Adult Literacy Core Curriculum - Nationally developed Skills for Life ...

Sample activities
• In pairs, read a letter to the editor in a local or national newspaper. Share ideas and make
notes on points for a reply in support or disagreement. Each draft a reply. Compare content and
structure and adjust their own draft if necessary.
• Using a context from their own experience, plan and draft an A4 news-sheet (e.g. to a
playgroup parents’ group, local political party, staff social club). Discuss the content, level of
detail, the best way to organise the contents in the space available. Make a first draft on
paper or screen; try out on other learners.
• Plan and draft a poem or short story for their own pleasure or as the basis for a contribution to
an adult learners’ anthology.
• In the context of researching and organising a group debate/formal discussion, plan, draft and
write a speech to present to the group.
• In a group, use case studies with supporting material as necessary, to discuss, make decisions,
and write notes on the length and level of detail required in different pieces of writing. Each
person then writes one text in full. Circulate all texts round the group and edit as necessary to
get right length and level of detail, e.g.: a letter to an official body in reply to one from them (to a
bank about an overdraft/to the Benefits Agency about a claim); the text of a presentation to a
group of enthusiasts on a topic of interest; a light-hearted account of a ‘week in the life of an
adult learner’ for a centre magazine; a column along the lines of the Guardian’s ‘Pass Notes’ on a
famous person; an entry for a local guide book on an interesting walk.
• After reading about and discussing a local
issue, write a short speech to be read out
as part of a ‘mini-debate’ on the subject
(e.g. whether a local school should close,
whether a supermarket chain should be
given planning permission to build in the
neighbourhood).
• Think up ideas for a pie-in-the-sky
proposition (e.g. Live Premier League
football should return to terrestrial TV;
the Sun should abolish ‘Page 3’; all
teenagers should tidy up after
themselves). In a pair, plan and draft a
defence of the proposition, structuring
and organising points with supporting
evidence, linking points appropriately, to
convince the parties involved of the logic
of the argument.
Writing
Using a word processor
The whole writing process
The word processor is potentially a useful tool to help learner writers, and
there is evidence that it can be a strong motivator. It can be used for the
whole writing process – planning, drafting, composing, editing and proofreading
– not merely as a typewriter for copying out a final neat version.
Word-processing skills
To make effective use of a word processor as part of a literacy programme,
learners need some basic word-processing skills; otherwise, it can be simply
another source of frustration. The most limiting factor is usually
unfamiliarity with a keyboard. This has to be overcome to use a word
processor for composition and hence for entering text. On the other hand,
learners can become familiar with basic word-processing facilities by using
a mouse on text provided, at a level suitable for their reading skills.
Teaching and learning intentions
Learning how to insert and delete letters and words, use the shift key for
capitals, highlight, cut and paste, copy, drag and drop can give people a
sense of the word processor’s power and an idea of how they might use it
in their own writing. These facilities can lead to a word processor being
used simply as a form of electronic worksheet. It is important, as with any
classroom activity, but especially when IT is involved, to be absolutely
clear about the teaching and learning intentions when asking learners to
use a word processor. It is easy to confuse developing word-processing
skills with developing literacy skills.
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