Ice Breakers

One of the biggest challenges of literacy training is making the sessions fun and keeping your students engaged, especially at the beginning of each session.   In fact, the hardest part of learning is often just getting started and grabbing your student’s attention and keeping them enthused, particularly if you are working with a shy or uncooperative student.  One great way to engage your student is through utilizing ice breakers. 

 

Ice breakers are a tool used to break tension, lighten the mood and create a more receptive learning climate.  Ice breakers usually invoke humor or thought provoking tasks.   They can be brain teasers to get your student’s curiosity peaked or they could be fun games to lighten the mood.

Games are effective ice breakers.  As you will see later, games can inject levity into your sessions as well as also giving your student and you a better understanding of each other.   Since we may work with many students from various backgrounds, ice breakers can open us to our student's different cultural and social customs. 

  

Some advantages of these ice breakers include:

• gaining a better understanding of each other
• lightening the mood
• helping to connect with your student
• engaging your student in dialog
• breaking down barriers 

There are numerous ice breakers you can use that can make your teaching experience more fun.  Listed below are a few:

• "true or false" - have your student write down 3 statements (2 true and one false) guess which one of the statements you think is false.  Do the same for yuorself and have your student guess
• have your student share something unusual or personal about him or her (nothing too personal of course).  It could be a place you have visited, a unique hobby, one of your achievements or an unusual experience.  Maybe you met a celebrity and possibly that encounter was awkward.  Maybe you like to collect memorabilia.  It can be anything, preferably something unique, odd or humorous. 
•  "deserted island" - ask your student what item they would want to have with them if they were stranded on a deserted island
• have your student bring in an item that is special to them or that has some kind of symbolic importance.  Since it is an item they like they may be more willing to talk to you about it which can spur your dialog and open them up to the learning process
• ask your student what their favorite vacation spot or relaxation activity is 

You can even make up your own ice breakers.  You can think up an ice breaker that will interest your student.  If they are sports fan you can start off each session with a few minutes of sports trivia or ask them about the hometown team.  The important thing is to get them to feel relaxed and engaged.

Still not sure what type of ice breaker would work for you and your student?  Listed below are a few websites that offer examples of ice breakers.

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1159 

http://www.lessonplanet.com/article/language-arts/language-arts-ice-breakers 

   

Setting Goals

Now that all of the presents have been opened, the decorations have been stashed away and the eggnog has been drank, all that is left for those daunting new year resolutions.  What a perfect time for a reset.  Take stock of where your student is in the learning process and tailor your training to best meet their needs.  Remember, you are both vested in the achievement of these goals. these are not just your student goals, they are also your goals.

Often times, we set goals that are not realistically achievable.  We can get overly ambitious and make lofty goals that are all but impossible to achieve.  For instance, if you just begin a job at an entry level position it would be unrealistic to think you can become the CEO by the end of the year.  To avoid making unrealistic goals, there are a few methods you can utilize.

One of the best ways to set realistic yet challenging goals is to use the S.M.A.R.T. standard.  A practice utilized by many people in management, SMART goals have been useful with goal setting in many fields.

For you our goals should be "smart" they should have all of the following components usually:

• Specific 

• Measurable

• Attainable

• Realistic

• Time-based

An example of a SMART goal would be: I will read 10 books by May 1, 2014.  It meets the smart goal because it is specific (read 10 books), is measurable (you can count the number of books read by then), is attainable and realistic (most people can make the time to read 10 books in  that time frame) and time based (by May 1, 2014).

The following is not a smart goal: I will run in a race sometime.  This goal is not very smart.  It is attainable and realistic and measurable.  But, then it falls apart. For instance, what type of race would I run?  A marathon?  A 5k road race?  A bike race?  It also fails to meet the a specific time frame as it is vague or open ended. 

The following links can help guide you in this goal setting task:

http://topachievement.com/smart.html

http://sbinformation.about.com/od/businessmanagemen1/a/businessgoals.htm

 Another way to set goals with your student is to have them think of goals they would like to achieve.  It could be reading a book on their own, getting promoted at work or even being able to order dinner after reading a menu.  A fun goal setting task is to write out your goals and check on your progress later.  Here is a fun way to do it:

• Have your student write down his or her goals on an index card
• put the index cards in an envelope  
• At the end of the year, or periodically during the year, you can check to see if you have met or are working towards meeting your goals.  
• To make it more fun, you can write your goals as well. 
• you may want to look at the goals before you put them into an envelope to make sure they meet the "smart goal" criteria and you will be able to tailor your training material to their specific goals

 Another way to work on your student's goals is to reassess where they are.  Check your notes and see what areas they need help.   Also, a good way to figure what goals you should set is to simply ask your student what is or isn't working.  Ask them what they think works best.  Is there something you could be doing better?  is there something he or she likes to do?  I find asking your student what he or she dislikes doing is important as well because that is usually the area he or she could use the most help.

Have you had any experiences setting goals with your students?  What are some the methods you use to set goals?  Please share your experiences and thoughts in the comments section.

The following links may be useful in setting goals with your students:

 http://kateandmaggie.com/2013/01/01/setting-literacy-goals-your-students-can-keep-with-a-little-help-from-jillian-michaels/

http://www.esl-literacy.com/essentials-life/program-considerations/supporting-life/goal-setting

https://teal.ed.gov/tealGuide/setgoals

http://www.workbase.org.nz/media/15086/tutorsguidesettingliteracygoalsandrecordingprogress.pdf



"A goal properly set is halfway reached" -Zig Ziglar

A goal properly set is halfway reached.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/goal.html#8VKaGbtulMqJyO7p.99"

Reading Tips

Often times, literacy training can seem like an uphill battle with little or no progress from session to session. It is at these points that it is often a good idea to re-evaluate your training plans and consider other training options.  One of the most rewarding and effective methods of teaching your student literacy may be as simple as simply reading.  There may be no better way to teach and bond with your student.

By reading a story or book with your student you can help to revive their interest in learning.  Rather than following a strict, rigid plan from a lesson plan, reading together allows you flexibility and gives you more control over the content of your lesson plans.  It also allows you to gear your course plans to your student’s specific needs.  There are a number of benefits of reading with your student which include:

• Creating a shared learning experience
•  Exposing your student to new information and new experiences
•  Building your student’s confidence 
•  Energizing your training sessions

As with any training session, a lot of planning is needed when you read with your student.  Some things to keep in mind while preparing to read to your student:

•         pick out a book, story, article or any other type of text together 
• preview the book to make sure it is an appropriate subject matter and within their reading level
•          tailor your reading material to their specific needs 
•          switch off reading with your student
•          prepare questions to ask your student before your session
•          politely, interrupt your reading to ask your student questions about what they just read
•          have fun – lighten the mood and interject humor and  life experiences

It's important to keep in mind that you do not need to read a book.  Any reading material will suffice.  it could be a magazine, comic book, sales flier or even a blog (we appreciate the view counts).

There are many helpful websites that can help you pick out a book or plan your lesson plans.  A quick Google search for literacy or books can retrieve thousands of results.  Listed below are a few web sites that can help you find a book to read with your student and information about the books you may suitable for your student.  Keep in mind that you may need to sign up to access some of the web sites but they are all free to use.  

To view the links below, click on the link and a new browser should apperar which will take you the web site.
 

Good Reads has summaries of books and detailed reviews by other readers

Amazon and Barnes and Noble include summaries of books, reviews by other users and a quick and easy way to order books  (quick tip - if you click on "Click To Look Inside" on Amazon.com you will be able to view the Kindle Sample book which includes the first few pages of the book that you can either read with your student on your tablet or laptop or you can print and read with your student) 

The Best Notes is an online"Cliff's Notes" type web site that provides a synopsis and chapter by chapter summary of a wide selection of books.  It also provides study questions and answers you can use in your reading sessions

YouTube is not only a good source for cat videos.  You can also find videos of book reviews by other YouTube users

The New York Times Books Section, NPR Books and Huffington Post Books are good resources to find what books are popular as well as for reviews and news about literature.

Don't be afraid to search for books or books with other key terms such as books for learning literacy on Google to find other websites that you may find helpful. 

"Never judge a book by its movie." - J.W. Eagan