Creating Learning Partners: A facilitator’s guide for training effective adult literacy tutors

Section 1 (optional activity)

Spelling Awareness

Activity A

Icebreaker – letter scramble

Have a bit of fun with this version of scrambled words. You can use this to focus on the correct ordering of letters that spelling requires. It will also help participants to learn other tutors’ names.

Why choose this activity?

This is an effective opening activity because it is active, it incorporates humour – most likely! – and it doesn’t put any one person on the spot.

Unscrambling words
Materials and equipment Letter-sized pieces of paper Marker Tutors as letter holders Name tags Preparation Pick two words that tutors will spell together. If you have a large group, pick more words. Choose the words you will use by thinking about the following points: You might want words that represent a literacy topic such as learning or styles. The words should be words that tutors know. The words should be long enough that it will take about half the participants, holding up one letter each, to spell each word. Put each letter of each word on a letter-sized sheet of paper or poster board. Print the letters so they are large. The letters will be held up at the front of the workshop space and all participants must be able to see them. If tutors don’t know each other, it would be useful to have them wear name tags. STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS Let tutors know that this activity will explore the process of spelling and the challenges that people face when trying to spell. Ask for volunteers from among the participants but also let them know that the whole group will be working on this activity (so tutors don’t feel put on the spot). Hand out the letter pages to the volunteers and have them stand in the front of the workshop space in a line so the rest of the tutors can see each letter.

Unscrambling words

Materials and equipment

Letter-sized pieces of paper
Marker
Tutors as letter holders
Name tags

Preparation

Pick two words that tutors will spell together. If you have a large group, pick more words.

Choose the words you will use by thinking about the following points:

You might want words that represent a literacy topic such as learning or styles.
The words should be words that tutors know.
The words should be long enough that it will take about half the participants, holding up one letter each, to spell each word.

Put each letter of each word on a letter-sized sheet of paper or poster board. Print the letters so they are large. The letters will be held up at the front of the workshop space and all participants must be able to see them.

If tutors don’t know each other, it would be useful to have them wear name tags.

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

Let tutors know that this activity will explore the process of spelling and the challenges that people face when trying to spell.
Ask for volunteers from among the participants but also let them know that the whole group will be working on this activity (so tutors don’t feel put on the spot).
Hand out the letter pages to the volunteers and have them stand in the front of the workshop space in a line so the rest of the tutors can see each letter.

Facilitation tip

You could invite people to work together to try to unscramble the letters so that tutors connect with one another.

Variation

If you have a small group, just place the letters on a table and have tutors work together on unscrambling the word.