Reading for Life Lessons

Minnesota ABE Supplemental Services, Linda Strand, 2004-2005

And the Minnesota Literacy Council

Focus: Community Services (Reading for Life, volume 1, unit 4: Telephone)

Objectives: Learners will be able to identify community services and find relevant information for them in the phone book.

Key Vocabulary: hotline, crisis, crisis intervention, agencies, counselor

Topics to Review: skills for using the phone book

Materials: phone books, brochures from a variety of community services (library, YMCA, suicide or rape hotlines, addictions hotlines)

Procedure:

Real-life application:

            T asks students to list some services in their community. These include animal control, hotlines for addiction, disabled services, services for mental health etc. Discuss services offered by each one. Teach new ones using brochures. You may wish to find the community services listing in the White Pages to coordinate with the brochures you bring to class.

Have students brainstorm questions about community services. Write the questions on the board. Have students choose a few questions and answer them. Students share the answers to their questions with the class.

I have a problem: Make a list of some problems or situations in which a student might want to contact a community service. Read one of the situations to the class. Individually, students choose a community service they would go to in that situation and write a sentence explaining why. Students share their ideas with the class.

T shows student the phone books. T and students discuss the phone books and where to find information in them. Think of some services and find them together in the phone book.

List some different services on the board. Have student practice finding them in the community service listings and write down the appropriate telephone numbers.

Progress to Reading for Life, v.1 competency worksheets: Applicable worksheets: RFL v.1, unit 4

Progress to multiple-choice format activities: Some to be created by MLC – coming soon

Extensions: Some to be created by MLC – coming soon