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Patterns for Change

2009-2010

Annual Report from

Motheread, Inc. to

the North Carolina

Community College

System Office

Motheread Inc.

3008 Anderson Drive, Ste. 103, Raleigh, NC 27609 (919) 781-2088 Motheread.org

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Introduction

have balanced needs and requirements.

We have tied technical assistance to site

visit findings, creating a more helpful

tool for local programs.

The trainings we’ve provided this year

have been those requested from the field.

The most frequently offered one, “Keep-

ing it Real: Contextualized Teaching and

Learning,” has been designed to help

instructors become partners with their

students, tying real world applications

to Basic Skills content. Our research

project is assessing the impact of that

sort of teaching with Basic Skills students

when linking work and home to the

classroom.

This year’s report highlights what

can happen when people truly act as

partners, adjusting to strengths and

weaknesses, balancing expectation and

reality. It’s been a great year for literacy

programs across the state as we all

develop the patterns and rhythm for

change.

Nancye Brown GajPresident, Motheread, Inc.

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‘ve always liked dancing.

From my elementary school days when

we used to promenade in a circle to the

song “B-I-N-G-O” to the most recent

season of “Dancing with the Stars,” I’ve

been hooked. Unfortunately, that inter-

est doesn’t mean I’m very good at it!

I think what I like about dancing is the

fluidity, grace and fun of seeing it done

well. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that

such a high level of control and skill can

create something that looks effortless,

and at times, virtually impossible! At

the same time there is also the awareness

that at any minute someone could fall,

look foolish, or even get hurt. At every

level, there’s the potential for drama

because dance is a wonderful combina-

tion of mastery and magic involving a

partner.

Our work this year with staff from

seventeen community colleges and five

community-based organizations has been

a lot like a dance. We have collaborated

with local staff and the state office to

strengthen and enrich programs. We

I

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ABE 73

ESL22

CED18

Family Literacy

30

CBO30

Training participants by program area

Site visit schedule Program/Sites(s) Date

Sandhills Community College 1) SCC Westmoore Center 08/25/09

Craven Community College 2) Craven County Family Literacy (Vanceboro) 09/29/09 3) Craven County Family Literacy (Cove City) 09/30/09 Wilkes Community College 4) Wilkes Family Resource Center (N. Wilkesboro) 10/06/09 5) Moravian Falls Family Literacy (Moravian Falls) 10/07/09 6) Family Literacy of Alleghany (Sparta) 11/02/09 7) Family Central (Jefferson) 11/03/09

Literacy Council of Wake County 8) Project LIFT (Wendell) 11/18/09 9) Project LIFT (Barwell Road) 12/08/09 10) Project LIFT (Fuquay Varina) 12/10/09

Central Piedmont Community College 11) CPCC/CMS Family Literacy (Merry Oaks) 01/12/10

Southeastern Community College 12) Southeastern Community College Family Literacy Program (Mt Olive Head Start – Whiteville) 01/20/10 13) Southeastern Community College Family Literacy Program (Tabor City Elementary School) 01/27/10

Caldwell Community College/Technical Institute 14) Caldwell County Even Start Family Literacy Program (Family Resource Center) 02/09/10 15) Caldwell County Even Start Family Literacy Program (Whitnel Elementary School) 02/10/10

Blue Ridge Community College 16) Family Literacy (Bruce Drysdale Elementary) 02/09/10 17) Family Literacy (Covenant Presbyterian Church) 03/30/10 18) Family Literacy (Dana Elementary School) 03/30/10 19) Family Literacy (Ebenezer Iglesia Christiana Church) 03/31/10

Literacy Council of Wake County 20) Project Lift (Raleigh) 04/21/10 21) Project Lift (Knightdale) 05/06/10

SandhillsCommunity

College SampsonCommunity

College

MartinCommunity

College

RobesonCommunity

College

PittCommunity

College

RichmondCommunity

College

Central PiedmontCommunity

College

ReadingConnections

CravenCommunity

College

WilkesCommunity

College

SoutheasternCommunity

College

CaldwellCommunity/

TechnicalInstitute

Blue RidgeCommunity

College

Literacy Councilof Wake County

Statewide Scope of Services delivered by Motheread,Inc.Training provided to 173 participants at 9 sites across the state

Site visits

Professional development

Professional development schedule

Most Average Frequent Training Location Date Rating Rating

22) Contextualized Instruction Clinton September 25, 2009 5.73 6

23) Contextualized Instruction Williamston October 16, 2009 5.18 5

24) Contextualized Instruction Lumberton December 11, 2009 5.80 6

25) Contextualized Instruction Pinehurst February 19, 2010 5.58 6

26) Contextualized Instruction Charlotte April 16, 2010 5.71 6

27) Contextualized Instruction Hamlet April 30, 2010 5.79 6

28) Institute Flat Rock August 5-7, 2009 5.62 6

29) Institute Greensboro March 29-31, 2010 5.62 6

30) Story Exploring Flat Rock August 4, 2009 6.00 6

31) Life: Literacy Instruction for Everyone Greenville October 28, 2009 5.71 6

Partners for change

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Nestled in the mountains of western NC, Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) has provided family literacy programming for the past several years. Although small in size, the community college worked hard to develop a large network of partnerships throughout the county. However, as funding decreased and staff changed, family literacy programming began to struggle.

Following a site visit by Michele Wheeler and Nancye Gaj in 2009, the evaluators and program staff discussed major findings with an eye on the future. As a result of the conver-sation, administrative staff Rick Marshall, Dean for Basic Skills, Nancy Bulow, Faculty Coordi-nator, English for Speakers of Other Languages and Continuing Education Spanish, and Jennifer Hilbert, Family Literacy Assistant, decided to develop a program improvement plan and requested a technical assistance visit from the Motheread staff. Planning collabora-tively, staff from both agencies determined that the content for this visit should focus on instructional issues found in all the family literacy sites. In addition, the administrative staff at BRCC used the site visit report as a roadmap for creating positive change. This written report supplied by Motheread documented both the strengths and weakness-es of the program thereby enabling the staff to make strategic changes and improvements.

Within a few months, a series of administrative modifications were implemented and additional training was requested. Subse-quently, instructional staff participated in the Motheread Institute and Story Exploring training.

Motheread staff made another site visit to BRCC in 2010 and noted significant changes in the program. The following best practices are now consistently seen in the classrooms.

g Adult instruction provides many focused opportunities for students to connect what they are learning to their own lives; experience a “holistic” approach to skill building by reading, writing, talking, listening, and thinking critically; learn from each other by working in pairs, as well as small-and large-groups; and to use technology in a variety of ways.

CASE STUDY

Blue Ridge Community College

LEFT: Students are welcomed at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Hendersonville ABOVE: The program improvement team: Rick Marshall, Jennifer Hilbert and Nancy Bulow

g Communication between program staff is intentional and consistent because they now better understand the purpose of the four components in family literacy and, as a result, are more effective as a team. Students now experience fluidity in services, and learning is reinforced across all components.

g Students experience much more intentional preparation for the interactive literacy session. The focus is on one particular children’s book and parents have the opportunity to prepare by practicing specific literacy skill building activities. This preparation time gives the adults opportunities to build their own literacy skills as well as gain confidence in their roles as their children’s first and best teachers.

This entire process operated from beginning to end as a partnership and allowed the community college to re-envision and redesign all aspects of its family literacy program. The administrative staff at Blue Ridge Community College has always set high expectations for quality programming. The 2009 site visit, technical assistance, professional development, and 2010 site visit provided the framework and catalyst for the program to set even higher goals. Just as this family literacy program has always benefitted from creating partnerships within its community, this year it has also benefitted from developing a partnership with Motheread, Inc. - a partnership for progress!

4 5

Motheread Inc.

Working with Students who have Developmental Disabilities

“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Oh yes they can. And so can the thinking behind them. Often these negative attitudes severely limit the educational opportunities provided to adults who have developmental disabilities. In response to this reality, Motheread, Inc. has created a specialized curriculum and approach that offers new ways to teach literacy skills, problem solving and life lessons to this population.

In order to implement programming for adults who have developmental disabilities, staff need to attend a 6-hour interactive training that combines individual assign-ments, small group work, lecture, and discussion.

Training participants willg Examine the importance of narrative and using story as a way to teachg Experience the curriculum as both learner and instructorg Learn about the research that supports the curriculum

g Practice specific strategies and techniques to build literacy skills and apply life lessons

Curriculum Topicsg CASAS Correlationsg Building comprehension skills using specific types of questionsg Analyzing a storyg Encouraging writing g Incorporating active learning

motheread.org • Suite 103, 3008 Anderson Drive • Raleigh, North Carolina 27609 • 919-781-2088 • Fax: 919-571-8579

Life L ITERACY INSTRUCTION

for EVERYONE

It was most helpful that you taught the workshop using

the approach you were presenting to us. That object

lesson made everything so clear and easy to remember.

Basic Skills Instructor

Catawba Valley

Community College

I attended your Contextualized Teaching and Learning Workshop this spring in Charlotte. From the moment I left that day, I have had a rush of creativity flowing through my brain. As a result, I have developed a new approach for teaching my ESL classes. I am excited about the possibilities!

ESL Instructor Central Piedmont

Community College

Contextualized lessons are like a breath of fresh air. Many

of my students have been coming to school for a long

time so using the lessons brings something new and

exciting to the classroom. ESL Instructor

Sandhills Community College

After using a contextualized approach, my students are connecting and interacting more with each other. I can also see a difference in how they think about their learning.

Basic Skills InstructorLenoir Community College

With the current national emphasis on contextual

teaching, Motheread, Inc. is conducting research

to determine the impact of this approach. The study

at Sandhill and Lenoir Community Colleges explores

differences in outcomes for students receiving tradi-

tional instruction versus those who are taught with

an emphasis on home, work and school applications.

Both quantitative and qualitative tools are being used

to measure outcomes for students and instructors.

In the coming year, the project will be expanded to

include four additional community college sites.

After I implemented “Life” strategies in a Compensatory Education class, the students were better able to comprehend stories, respond to questions and participate in discussions more thoroughly. I would recommend the training to any-one who teaches reading in Basis Skills ABE and Comp. Ed.

Coordinator of Compensatory EducationPitt Community College

Since the “Story Exploring” training, I have more energy and focus for working with the parents in the adult/parent education classroom using techniques I learned for building literacy skills with their children.

Family Literacy InstructorMartin Community College

6 7

Working with Children

Motheread Inc.

StoryExploring®


It’s hard to do something when you don’t do it well. It’s even

harder if you don’t like it. For millions of children, developing

reading skills is just that. Often the best efforts of their

parents and teachers are not enough. However, over the

past decade, a movement to strengthen children’s literacy

has been growing. As part of this effort, Motheread, Inc.,

with the help of literacy experts, has developed the Story

Exploring® curriculum based on multicultural children’s books.

For TeachersStory Exploring reflects the findings of current

research and federal guidelines for early

childhood and elementary school reading

instruction.Book 1, designed for use with infants and

toddlers, encourages the youngest learners to

enjoy simple board books. It provides teachers

with activities that promote story enjoyment

and build emergent literacy skills.

Book 2, designed for use with preschoolers,

helps teachers read strategically to children in

ways that will enhance comprehension, build

vocabulary and help translate spoken language

to the written word. Within each lesson,

specific activities promote phonological and

print awareness.

Book 3, designed for use with grades K – 2,

focuses on moving children from phonological

awareness to alphabetic awareness by helping

them link the sound of oral language to

specific letters and words. Teachers are

provided with activities that encourage

children to be actively involved in creating

poetry, songs and stories.

Book 4, designed for use with grades 3 – 5,

encourages children to develop independent

writing skills through activities that focus on

journaling and writing for different audiences.

Each lesson includes opportunities to analyze

and explore the story further.

For ParentsStory Extenders® accompany each lesson

as a take-home companion piece to Story

Exploring. The Extenders are designed to

support learning in the home environment.

They provide specific activities that foster

creative thinking and problem solving, and

promote conversations between parents

and their children.

TrainingThe 6-hour Story Exploring training

provides an innovative, research-based

instructional approach and a 4-volume

curriculum for children from birth through

elementary school.

g Learn to encourage a positive attitude

and motivate children about reading

g Examine story as a way to teach

and the importance of narrative

g Learn about the research that supports

the Story Exploring curriculum

g Practice specific strategies and

techniques to build literacy skills

through the read-aloud experience

g Explore ways to use the transfer-to-

home activities provided by the

Story Extenders

Working with Children

Motheread Inc.

StoryExploring®


It’s hard to do something when you don’t do it well. It’s even

harder if you don’t like it. For millions of children, developing

reading skills is just that. Often the best efforts of their

parents and teachers are not enough. However, over the

past decade, a movement to strengthen children’s literacy

has been growing. As part of this effort, Motheread, Inc.,

with the help of literacy experts, has developed the Story

Exploring® curriculum based on multicultural children’s books.

For TeachersStory Exploring reflects the findings of current

research and federal guidelines for early

childhood and elementary school reading

instruction.Book 1, designed for use with infants and

toddlers, encourages the youngest learners to

enjoy simple board books. It provides teachers

with activities that promote story enjoyment

and build emergent literacy skills.

Book 2, designed for use with preschoolers,

helps teachers read strategically to children in

ways that will enhance comprehension, build

vocabulary and help translate spoken language

to the written word. Within each lesson,

specific activities promote phonological and

print awareness.

Book 3, designed for use with grades K – 2,

focuses on moving children from phonological

awareness to alphabetic awareness by helping

them link the sound of oral language to

specific letters and words. Teachers are

provided with activities that encourage

children to be actively involved in creating

poetry, songs and stories.

Book 4, designed for use with grades 3 – 5,

encourages children to develop independent

writing skills through activities that focus on

journaling and writing for different audiences.

Each lesson includes opportunities to analyze

and explore the story further.

For ParentsStory Extenders® accompany each lesson

as a take-home companion piece to Story

Exploring. The Extenders are designed to

support learning in the home environment.

They provide specific activities that foster

creative thinking and problem solving, and

promote conversations between parents

and their children.

TrainingThe 6-hour Story Exploring training

provides an innovative, research-based

instructional approach and a 4-volume

curriculum for children from birth through

elementary school.

g Learn to encourage a positive attitude

and motivate children about reading

g Examine story as a way to teach

and the importance of narrative

g Learn about the research that supports

the Story Exploring curriculum

g Practice specific strategies and

techniques to build literacy skills

through the read-aloud experience

g Explore ways to use the transfer-to-

home activities provided by the

Story Extenders

Motheread Inc.

Working with Students who have Developmental Disabilities

“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Oh yes they can. And so can the thinking behind them. Often these negative attitudes severely limit the educational opportunities provided to adults who have developmental disabilities. In response to this reality, Motheread, Inc. has created a specialized curriculum and approach that offers new ways to teach literacy skills, problem solving and life lessons to this population.

In order to implement programming for adults who have developmental disabilities, staff need to attend a 6-hour interactive training that combines individual assign-ments, small group work, lecture, and discussion.

Training participants willg Examine the importance of narrative and using story as a way to teachg Experience the curriculum as both learner and instructorg Learn about the research that supports the curriculum

g Practice specific strategies and techniques to build literacy skills and apply life lessons

Curriculum Topicsg CASAS Correlationsg Building comprehension skills using specific types of questionsg Analyzing a storyg Encouraging writing g Incorporating active learning


Life L ITERACY INSTRUCTION

for EVERYONE

Motheread® Professional Development Staff

PresidentNancye Gaj

Program DirectorCarolyn Dickens

Adult and Children’s Literacy SpecialistJohn Dunlap

EvaluatorBertha Gorham

Adult & Children’s Literacy SpecialistGwen Hinton

Logistics CoordinatorCathy James

National Training CoordinatorEvelyn Machtinger

Adult & Children’s Literacy SpecialistJulie Renaud

Family Literacy Initiatives CoordinatorMichele Wheeler

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