Basic Skills for Childcare - Literacy

Tutor Pack

Julie Green

• Publisher: David Fulton Publishers
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781134007097
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Teaching Methods

These excellent, ready to use Basic Skills resources will save tutors hours of planning and preparation. You simply select the session you want to deliver, photocopy the handouts needed, and off you go.The pack contains:* Session outlines and a list of resources needed* Ready to use resources* Ready to copy handouts* Ready to use Basic Skills ILPs* Sample schemes of work* Lesson plan to fill in to your specific requirements* Tips throughout each session on speaking and listening opportunities.

Chapter 1
Introductory Session

Introducing the Basic Skills

This needs to be a light, fun session. What you do here will almost certainly set the tone for the rest of the course, so try not to let things get too heavy. The session is made up of six activities.

Activity 1 What are the Basic Skills?

Give out copies of Handout 1, 'What are Basic Skills?' and go through it with the students.

Activity 2 Explanation

Examine the different areas that make up Basic Skills Literacy:

• Give each student a copy of Handout 2, 'Basic Skills Literacy' and go through it together.
• Explain that this is what you will be covering in the forthcoming sessions. Students will progress through the levels, gaining new skills and developing those they already have. There will be lots of activities, quizzes and games along the way.

Activity 3 When will I need to use these skills?

• Use this question as the basis for a group discussion and follow with an exercise in which students list their own suggestions, using Handout 3, 'When will I need to use these skills?' as a starting point.
• Give the students an opportunity to feed back and discuss the ideas they generated during the activity.

Activity 4 Reflection

• Invite the students to reflect on the following:
• What are their feelings so far?
• How do they feel about spending a few hours a week on this?
• Can they see the need for it?
• Do they want to do it? Why/why not?

Activity 5 Discussion

Spend some time together working on an 'Improving my literacy skills will...' activity. See how many suggestions the students can come up with.

Activity 6 Explanation

End by giving your students general information about what they will be covering in Basic Skills sessions and how it links to the students' Basic Skills screening results from their induction screening. Finally, give out the students' workbooks and explain what they contain and how they are to be used.

Handout 1

What Are Basic Skills?

'The ability to read, write and speak English at a level to function and progress at work and in society in general.'

Basic Skills Agency

Handout 2

Basic Skills Literacy

Reading

• Using different techniques
• The meaning and uses of different texts
• How to find information
• Identifying main points from text

Writing

• Spelling
• Punctuation
• Grammar
• Constructing writing

Speaking and Listening

• Listening and responding
• Communicating
• Engaging in discussion

Handout 3

When will I need to use these skills?

Think about the times you will need to use your literacy skills. Some examples have been filled in for you below. Try and think of some more.

	PERSONAL LIFE	COURSEWORK	PLACEMENT
READING	Cooking instructions	Textbooks	Fire evacuation instructions
WRITING	Text messages	Assignments	For children to copy
SPEAKING AND LISTENING	Phone calls	Class discussions	Reading to children

There are lots of times when these skills come in useful, aren't there?

Chapter 2
Entry Level One

Introduction

Before we do anything we need to know that the learners understand the basics of reading and writing. Teaching someone how to spell, punctuate, etc. is of no use if they do not understand the basic mechanics. The sessions in this level provide a series of activities that are designed to reinforce these fundamental skills. You may not need to spend much time on this but it does need to be done.

Session 1

Outline

This session will take the learner through the basic mechanics of reading and writing. It will give you the chance to gauge confidence and encourage the more reluctant learners.

Activities

Activity 1 Introduction

Introduce the session by explaining to learners that a part of Basic Skills involves reading and writing. Tell them that they will be learning about spelling, decoding words, punctuation, reading and writing different text types, and so on. Point out that before they begin to learn all this, it is important to make sure the basic mechanisms are in place.

Discuss ideas on why we need to know how to read and write, and list suggestions on a flipchart. Tie in with this the fact that a great deal of our time, especially when doing a course, is spent reading and writing.

Examine ways in which we take in and give out much information through reading and writing.

Activity 2 Group discussion — What is reading?

Points to make:

• Reading is what we are doing when we look at something someone else has written and we take meaning from it.
• Write the following example on the flipchart/board: 'Your next tutorial is at 10 a.m. on the 24th January.' This means that you have to meet with your tutor at that time on that date for a tutorial.
• All words have meaning. When these words are put together they form text.
• When you read these words, you ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Dedication
• An Introduction to the Resource File
• 1 Introductory Session
• 2 Entry Level One
• 3 Entry Level Two
• 4 Entry Level Three
• 5 Level One
• 6 Level Two
• Schemes of work, lesson plans and Individual Learning Plans