Literacy BC Resource Centre

New Resources & Reviews

Thanks to our guest reviewers, Sandrina Harwood, Community Literacy Coordinator in Dawson Creek, and Robert Melrose, librarian at the Down Syndrome Research Foundation.

Web site for ESL students
Sandrina Harwood writes: “I would like to share a fun site I discovered a short while ago www.freerice.com. Some of the ESL students have found it very useful for building vocabulary and really enjoy the fact that they are contributing (through the United Nations) to helping to feed people around the world. A win-win situation.”

Literacy skills for students with Down syndrome
Literacy Activities Handbook: Supporting Literacy for People with Intellectual / Developmental Challenges (2001, Saskatchewan Association of Rehabilitation Centres)
http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/sarc/cover.htm (or borrow from Literacy BC)
Excerpt (the complete review will be available on the ELMO Reviews Web site).
“Prior to 1978, it was generally held that a person with Down syndrome would never learn to read. Flash forward to the 21st century and it is now the normative belief that children with Down syndrome CAN learn to read. This is an excellent resource to have for teaching literacy skills to students with Down syndrome. A great strength of the book its practical approach for novice or experienced instructors. It provides a good framework of the essential areas of literacy, reading, writing, numeracy (currency), and decoding (phonics) and the skills to use for teaching students with intellectual challenges. Both novice and experienced teachers will appreciate the student centered focus of the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has or will be teaching literacy skills to students with intellectual challenges and who needs the necessary tools to hit the ground running.”

Literacy in BC
Read a concise summary of literacy activities in BC provided by the Ministry of Education's EdInfo Digest, special edition #2 (February 8, 2008) at http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/edinfo/archives/volume7/special_edition2.pdf.

Aboriginal Family Literacy
The BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres supports the provision of family literacy programming among aboriginal and literacy social service providers. They also increase access to aboriginal-focused approaches and resources, and promote family literacy in BC. Learn more at http://www.bcaafc.com/content/view/24/273/ or contact Vanessa Boylan at vboylan@bcaafc.com to sign up for their newsletter.

Online Repository of Workplace Literacy Materials
NALD@Work is Canada's digital library containing program models, teaching and learning materials, assessment tools, research documents and much more, all on the subject of workplace and essential skills. Visit the web site at http://www.naldatwork.ca/.

Canadian Literacy Research Directory is Back
After a break from September 2005, this online directory of Canadian literacy research is back in operation. Be sure to send published or in progress research to Kirstie Blackmore at kblackmo@ualberta.ca. To view the directory, go to http://www.nald.ca/crd/.

RiPAL-BC Web Site Updated
The BC Research in Practice in Adult Literacy web site has been updated with new project information. Latest additions include From the Ground Up, Toward a ‘Whole-Life’ Approach: Addressing Learning Disabilities in Adult Literacy Settings,” and “Connecting the Dots.” View the web site at http://ripal.literacy.bc.ca.

ESI: Essential Skills Investigation [DVD], 15 minutes, 2007. Essential Skills Guiding Team of the BC/Yukon AHRDA Region.; Bear Image Production.; BC/Yukon : Sto:lo Nation human resources development.
"ESI Agents are on a mission: To solve this deadly puzzle. What really happened to popular local Vancouver sports-caster, William Flynn? Why did dinner lead to disaster? …” Join in with the investigators as they explore the nine Essential Skills: Reading Text, Document Use, Numeracy, Writing, Oral Communication, Working with Others, Thinking Skills, Computer Use and Continuous Learning to determine the guilty party!" Borrow this DVD from the Literacy BC Resource Centre.

To see a full listing of new resources to borrow, visit http://www2.literacy.bc.ca/resourcs/newresc/reswin08.htm.