Reading 1

Reading 1 is an interactive, multimedia reading program.  Designed for ease of use, the program is open-ended and user-centered.

 

The focus is on applied reading skills – the skills individuals need to use in the “real world.”  This approach follows the direction set by nationally acclaimed studies and applied skills tests such as:

The program begins with straightforward, simple reading tasks using short and relatively simple, common documents.  Book 1, for example, begins with locating specific information on food over-the-counter medicine labels.  As the program progresses, the complexity of the tasks and documents increase.  The 28 lessons move from finding, understanding, and using information from short, highly functional documents to finding, understanding and inferring information from newspaper articles, editorials, and short stories.

 

Part 1 – Practical Reading 

 

The first 12 of the 28 lessons focus on highly functional reading tasks clustered in several topic areas.  Over the 12 lessons users read excerpts from documents related to housing, over-the-counter medicines, foods, health, safety, job search, and credit.  Many of the documents are those used when an individual requires specific pieces of information.  In other words, the purpose for reading is clear, the documents are familiar, and the reading task is not complex in nature.  These lessons tend to require locating discrete pieces of information, understanding or interpreting them, and applying them to a given situation.  Many of the documents and passages in the lessons contain headings, bold letters, bulleting, or other aides to the reader.  

 

Part 2 – General Reading  

 

Lessons 13 – 20 focus on reading that is less “functional” than that of Part 1, though much of the reading focuses on topics similar to those in the first 12 lessons.  Users read passages excerpted from newspaper articles, magazine articles, pamphlets, brochures, and public information sheets about health, consumer issues, personal safety and current affairs.  Users are typically asked to locate and interpret information, draw inferences, and apply ideas to specific situations.  The user begins to step back from some of the materials to identify competing ideas and points of view that come from the writer and the sources the writer describes or quotes.  The passages are generally straightforward and short, but have fewer aids for the reader in terms of headings, bulleting, and other formatting features.

 

Part 3 – Literature

 

The last eight lessons focus on reading fiction and non-fiction for enjoyment and understanding. The reading selections are primarily from American writers, most are twentieth century or contemporary.  Users are asked to locate specific details; to interpret basic information about characters, narrators, the setting, or the action, and scenes that rely on dialogue.  The major difference in Part 3 is that the user is asked to take a bigger step back from the print material to consider the roles of the reader, the writer, the narrator, and the characters in a story.  Excerpts in Part 3 an excellent transitional curriculum for individuals who expect to continue working on their skills in Reading 2.  

 

The Video Component  

 

Reading 1 utilizes the Learning 2000 multimedia, interactive teaching platform and incorporates the KET program, Another Page.  The segments model reading in the context of human situations featuring well-known actors and well-written scripts that keep scenarios plausible and interesting for the learner. 

 

The Multimedia Components

Reading 1 - Click on a book for a detailed description of its contents
Book 1 - Product Labels 
Book 2 - Housing 
Book 3 - Community Services 
Book 4 - Looking for Work 
Book 5 - Food and Home 
Book 6 - Personal Health 
Book 7 - Advertising 
Book 8 - Home Safety 
Book 9 - Travel 
Book 10 - Reference Materials and Resources 
Book 11 - Credit 
Book 12 - Forms 
Book 13 - Human Behavior 
Book 14 - Accidents 
Book 15 - Personal Safety 
Book 16 - General Interest Articles 
Book 17 - General Interest Articles 
Book 18 - News Articles and Opinion Pieces 
Book 19 - News Articles and Opinion Pieces 
Book 20 - Consumer Articles Fraud and Scams 
Book 21 - Fiction 
Book 22 - Fiction, Biographies, and Autobiographies 
Book 23 - Fiction 
Book 24 - Fiction and Nonfiction 
Book 25 - Fiction and Nonfiction 
Book 26 - Fiction 
Book 27 - Fiction 
Book 28 - Fiction and Nonfiction - Review 

 

To download the full Algebra 1 scope and sequence in MS Word format.  Right click and choose save as: Reading1.doc 401kb