This technique is used to help learners deal with print that surrounds us daily. The tutor and learner work with familiar materials and those likely to be encountered on a regular basis:
| Skill needed | Suggested activities |
|---|---|
| Learning words | Identify brand names of familiar products using pictures from flyers,
newspaper ads, magazines, labels and so on. Print the names and match to the pictures. |
| Finding specific information | Give the learner a piece of information to find and ask him to find it in the print. For example: “How many tablets should an adult take at one time?” |
| Comparing information | Have the learner compare costs of items from flyers from different stores. |
| Analyzing information | Have the learner compare ingredients, nutritional information, calories and prices of a variety of breakfast cereals, and then decide which is the best value for himself or his family. |
| Following directions | Have the learner read and follow directions to make or assemble something. |
| Evaluating information (critical thinking) |
Have the learner read an advertisement in a magazine or discuss a TV commercial you have seen and discover the ways words and pictures are used to persuade the consumer to buy the product. |
| Reading charts and graphs | Have the learner use a bus schedule to plan a bus trip from one point in Canada to another, noting times of departure and arrival. Note any transfers that must be made and the cities in which the bus will stop on the way. |
| Interpreting symbols, slogans, slang and popular terms | Discuss political cartoons from the daily newspaper. |
Red Deer Adult Literacy Program tutor handbook. (n.d.). Red Deer, Alberta: Red Deer Public Library. Used with permission.
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