition Network, a good resource for ABE-to-college transitions, has launched a new adult-focused college planning website.

This site can be used independently by the student or as part of instruction.

The new site includes sections on career planning, the college application process, financial aid, academic skills, as well as a links and worksheets on transitioning to institutions of higher education.

http://www.collegeforadults.org/index.html

Monday, April 12, 2010

How can I get my students enthusiastic about reading?

This is a good question because students will naturally be more likely to succeed at something that they find exciting.
It’s also a good question because many tutors, in their zeal to improve reading skills, might forget the importance of promoting an interest in reading. I know that as a beginning tutor, I lost sight of this important goal and pushed students too hard and too fast--not a good way to build a love of reading!
Here’s what I recommend:
  • Remember that your primary goal should be to foster enthusiasm for reading. Once we set this goal, it will naturally influence our actions.
  • Remember that your student’s difficulties may have years of history, and that we can only do so much at a time. Your student is painfully aware that his or her reading ability is poor, and will not benefit from being pushed.
  • Find engaging reading material. You and I don’t want to read books that don’t interest us, and your students are no different. They should be allowed freedom to choose what they want to read whenever possible.
Remember that you have the power to set the tone for your encounters. Here’s the attitude that I silently try to convey:
  • "I’ve got some wonderful books that we can read together, and I can help you." "You are in good hands here, and I will support you as you slowly stretch your reading abilities. It may take time, but as we work together you will improve."
  • "This is a safe place where you can get the help you need. I will not push you-- you will know when it’s time to move on to more demanding material."
  • "I know that you want to learn (even if you pretend that you don’t) and we will work together so that you will achieve your goal."

Stay in the "Instructional Level". This is really important, so I will discuss it separately.

What is the "Instructional Level," and why does Ruth keep harping on it?

I would say that the "instructional level" is the most important concept that I’ve learned. It transformed my tutoring sessions into fast-moving and effective learning collaborations.
Basically, it means that students learn best with material that’s not too hard, and not too easy, but just right.
It’s not just somebody’s theory. Studies indicate that the most efficient learning takes place when we stretch ourselves just a little bit. If our material is too hard, we may not even be capable of digesting it. If it’s too easy, then obviously little growth can take place.
Staying within your student’s instructional level allows you to accomplish two things:
  1. Your student will certainly have a more positive attitude toward working with you, and toward reading in general.
  2. Your student will actually learn more--not less!
So, remember that "harder" reading material will not necessarily speed up your student’s progress, and might actually slow it down.

Information in this article is from Literacy Connections

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

IMAGERY

Purpose: To improve understanding and retention for struggling readers.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Materials: A story with high imagery passages
Procedure:
Do a think-aloud as you read a high imagery passage and describe how you form an image and how forming the image helps you to get a deeper understanding of the passage. Stress the fact that images vary because our background and experiences vary. Guide the class as students create images after reading such passages. Encourage students to explain how visualizing helps them understand the passage.

Source: Greenberg, 1/5/2010, Read/Write NIFL Discussion List

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

HOW THE HEALTH CARE REFORM WILL AFFECT FLORIDIANS

Herald-Tribune Health Reporter Anna Scott answers questions about how the health care legislation will affect Floridians. The questions are hypothetical.

MEDICARE
Q: Like many residents in the Sarasota area, I rely on Medicare. How will I be affected? What if I have a special policy? Will it be affected? And what does it mean when they say it will close the doughnut hole in Medicare coverage?
A: Medicare recipients who face the biggest impact are those covered by Medicare Advantage plans, which are privatized Medicare plans that cost more and often give extra benefits such as the "Silver Sneakers" gym memberships and free eyeglasses. Subsidies given by the government to insurers to provide those plans will be cut back substantially. Seniors enrolled in Advantage plans could see a reduction in benefits or an increase in premiums or co-pays, but it is still unclear how insurers will react. On Monday, representatives for Humana, the largest provider of Advantage plans in Florida, said their experts were still reviewing the new legislation and it was too soon to say how it might affect their policies.
The "doughnut hole" refers to the gap in the Medicare prescription drug benefit that seniors experience after they have spent $2,830, when they can no longer get their prescription drugs at a discount. This year, those seniors who reach the limit will get a $250 rebate. Starting in 2011, they will get a 50 percent discount. The gap will be eliminated by 2020, when seniors will be expected to pay 25 percent of the cost of their medications until catastrophic coverage starts.
Government subsidies will be reduced for individuals making more than $85,000 or couples making more than $170,000.
PUBLIC HOSPITALS
Q: Within 10 years, 95 percent of Americans are expected to have health insurance, under this plan. How will this affect Sarasota and Manatee memorial hospitals and other public facilities which today treat -- and must make up the cost for -- uninsured patients?
A: With more patients insured, the hospitals stand to receive payments for some of the care they currently provide for free. Both hospitals absorb millions each year in bad debts and charity care, more than is covered by tax dollars or local trust funds. But rising numbers of people seeking care could put further pressure on the physician work force, which already faces shortages not addressed by the health care bill.
PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS
Q: I have been denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition -- a bout with breast cancer five years ago, now in remission. Will I be able to get affordable insurance now that will cover me if the cancer reoccurs? What is the high-risk pool the government is talking about?
A: The government will begin operating a temporary high-risk insurance pool in the next six months for people who cannot get insurance because of pre-existing conditions and who have been without insurance for at least six months. Maximum out-of-pocket medical costs for people in the pool will be, annually, $5,950 for individuals and $11,900 for families. The pool will operate until 2014, when insurers will no longer be allowed to drop or deny people with pre-existing conditions.
PARENTS' COVERAGE
Q: I am 23 years old. Will I be able to stay on my parents' coverage until I am 26? What if my parents are uninsured or on Medicare? When I turn 27, will I be required to have my own health insurance, just as I must have car insurance?
A: By September, insurers will be forced to let older children through age 26 be covered under their parents' policies. Insurers will also have to cover those adult children even if they have pre-existing health conditions. (Insurers will not have to cover other adults with pre-existing conditions until 2014.)
Starting at age 27, most adults will be required to buy health insurance or pay a fine. If you are under 30, you will be allowed to buy a stripped down plan that covers catastrophic costs and as few as three doctor visits a year. Exempt from the mandate are American Indians and people with religious objections. Also, if you would have to pay more than 8 percent of your income for the cheapest available plan, you will not be penalized for not buying insurance.
The fines will be phased in, starting at 1 percent of income in 2014, and rising to the maximum of $2,085 for a family in 2016.
HIGHER TAXES
Q: My wife and I have a combined income of $250,000. I hear our taxes will go up to help pay for this insurance expansion. What will it cost me?
A: Starting in 2013, you will pay a higher Medicare payroll tax of 2.35 percent on earnings of more than $200,000 a year and couples earning more than $250,000. That is an increase from the current 1.45 percent.
You will also see an additional 3.8 percent tax on unearned income such as dividends and interest over the threshold.
EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS
Q: I own a restaurant with 10 full-time employees and 20 part-timers. There's no way I can afford to offer health insurance. Will I be forced to now? My sister owns a bigger business with 75 full-timers. How will it affect her? What are my options?
A: Companies with fewer than 50 employees will not have to provide health insurance. If there are 25 or fewer employees and the average salary is $50,000, then companies can get a tax credit of up to 50 percent if they buy insurance for workers.
If a company has more than 50 employees and does not pay for health insurance, and if any of those employees qualify to receive a government subsidy to buy health insurance, that company will be fined. The penalty is $2,000 per full-time employee buying insurance from one of the health exchanges. Two part-time workers count as one full-time worker.
NO INSURANCE
Q: I lost my job two years ago and have exhausted my COBRA coverage. What will this bill do to help me?
A: You may qualify for Medicaid under the bill's expansion of the program. It increases the income limit to up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, $29,327 a year for a family of four. And starting in 2014, childless adults will be covered for the first time under Medicaid, which in many states such as Florida covers primarily children and women with children.
UNAFFORDABLE
Q: I am employed but still cannot afford health insurance. What are my new options?
A: If your employer's policy covers less than 60 percent of your health care costs, or if you are paying more than 9.5 percent of your income to get coverage, you can get a subsidy to buy coverage on a health insurance exchange.
Government subsidies of about $2,000 to $4,000 will be given to a family of four earning up to $88,000 and individuals earning up to about $43,000.
The exchange will be a marketplace of various insurance plans that will have to adhere to rules requiring them to cover a range of benefits such as hospitalizations, doctor visits, drugs, maternity care and some preventative tests.
MEDICAID OPTIONS
Q: I rely on Medicaid but I'm not happy about it because it is hard to find doctors who will see me. What does this plan mean for me?
A: More doctors are expected to see Medicaid patients under the plan because the reimbursement will increase. Starting in 2014, doctors who see Medicaid patients will be reimbursed by the government at the same level as Medicare.
ABORTIONS
Q: Will the new health bill provide federal funding for abortions?
A: States can prevent you from getting abortion coverage if you receive one of the subsidies to buy insurance in the health exchange. If the state does not prohibit it, you may have to pay a separate premium to cover the procedure.
SOURCES: Kaiser Family Foundation; The New York Times; The Associated Press.
Herald-Tribune staff writer Dale White contributed to this report.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010




Tutors, Read below and click on the link to see and take the wonderful courses offered by Microsoft for beginners, intermediate and advanced users! You even get a certificate upon completion.

Welcome to the Microsoft Digital Literacy Curriculum. The goal of Digital Literacy is to teach and assess basic computer concepts and skills so that people can use computer technology in everyday life to develop new social and economic opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Whether you are entirely new to computing or have some experience, this curriculum will help you develop a fundamental understanding of computers. From using the Internet, to sending e-mail, to creating a résumé, the Digital Literacy Curriculum helps you develop the essential skills you need to begin computing with confidence.

The Microsoft Digital Literacy curriculum now has three levels:

  • Microsoft Digital Literacy Basic curriculum

  • Microsoft Digital Literacy Standard curriculum

  • Microsoft Digital Literacy Advanced curriculum

The Basic curriculum features a course called A First Course Toward Digital Literacy. This course teaches absolute beginners to computing about what a valuable tool computers can be in society today, and the basics of using the mouse and the keyboard. The interactive, hands-on lessons will help novices feel comfortable manipulating the mouse and typing on the keyboard.

There are two versions of the Microsoft Digital Literacy Standard curriculum. The primary difference between the versions is that the examples and screen shots in the original curriculum feature Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Windows XP, while Version 2 of the Digital Literacy Curriculum offers examples and screen shots from Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Windows Vista. While there are minor changes to the content coverage between versions, the overall course objectives remain the same.

The Advanced curriculum features several courses that expand on what learners mastered in the Standard curriculum. These courses explore core topics like writing a resume, social networking, creating an internet e-mail account, and searching the internet.

The Standard Digital Literacy curriculum is currently available in over 30 languages. The Basic and Advanced courses are in development and will be available in other languages in the near future. This page will be updated when other languages are available.




http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/citizenship/giving/programs/up/digitalliteracy/default.mspx

Friday, March 5, 2010

Starfall: Another Website Worth Taking a Look At


Take a look at this site, http://www.starfall.com and see how you can have your ESL student use it to help with pronunciation and comprehension. Let them know it is a tool originally developed for children but it can really benefit ESL adult learners. Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to motivate children to read with phonics. Our systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL).

9009 ENGLISH LESSONS AND EXERCISES

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/cgi2/myexam/index.php

How can I tell if a book is the right level of difficulty for my student?


How can I tell if a book is the right level of difficulty for my student?

Believe it or not, the best learning takes place when 95% the words in a text can be read without difficulty. If we have to struggle with more than 5% the words, then we cannot maintain fluency and comprehension.

The "three-finger" rule can help both you and your student select appropriate material. When starting a new book, students should raise one finger each time they encounter a word they cannot read. If they’ve raised three fingers while reading the first page or two (depending on how many words are on each page) then the book may be too difficult.


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Friday, February 26, 2010

Wonderful Websites for ESL Instruction


Hello Tutors:




I participated in a webinar last week and below are the sites presented. I particularly liked the Crosswords and the Poetry sites. Check them all out and see which one you think will work for you and your adult learner!

Lauretta

© 2 0 0 9 P r o L i t e r a c y

For Beginning Level Students
Manythings.org crossword puzzle
http://www.manythings.org/vq/img001.html

REEP World
http://www.reepworld.org/englishpractice/family/index.htm
Educational Opportunity Center, Buffalo, NY
http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~dtaylor/eocstudentstories.html

Cynthia Ingersoll’s class page
http://www.geocities.com/cynthia_ingersoll/myclass.html


For Intermediate/Advanced Level Students
News for You Online
http://www.news-for-you.com/
(Subscription info: http://www.newreaderspress.com/Items.aspx?hierId=0750)

Takako’s Great Adventure
http://international.ouc.bc.ca/takako/index.html

Medline Plus Interactive Tutorials
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorial.html

For Multilevel Classrooms
Instant Poetry
http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/newpoem.htm

DVolver
http://www.dfilm.com/live/home.html

U.S. Map Puzzle
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/us_map.htm

Welcome to Tips for Tutors

Hello Tutors!

This blog has been created to provide tutors with a setting in which you can gain and share information with each other and with the Literacy Council. Add this site to your favorites and check in weekly to see what has been posted. Lauretta and I will share with you resources and sites that will help make your tutoring experience more meaningful and you are welcome to share with us and your fellow tutors ideas and strategies you are using successfully with your adult learners. Please feel free to post comments and suggestions. Thanks for all you do!

Lori Johnson