Tuesday, April 29, 2008

New Books, New Readers





I had an absolutely delightful morning assisting Oxford Hills adult education teacher, Ramsey Ludlow, in taping a class designed by the Maine Humanities Council called New Books, New Readers. Mary Alice Crosby, in cooperation with local literacy teachers, facilitates this book group, which consists of adults who are learning to read. Books have been chosen according to theme and readability and discussed in an informal and emotionally-safe atmosphere with an emphasis on connecting with the lives of the participants. Students get to keep the books.

The just-completed series called "Telling Our Stories" includes the following:

Session 1: Recalling Our Past
Session 2: Discovering Our Stories
Session 3: Other Ways of Telling

For discussion: How do we tell our own stories? Why are they important? How do we decide what to tell? What do we learn from telling our own stories? From reading others’ stories? How and why do we share our stories with others? How do our personal stories connect to the stories of our communities and country?

This is an excellent model on many levels. Making these connections is important in encouraging persistence in working on the needed reading and writing skills. Oxford Hills Adult Education teachers help participants in developing skills before the discussion group . . . and follow up after the discussion is over.

Personalized education is alive and well in our Maine Adult Education communities!

Related Links at LIM Resources:

Digital Storytelling
Biography
Autobiography
Who

Jason Ohler:

Storytelling

1 comment:

  1. Sorry to be so long in responding! We're so glad you could join us to see what a great job the Maine Humanities Council does with the New Books New Readers program. It has been an essential part of our literacy program for many years.

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