ABOUT READING 1

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

The focus is on applied reading skills -- on the skills needed to use real-world print materials in the context of their various roles. This approach follows the direction set by studies such as the SCANS report (What Work Requires of Schools: A SCANS Report for America 2000, 1991, U.S. Department of Labor), the recent Educational Testing Service/Department of Labor report Beyond the School Doors, and by tests of applied skills, such as CASAS (Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System) and the ETS Tests of Applied Literacy Skills.

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

Reading 1 is appropriate for libraries, community colleges, vocational schools, basic education programs, correctional facilities, alternative schools, workplace education programs, and basic skills programs in other settings.

Part 1 -- Practical Reading

The first 12 of the 28 books focus on highly functional reading tasks clustered in several topic areas. Over the 12 books, users read excerpts from documents related to housing, over-the-counter medicines, foods, health, safety, job search, credit, etc. Many of the documents are the kind that we generally use when we want very 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. The instruction tends 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 books contain headings, bold letters, bullets, or other aids for the reader.

Part 2 -- General Reading

The middle eight books focus on reading that is less "functiona I" tban that of Part 1, though much of the reading is about topics similar to those in the first 12 books. Users read prose passages excerpted from newspaper articles, maga zine articles, pamphlets, brochures, and public information sheets about health, consumer issues, personal safety, current affairs, etc. Users are typically asked to locate information, interpret information, draw inferences, and apply ideas or information 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 prose passages are generally straightforward and short, but have fewer aids for the reader in terms of headings, bullets, and other formatting features.

Part 3 -- Literature

The last eight books focus on reading fiction and nonfiction for enjoyment and understanding. The reading selections are primarily from American writers, most of them twentieth century or contemporary. Users are asked to locate specific details; to interpret basic information about characters, narrators, the setting, or the action; and to draw simple inferences from descriptions of characters, descriptions of 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 are typically longer. These features make Part 3 an excellent transitional curriculum for learners who expect to continue working on their skills in Reading 2 or some other, higher level course of study.

The Video Component

Reading 1 utilizes a KET program, Another Page. The segments present 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

28 multimedia books composed of three chapters each

Hundreds of screens of instruction that blend information in text, graphics, and segments of instructional video

Hours of instructional video incorporated within the 28 books

Hundreds of test questions and interactive exercise questions with feedback

Online tools:     calculator   
                  English dictionary with Spanish translation
                  thesaurus
                  instructional text narration

Automatic record keeping of test and exercise scores as well as time in books

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN READING 1

Book 1 - Product Labels
Locate information on food, drug, and household product labels.
Comprehend information from product labels and print materials about them.
Apply information from product labels and charts to specific situations.
Book 2 - Housing
Locate information in print materials associated with housing.
Comprehend information in print materials associated with housing.
Apply information from these kinds of materials to specific situations.
Book 3 - Services in the Community
Interpret words from print materials about services for individuals and families.
Interpret statements used in these kinds of materials.
Apply information from these kinds of materials to specific situations.
Book 4 - Looking for Work
Interpret want ads and other sources of information about jobs.
Infer information from want ads, job descriptions, and other job search materials.
Interpret words and statements from application forms, resumes, etc.
Book 5 - Food and Home
Find basic information embedded in instructions for using products, preparing foods, and completing household projects.
Interpret statements in instructions about sequence and choices.
Apply information from a set of instructions to a specific situation.
Book 6 - Personal Health
Recognize the meaning of key terms used to discuss health and medical issues.
Interpret statements about health in terms of causes, effects, and contributing factors.
Apply information about health to specific situations.
Book 7 - Advertising
Interpret information in print ads and product information.
Locate and identify information in print warranties, guarantees, and service contracts.
Interpret information from these kinds of print materials.
Book 8 - Home Safety
Draw inferences about home security from brief news accounts.
Determine the main point of a short passage about factors contributing to home security.
Draw inferences from passages about factors contributing to home safety.
Book 9 - Travel
Locate and pull information from materials with basic travel information.
Locate and pull information from building guides, road maps, and street maps.
Apply information from any of these materials to specific situations.
Book 10 - Reference Materials and Resources
Locate information in dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Locate information in reference systems within books.
Find information about sources from library catalogs and guides to periodicals.
Book 11 - Consumer Credit
Recognize stated or implied relationships in print materials about consumer credit.
Find and interpret information from disclosure charts, monthly statements, and other credit-related documents.
Apply information from credit documents to specific situations.
Book 12 - Important Forms
Locate the place on a form for specific information and recognize when specific information is not required.
Understand words, terms, or statements on a form from the context.
Interpret information from a completed form.
Book 13 - Human Behavior
Interpret passages from articles that generalize about human behavior.
Interpret statements about remedies or suggestions from articles about human behavior.
Compare information and generalize from case studies of human behavior.
Book 14 - Common Accidents
Interpret cause and effect relationships in articles about common accidents.
Draw or recognize inferences concerning prevention.
Apply information about accident prevention and remedies to specific situations.
Book 15 - Personal Safety
Recognize the main idea in a passage about personal safety.
Recognize the main idea in charts, graphs, and paragraphs with statistics about personal safety.
Interpret relevant or supporting details from passages, charts, and graphs on personal safety.
Book 16 - Pursuing Your Interests
Define difficult or unfamiliar words in paragraphs from definitions, examples, or contrasting statements.
Recognize points of comparison and contrast in descriptions of people or things.
Define difficult or unfamiliar words from the larger context of a passage.
Book 17 - Voices in Print
Recognize the point of view and the voices within a newspaper article.
Rephrase the "problem" and the "solution" that are the main points of an opinion piece.
Restate the support an author provides for his/her main point in an opinion piece.
Book 18 - Anecdotes, Fables, and Examples
Draw inferences from the details within an anecdote,fable, or extended example.
Identify details that support an interpretation of an anecdote, fable, or short article.
Draw inferences from an anecdote, fable, or short article taken as a whole.
Book 19 - News Articles and Opinion Pieces
Distinguish statements of facts from statements of opinions in articles that quote several sources.
Interpret a statement about cause, effect, or consequences.
Identify the main point of an argument in a short article and identify supporting points.
Book 20 - Scams and Frauds
Find or infer the main idea in articles about frauds, scams, and consumer issues.
Locate and restate specific information in these kinds of articles.
Apply information to specific situations.
Book 21 - Stories
Identify details about characters in a story.
Identify details about when and where a scene takes place.
Identify details about what happens in a scene.
Book 22 - The Narrator
Identify characteristics of the narrator and point of view from a specific passage.
Rephrase or restate what the narrator shows or tells the reader.
Draw inferences from what the narrator does and does not say from tone and style.
Book 23 - Literature
Infer information about characters and situations in a story.
Infer information about characters and events from dialogue.
Recognize details from a scene that support statements about characters, events, and relationships.
Book 24 - Language Enrichment
Distinguish between literal and figurative language.
Recognize metaphor, simile, and literal comparisons.
Infer meaning from passages that use figurative language.
Book 25 - Figurative Language
Restate what is being compared in a figurative comparison.
State the main idea of a passage containing a figurative comparison.
Infer meaning from passages with figurative comparisons.
Book 26 - A Writer's Moves
Find relevant details about a character, scene, or situation.
Infer relationships among characters and situations.
Define difficult words, terms, or symbols from the context.
Book 27 - Interpretation
Identify basic features of a work in terms of the tone, style, and voices within it.
Compare and contrast characters and scenes.
Restate ideas directly stated or implied in a scene.
Book 28 - Putting It All Together
Analyze passages in terms of narrator, character, dialogue, action, setting, tone, and style.