Here’s Something To Water: Life At Coventry Jesus Centre

Some of my crew

Diary of a skills tutor .....

9:20am. It’s snowing; it’s bitterly cold. This morning I’m expecting N....... Where is she? Running late, it appears, so I’ll just have five minutes quiet with a warm-up mug of coffee... 

9:22am: No chance: C......... comes in and desperately needs to make a phone call to his mum: he’s just out of hospital from a long stay after being beaten up and, how tragic, he has permanent brain damage and it’s affecting his limbs. Meanwhile, he’s expecting the Bridge to be open and it’s not; it's Friday. (The Bridge is our drop-in for homeless people.)

"Here, C......, it’s been snowing outside, and that wind is bitter; come in and have a cuppa – or two."

9:45am. Then N...... arrives – late but nonetheless eager as ever.  She is intrigued as to what C...... is also doing in the room. We do some reading together and then she tells me she wants  to be a volunteer help in the classroom. Sounds a wonderful idea. "How about Mondays?" I suggest.

Then, 10:30am the ladies come – eight of them – followed by the men, three of them, each a little late. They've come for our 'How to do Job Interviews' course. As nearly always, it has to be combined with an  English lesson as most folk attending come from outside the UK. Today we’re  helping them write a personal statement. That's fun. Why? What does ‘good attitude’ mean or 'enthusiasm'? They look blank until Jo and I do our double-act.  I'm a lazy so-and-so, uninterested in doing any job I'm asked to do and I can pull a long face which makes them laugh. Yes, it really is fun and Jo does a brilliant job leading this group.

12:30pm: Lunch? A quick break and then, at 1.00pm, in comes D.......; he’s an ex-alcoholic and wants to learn to read long words; he tries really hard and if he keeps coming I reckon we can crack this one. When we've finished he pulls out a carrier–bag. "Here’s  something to water," he says kindly. I open the bag with delight  - a  little plant,with delicate red flowers.

Then, 1:30pm,  M....... arrives and, after an hour, looks down with pleasure at a letter she has carefully written and typed out. Lastly, in comes J....., a homeless man. He wants to learn to use possessive apostrophes. He’s intelligent alright, just doesn’t fit the mould.

'Something' to water? 'People' more like. Watering their abilities, their confidence, their need of  self-esteem and hopefully the seed of the kingdom in their hearts. We always hope that Jesus Centres provide the environment  where those priceless seeds can germinate and grow. 

Watering, watering, watering.  I never done much gardening and  I'm abysmal at looking after house plants but this kind of watering, well, I can't help but really love it .... it's investment in people ... it's more than 'worthwhile'. Hope to see you all next week!

Helping Jo to read and write (3)

Heart In The Write Place (see Jesus Life: issue 89)

See previous two blogs: helping Jo to read and write (1 & 2)

 Well done! You’ve really got going, helping Jo to read and write. You are both really pleased with his progress. I bet he’s telling you that he’s started picking out and reading words he’s never recognised as he’s walking round town, sitting on the bus etc.  Moving on to the next phase now ….

1.      Go over with Jo what he has learned at the beginning of each session.
2.      Gradually introduce more words that don’t carry much phonics logic e.g. ‘who’, ‘said’ - especially ones that are useful for Jo’s life.
3.      Begin to introduce letter combinations like ‘ee’, ‘ea’, ‘or’, ‘er’ (called digraphs.)
4.      Teach Jo the order of the alphabet (just make some small cards with the letter on them.)
5.      Begin to introduce UPPER CASE letters and explain they are used as the first letter for names of people, places and the pronoun I.  
6.      Combine learning to read and write with learning computer word processing.
7.      Encourage independence: e.g. leave Jo for a few minutes to write a sentence. 
 8.  Finally – don’t get discouraged. What Jo learns one week may be forgotten by the next. Keep going over what he has already learned.

Well, that’s a start. There’s plenty more to learn but, like a building, good foundations make for a solid structure that will stand the test of time.   Jo has a good foundation now to build on.  He has some essential skills, the door has opened and his life will never be quite the same again. Your positive input has made a huge difference – not just to Jo’s reading and writing skills but to his life in general.  I have heard great stories from folks saying that learning to read has given them new social confidence: now they can speak in public, look people in the eye etc.

Well done! What you have done has made a huge difference to Jo – and probably to you too! Keep going!

Resources:  (You don’t need many – almost all mine are home-made)

Useful books:

Alpha to Omega: A. to Z. of Teaching Reading, Writing and Spelling: Beve Hornsby, Julie Pool, Frula Shear  

Toe by Toe: A Highly Structured Multi-sensory Reading Manual for Teachers and Parents by Keda Cowling and Harry Cowling  

 Spotlight on Words: Phonic Wordsearch Puzzles and Activities to Help the Development of Spelling Skills by Gillian Aitken.  Robinswood Press

Helping Jo to read and write (2)

Heart In The Write Place (see Jesus Life: issue 89)

See first blog: helping Jo to read and write (1)

OK, so far so good. Jo has come into your organisation and you’ve got to know him a little. It’s time to move onto the next phase now. By the way, teaching people to read is quite an intensive business. Breaks for a breather or a welcome cup of tea or coffee are definitely a good idea – for you and him!

Further assess Jo’s needs: there are formal assessments you can use BUT make sure Jo does not feel intimidated by using one that is too difficult. Personally I use my own informal, spur-of-the-moment assessments as well as more formal written aones I have made myself (I can email these to you.) However, be systematic and thorough e.g. check he knows all 26 letter sounds, words he may have seen lots of times and recognise like ‘danger’ and possibly common letter combination like ‘er’ ‘ee’. It’s much better to start with something you know he can do – even if it’s recognising the first letter of his name. Make sure the way you do Jo’s assessment is encouraging and positive. Show pleasure at what Jo DOES know.

Make sure you explain every step. Often people have not learned to read because they have not understood that there is some logic in English phonics i.e. letters and letter combinations do represent sounds and words are not just an irrational combination of letters.  (Yes.. if only … we all wish they were more consistent with less exceptions!)

Discuss and perhaps write down a simple plan for the next few weeks. Don’t do this for Jo but with Jo.

Encourage every tiny step. Tell Jo how pleased you are with his progress.

I don’t think I have ever taught two people to read in quite the same way twice. You ‘feel’ your way every time you have someone new to teach to read. However, here is a rough map for you! Fill in the details yourself!  Don’t introduce too many new things in one session. The following ‘map’ may take several or even many sessions to cover.

1.      Teach a few of the common consonants sounds (not names yet) e.g. s, t, m, p and one vowel only (a). I tend to teach lower case first – but if he already knows UPPER rather than lower case, use that.  Help Jo to use his different senses in learning – speak the sounds, hear the sounds, touch (write) the sounds. Use different colour pens and some images - anything that works for Jo. Explore, learn yourself what works best for him! Be creative!

2.     Use comic sans font - it’s easier to read!

3.       Read and write 3 letter words using these letters e.g. mat, map, sat. 

4.      Gradually introduce more common consonant letter sounds like r, f, g and another vowel (o). Keep making sure words are sounded out and make sense.

5.      Introduce a few irregular words like ‘the’ and ‘she.’ Explain how inconsistent English spelling is.

6.      Begin to make up simple sentences for Jo to read. It is best if these eventually come from Jo’s own experience e.g. an account of a day trip he has been on or sentences about his work. Point out full stops.

7.      Cut the words of these sentences up – or individual letters in words - and get him to put them in the correct order.

8.      Gradually introduce less common consonants sounds and another vowel. (Vowels are the hardest sounds to learn.)

9.      Quite naturally you will find yourself introducing 4 letter regular words like ‘slap’ or ‘from.’

10.  One-by-one introduce all the consonant and vowels. Don’t introduce new sounds and patterns until Jo has really learned the ones he is already working on.

11.  Go over the things Jo learned last week at the beginning of each session.

12.  Bring fun into learning: e.g. play snap using the words Jo has learned.

13.  Use real adult everyday things for Jo to read e.g. NHS leaflets, newspaper adverts, maps. Searching for places or objects of special interest for Jo on the internet can be fun. Don’t use school resources if they look like ‘kid’s stuff ’ – this can be humiliating.

14.  Encourage Jo to practise at home. It won’t work unless he does.

15.   End every lesson on a positive note.

Watch out for third blog: 'Teaching Jo to read and write' (a few days)

Helping Jo to read and write (1)

Heart In The Write Place (see Jesus Life: issue 89)

Helping Jo to read and write (1) 

OK, Jo comes into your organisation, probably a little shuffling and shy, tells you he’s missed much of school through truancy, got behind and never caught up.  Teachers didn’t seem to like him anyway and he often felt shown up in front of his mates because he couldn’t read. Apart from his name, he can’t write at all but can read a little.  What do you do…?

Well, here’s a little introduction in three parts.. not much more. I hope it’s helpful. I do welcome all comments to improve these blogs! – Either below or email julia.faire@yahoo.com    Particularly welcome are any ideas for games or fun and practical activities. After all, let’s enjoy what we do – if we do, the chances are Jo will as well! Here goes ……

Introduce yourself, say how much you enjoy helping people to read and you are really happy (not too over the top) to lend a hand

Have a conversation about his skills – listen - empathise – assess. Ask leading but unthreatening questions.

IF YOU LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND at this stage you are on the road to success already! Feeling misunderstood, dismissed or put down by teachers in early life is often the point where things in Jo’s life have gone badly wrong. From the start try to understand and turn around any negative input Jo has had over the years. Particularly be quick to show he has ability and intelligence and any downward trends in his life can be reversed.

Never sound shocked or surprised at Jo’s lack of skills

Find out why Jo wants to improve his skills and what he needs to know for his everyday life e.g. if he is a cleaner can he read ‘toxic’ or ‘poison?’ If he is looking for a job, can he understand words on forms like ‘name’, ‘address?’

Don’t give false expectations – there are no short fixes – tell him learning to read and write takes time. 

Encourage him from the beginning to stick at it, practise at home and come each week – the effort will be immensely worthwhile. 

     Offer 1-1 help for a few weeks but tell Jo that after a while he will learn in a group (this all depends on how many helpers you have.) 

Next week's post: part 2 of helping Jo to read and write