VITAL is a service ofMonroe County Public Library

Volunteers in Tutoring Adult Learners

NEWSWinter 2013

StaffBethany Terry, CoordinatorJacqueline Lovings, VITAL AssistantAudra Loudenbarger, ClerkEmily Wong Loi Sing, Work-study Advocacy CouncilSarah BowmanJohn CashDarci HawxhurstChris JacksonBrad HoggattRob MoorePeggy NelsonAnabel Newman

Contact Usv. 812.349.3173e. vital@mcpl.infowww.mcpl.info/vital

The VITAL Advocacy Council The Council is made up of library staff and community members whose knowledge and expertise provide us with important connections to the community. They serve as VITAL ambassadors and assist with event planning and outreach.

Byron Naum: VITAL Volunteer of the Year

Congratulations to Byron for being honored with the Newman Volunteer of the Year Award at VITAL’s winter party. Byron has tutored 16 learners over his four years with VITAL, and

is currently working with four learners. Using Skype, he has continued to help some of his learners after they have returned to their homelands. He is so admired that learners often tell others to ask for him specifically as their tutor.

VITAL Winter Party:Celebrating and Looking AheadOver 80 tutors, learners, and supporters came together at our year-end party in December to enjoy a buffet lunch, door prizes, and camaraderie. The partygoers also celebrated VITAL’s many accomplishments in 2012. By the numbers, these are: 184 learners (a 35% increase from 2011), 374 ESL conversation participants, 16 attendees at the new Bloomington Writing Project classes; and 69 new tutors (almost double the number trained in 2011). Yet, for every learner served, there are 80 more that lack the literacy skills they need. We want to reach them.

7-9:30 p.m., April 15-18Library Auditorium and live on CATS TVYou can help make literacy the real winner in this year’s 30th anniversary Quiz Bowl, our Jeopardy-style trivia contest. Last year’s event raised $6,565 for VITAL through sponsorships, donations, and team fees. Let’s top that. Help us spread the word. Here are ways to participate:• Form a Quiz Bowl Team of four (friends,

family members, or co-workers).• Make a donation to VITAL.• Sign up to be backstage volunteer.• Come cheer on the teams.

Tell your trivia-loving friends to give VITAL a call.

NONPROFITU.S. Postage

P A I DPermit No. 307Bloomington, IN

Monroe County Public Library303 East Kirkwood Avenue Bloomington, IN 47408-3534

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

New TutorsRyan BeanLois BrownBranden BryanDan CassidyBianca DavilaSarah DeesKelsey DeWittBeverly EnslowAugust EvansAllison Field-BellMary Beth FleegerShelley FymanMolly GleesonMarilia HagenVeronica Herndon

Thanks to our donors!(since July 2012)

Robert KlausmeierTheodore DeppeJames H. PottsTrinity Episcopal Church

Please consider VITAL in your charitable giving plans.

Thanks to all our tutors and volunteers!Our learners, their families, and our community benefit from your generosity.

Jessica HollingsworthJoshua JarvisGretchen KennyEmily MetallicSara MurrayHaley NausMaha NoureldinElizabeth OgleSunyoung ParkMarcela PoffaldElaine RistinenXuejin ‘Sherry’ RuanBobbi ShankKim SimmonsStephanie StewartPaula Sunderman

David SzonyiSaurabh ThosarJudylee WhitakerYvonne Wittmann

Continuing Tutors Amal AltomaEsther May AngPat AungstAmber BaumgardnerCarole BaynesDon BevisSuparna BoseGabriela CepedaCooper ChildersRuth CohenAlexander CookmanJacqueline DannerDoug DavisMary DePewShaina DexterPanagiota DoukasDavid DunnKathleen DurkelValentyna FilimonovaBarbara Fisher

Laura GottliebSally HarveyDarci HawxhurstMartha HeldChristopher HoakSara Hoskinson FrommerKenneth HowardDawn JacquardBob KlausmeierJuelci KlotzSusan LaurieKatie LawrenceJohn LawsonConsuelo Lopez- MorillasEmmy MalinovskyShalimar ManwaniPhyllis MartinAntonia MatthewGregory MayChristine MissikWilliam MorrisByron NaumDiana Nixon

Edith OverleaseValerie OwensEmilia PackardNazareth PantaloniRandy PaulJoe PaurazasMarilyn PerlmutterAllie QuintanoEnid RichardsRuth RichardsonPaul RipleyLinda RippergerClaire RivronAnn RobinsAddison RogersMary Kathryne RyanSpring RydingKatie SaurElizabeth SchlemmerNancy SchmidtCorinne SereniWilliam SmithValerie SommerLinda StewartMarilyn Stockton

Mary StrowCurtis SwedranRuth TehGuan Chye TehMary Anne WardSusan WelsandJune WickboldtDorothy WilsonSarah WithersMarian Young

VolunteersColin Freeman-DayYen Yen GaoJacqueline KossmannHelen LiuGreg May Joe PaurazasKaren FranksTerri ShawBrad Hoggat

VITAL Views In the VITAL Collection

VITAL Cookbook Project

Our Updated VITAL Web Page

Tutor Training Beyond the VITAL Collection

Building a Chicken Coopby Dan Bixler

I went and got the boards to start building the chicken coop. I used native lumber from an old barn so the thickness varied by 1 to 1 ½ inches. It was hard to build at first. I had to figure out how to fit the uneven pieces together. And I had to figure out how to make the bowed planks straight so that I could nail them down. First I framed it up. Then I put in the corner posts and the floor, and the side sills. Then I put in the rafters for the roof, and put one side on. Next I put on one of the long sides. I put up the rest of the walls and built the nesting boxes. Last of all, I put in the doors. On one end, there’s a door that I can go in by. On the other end, there’s a loose board that flops down to make a space for the chickens to go in and out. A friend came over and sprayed all the wood and made it waterproof. Then I finished the roof. I covered the roof with tin from the old barn. I built this chicken coop for about $100. If I had bought one, it would have cost a lot more.

We’re putting together a cookbook and need learners’ recipes and food memories to include. Tutors, you might want to make an LEA story the subject of your next tutoring session. Try one of these starters:

“My favorite food from childhood is…”

“My favorite recipe is…”

“On special occasions I make/eat… “

“The first time I tried to make this dish …”

Looking for just the right mathematics homework or a worksheet for studying adjectives? Need some pronunciation activities or wondering about the most commonly used English words? The VITAL desk has bookmarks that list materials by:

• Exam prep: Pre-GED and *GED, *ASVAB, *CDL, and more

• Life Skills: Automobile skills, map reading, healthcare, financial literacy…

• Quick picks: Reproducible lessons, homework and worksheets

• Books with lots of pictures: From beginning level readers with one line of text on each page to graphic novels featuring *SAT vocabulary

• Magazine-like: High interest/low reading level materials in a magazine like format with lots of graphics. Some include comprehension questions and practice exercises.

• Great Literary Classics: Novels adapted for a variety of reading levels; they range from 47 to 238 pages

*ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery); CDL (Commercial Drivers’ License); ESL (English as a Second Language); GED—General Education Degree (High School Equivalency Exam); SAT (Scholastic Achievement Test)

Tutor Tip: Do you sometimes get lost in the alphabet soup of literacy acronyms? Imagine what a new reader experiences trying to decipher an unknown word or passage. At www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/readingdiffs.html you can find out firsthand what decoding difficulty feels like and read up on strategies that can help.

www.mcpl.info/vitalIt’s easier to find tutor training descriptions, an online tutor application and registration form, tutor training calendar, and information for referring adult learners to VITAL. We’ve also reorganized our content: Tutoring Resources includes preformatted searches for specific interest areas (lesson planning, techniques for tutoring, etc); OnlineTeaching Resources are organized by subject categories. Links to other education organizations have been enhanced. See what’s new!

Looking for something to spice up your tutor sessions? The VITAL office has: flashcards, manipulatives, magnetic letters, and educational games such as Scrabble, Bananagrams, and Boggle. There also are free materials and consumables, including math workbooks, language arts workbooks, pre-GED workbooks, and more.

Using a Learner’s WordsDan Bixler agreed to share his story as an example of the Language Experience Approach (LEA), which draws upon a student’s own experiences. The learner tells a story, the tutor writes it down and develops learning activities that use the learner’s own language. This technique combines speaking, listening, reading and writing and can also be used in groups. It shows that words on paper are really just “talk written down.”

For more on how to use LEA, see Teaching Adults: A Literacy Resource (374.0124 Tea) in the VITAL collection, or visit http://literacyconnections.com/InTheirOwnWords.php

BLT=Basic Literacy Tutor TrainingESL=English as a Second Language

FEBRUARY February 23 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. BLT Training Session 1 of 4 February 24 12:30-3:30 p.m. BLT Training Session 2 of 4

MARCHMarch 2 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. BLT Training Session 3 of 4 March 4-8 ESL Conversation Group Spring RegistrationMarch 5 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tutor Help Session: Instructional TechnologiesMarch 9 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ESL Tutor Training Session 1 of 2March 17-May 11 ESL Conversation Group Spring March 21 6-8 p.m. Job Search @ Your LibraryMarch 31 Library CLOSED for Spring Holiday

APRILApril 7 12:30-2:30 p.m. BLT Training Session 4 of 4April 15-18 7-9 p.m. 30th Annual VITAL QUIZ BOWLApril 18 6-8 p.m. Job Search @ Your Library April 27 12:30-2:30 p.m. ESL Tutor Training Session 2 of 2

MAYMay 19-25 ESL Conversation Group Summer registrationMay 26-July 20 ESL Conversation Group SummerMay 16 6-8 p.m. Job Search @ Your LibraryMay 27th Library CLOSED for Memorial Day

JUNEJune 20 6-8 p.m. Job Search @ Your Library

VITAL 2013 Calendar, February-June

Conversation Practice Groups for English Language Learners Conversation Groups are open to all ESL learners at an intermediate or above level. Please encourage learners wanting additional conversation practice, to sign up. Groups meet for 1 1/2 hours once a week for eight weeks.

Technology TipsWe live in the Digital Age. Whether you are working on spelling or the history of the United States, there are technology and online resources to help you. Through the library you can access a wide range of online learning tools and computer classes for the techsavvy and for the first-time computer user.

Computer ClassesThe library offers free computer classes on a variety of topics, including Computer Basics, Typing Basics, Microsoft Word for Beginners and more. To sign up for classes email webclasses@mcpl.info, call 349-3228 or stop by a library information desk. See VITAL staff for registration.

English Language Learning Improvement Service (ELLIS)This digital learning curriculum supports English language learners, giving them additional practice in listening, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. It is a self-paced program that can be used anywhere there is Internet access. See VITAL staff for registration.

Instruction Targeted for TABE Success (ITTS)This online program can be accessed anywhere there is Internet access. It offers individualized instruction in reading, math and language. You can use it with your learner in tutoring sessions or for extra practice at home. How do we become better readers? Practice, practice, practice.

MangoThis online language learning system is FREE to use with an MCPL library card. Want to learn another language? Mango offers courses in more than 30 languages for English speakers. Does your learner need extra practice? Mango provides English (ESL) instruction using the learner’s native language (includes over 15 languages). Go to http://mcpl.info and select “Services” to set up your free Mango account.

VITAL LaptopsYou can use one of our laptops for your tutoring session. Stop by the VITAL Office to let us know you are interested. Visit http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/vital/other-literacy-sites for online tutor resources.

Worldwide Interactive Network (WIN)Your learner can get additional reading, writing, and math practice with this easy to use online tool. WIN helps build foundational skills for employment, including applied math, reading for information and locating information. See VITAL staff for registration.

TUTOR TECHNOLOGY HELP SESSIONNot sure where to start with these tech resources? Join us for the tutor help session from 6:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 5, Room 2C, second floor. We’ll introduce you to using these programs with your learner. Sign up in the VITAL Office.