Materials Spotlight

If your student is new to the digital world, these videos are the perfect place to start! Step one? Learn to turn on a Chromebook! Follow this link for a step-by-step video and other videos that’ll launch your student into technology.

Did you know? Students can check out Chromebooks from the Project Read office. Talk to a staff member for more information.

Understanding Finance and Money is a free, new online course that will prepare your students to better understand and access valuable financial literacy information they see in their community. 

In this course students will learn: 

• Introductory concepts of finance and money, such as saving money, budgeting, managing credit, buying a home, and learning about payday loans 
• Reading comprehension strategies
• Vocabulary terms related to finance and money 
• Higher level vocabulary that will help them read higher level materials

Learn more about the course here

We have a phenomenal resource in our office that is highly underutilized! There are a number of packets that focus on apostrophes, subjects and verbs, how to navigate interviews, and more which students can complete for credit with Provo Adult Ed! These packets contain activities, writing passages, and lots of practice so your student will come away a real master, and prepared for future GED, TOEFL, and other career advancements. Come by the office to take a look, we’d love to point you in the right direction!

STARS is a series of manuals aimed to help students practice and improve reading strategies they’ve already acquired. Such tools include finding the main idea of reading passages, recalling facts and details, understanding sequence of events, recognizing cause and effect, comparing and contrasting, and so much more. Each section provides reading passages followed by comprehension questions to check for understanding and practice the listed reading strategies. The Project Read office has STARS books 2 through 8 available for use!

Every student has a different learning style–for some it may be writing, others listening, some visualizing, speaking, reading, or even manipulating. Oftentimes new learners, and even seasoned learners, do not realize what their individual learning style may be. It may lead to frustration, anxious feelings, and despair if a student feels they best learn one way, but really learn another. This resource provides a series of quizzes that allow students to evaluate their preferred learning styles, as well as helpful study strategies for each category. This resource will get you and your students feet on the path to success as together you learn the best way to learn.

This workbook goes through all the tested math skills on the GRE and GMAT. It begins with a summary of the content of the math section of each test so students can identify what they should study and what they already know or don’t need to study for their test. Part II then goes through the math concepts common to both tests, while Part III goes specifically through the math skills needed for only one of the two tests. Each section opens with an overview of the concepts, then goes through a series of sample test questions ranging from basic to advanced difficulty. Test answers are included in the book with explanations, giving students a clear expectation of the format of the test and a clear presentation of various concepts. Even for those not planning on taking the GRE or GMAT, this book is an excellent resource to practice various skills in algebra, geometry, and more. Check it out if a student has a question about any particular math concept!

Voices of Freedom provides the knowledge and practice needed to pass the U.S. Citizenship Exam. It goes through the process of the exam, from filling out personal information to understanding the history and government of the U.S.. Each section presents the necessary knowledge, then reviews those facts through oral, written, and listening example questions. Additionally, the cover page of each chapter lists the interview and grammar skills covered in that chapter. With an already-planned lesson format and both solo and interactive practice questions, this book is a great study tool. Check out this resource for anyone wanting to take the Citizenship Exam!

For many, math is a tricky subject. However this resource makes learning basic math principles simple. This book covers 3 units–Basic Arithmetic, Using Sales Tax in Everyday Living, and Making Change. Within each of these respective units, basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are taught, as well as good-to-know mathematical terminology. The book concludes with a test that summarizes all the concepts learned throughout the material. We highly recommend checking out this resource!

This is a fantastic resource that students and tutors can use. The Basic Grammar in Use series is a three part series consisting of Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced grammar principles. The book series is formatted like a workbook to give practice drill exercises both as a stand-alone workbook or as supplementary course material. The material in book one, Basic Grammar in Use, comprises of beginning uses of present, past, and present perfect tenses, as well as parts of speech, determiners, pronouns, conjunctions, and clauses. Topics are divided into units, and answers are provided in the back of the books so students can check their understanding. If you are unsure about where to start with your student, check out page 257 of Basic Grammar in Use for an introductory study guide. 

Language, Literacy, & Vocabulary, a series by National Geographic, is a wonderful resource to help students connect and engage with what they read. Each edition is a clear and concise overview of a given topic. From exploring different regions of the world and their history, to learning how to manage your money. With multiple sub-series, indicated on the top right corner, you are sure to find something of interest for everyone. Suggesting reading about the area the student is from, or a topic that interests them can help them re-engage or can serve as a nice warm-up reading. This series can be enjoyed by all levels as the information is helpful for anybody and presented in a simple way, with pictures on every page.

For visual learners, it may be helpful to check out a picture or visual dictionary. One such dictionary is available online at visualdictionaryonline.com. Unlike a typical dictionary which alphabetizes words, the visual dictionary is grouped by themes such as ‘Food & kitchen’, ‘Transport & machinery’, and ‘Animal kingdom’. Along with a typical definition, the visual dictionary offers high-quality images that correspond with each word. A search box enables users to quickly find words and their pictures. The dictionary contains “20,000 terms with contextual definitions, developed by terminology experts [and] 6,000 full-color images of a wide variety of objects from all aspects of life”.

Focus on Phonics is a resource that can be found at the Project Read office. It is a 4-book series that helps students sound out and spell new words. It complements Laubach Way to Reading by reinforcing sound-symbol relationships, however it can be used alone too. The workbooks are easy-to-use and will help students build a core foundation in phonics.

– Workbook 1: Sounds and Names of Letters

– Workbook 2: Short Vowel Sounds and Consonant Blends

– Workbook 3: Long Vowel Sounds

– Workbook 4: Other Vowel Sounds and Consonant Spellings

The website eastsideliteracy.org provides a variety of online resources for ESL and Adult literacy tutors. There are links to conversation topics with relevant questions in a wide range of subjects, resources for workplace skills, citizenship, basic reading and writing, math, GED, and technological literacy. Each link provides helpful tips for tutors and suggestions for what they can do in each area of interest. This would be a helpful resource for tutors who want new ideas for different activities or lessons to use with their student.

Teaching Adults: A Literacy Resource Book is available at the Project Read office. It includes “step-by-step instructions for teaching adult literacy learners” with more than 80 activities that are ready to use. The activities can be adapted to higher or lower levels, and the lessons can be used in a one-on-one or group setting. It provides information on the following:

– Initial and ongoing assessment

– Reading fluency techniques

– Word recognition and vocabulary including 300 most frequently used words

– Reading comprehension and writing process

– Grammar activities

– Lesson planning and evaluation

– Reproducible ready-to-use activities