Adult Basic Education & ESL Resources - Grass Roots Press

Assessment
Diagnostic Adult Literacy Assessment
for Beginning Readers (DALA)
Dr. Pat Campbell
DALA is a user-friendly assessment, specifically
designed to assess the literacy skills of very beginning
readers. The primary purposes of DALA are to inform
instruction and measure progress. The ten subtests
provide diagnostic information that allows you to
identify areas of strength and weakness. You can use
this information to create an individual profile of and
plan effective lessons for each student. The subtests
measure a student’s knowledge of print concepts and
conventions, text functions, environmental print,
high-frequency words, phonics, and letter names. In
addition, the subtests measure the student’s level of
phonemic awareness and his/her ability to engage in
common literacy activities.
DALA
• provides opportunities for student and
assessor to interact
• is grounded in cognitive and social practice theories
• uses relevant and authentic tasks and texts
• reflects the reading development process
• is comprehensive and flexible
• is administered one-on-one
• informs instruction
• is non-threatening
• is sensitive to bias
The tool kit includes a DVD that demonstrates how
to administer DALA’s subtests and how to teach
beginning readers, using effective strategies such
as language experience, duet reading, phonics, and
phonemic awareness. Teaching Beginning Readers
provides approaches, strategies, and sample lesson
plans that can be photocopied.
“The author has grounded her understanding of literacy
and its acquisition in a broader lens of literacy than
is currently seen in adult literacy assessments. She
has acknowledged that learning to read and write
requires both cognitive skill learning and a sociocultural
understanding that literacy functions to mediate the
lives of the learners in critical ways.”
–Dr. Victoria Purcell-Gates,
The University of British Columbia
“I love the manual. I was excited to see all the activities
that I recommend to tutors explained simply and
clearly in one space, along with some more great ideas.”
–Avril Lewis, Tutor Educator
DALA Tool Kit Components:
• Activity Book (contains subtests)
• Photo Story
• DVD (45 minutes)
• Alphabet Card Deck
• 25 Examiner Record Booklets
• Teaching Beginning Readers Manual
TITLe ORdeR # ISBN CdN PRICe US PRICe
DALA Tool Kit 4-3334 978-1-926583-12-9 $195.95 $195.95
Teaching Beginning Readers (additional copy) 4-3342 978-1-926583-13-6 $19.95 $19.95
Examiner Record Booklets (additional set of 25) 4-3343 N/A $59.95 $59.95
32 Order online at www.grassrootsbooks.net
Order by fax at 1-780-413-6582