Literacy and Homelessness Project
St. Christopher House Literacy Program / The Meeting Place Drop-In
248 Ossington Avenue, Toronto

Literacy Training for Drop-in, Shelter, and Community Workers

Training Outline*

Week 1. Thursday, March 7, 1996. 3 - 5:30 PM

• What is literacy? What is literacy in the context of homelessness?
• Critically rethinking literacy
• Learning Styles & Adult Learning
• Models of literacy work in drop-ins and shelters

Week 2. Thursday, March 14, 1996. 3 - 5:30 PM

• Models of drop-in literacy (Part II)
• Report back: a) Drop-in and Community Workers b) Shelter Workers
• Reading and Reading Theory
• The Language Experience Approach
• The Language Experience Approach in Shelters and Drop-ins
• Supporting student writing
• Transactional literacy: filling out forms, reading maps and schedules

Week 3. Thursday, March 21, 1996. 3 - 5:30 PM

• Learning and medication
• Clear Language and Design - making signs and flyers easier to read
• Numeracy
• Community resources for Literacy and ESL
• Action Plan
• Wrap-up and evaluation

Follow up session - next month

• Topic to be determined by group

* Please note that there may be changes in topics or scheduling

Training facilitators will include:
Betsy Trumpener (Literacy & Homelessness Project Worker, St. Chris Literacy / The Meeting Place) Nancy Cooper (First Nations Adult Basic Education Project), Robert Beaton (Toronto Board of Education) Michelle Kuhlmann (East End Literacy), Janine Luce (Street Haven Literacy) Violetta Ilkiw and Shawn Conway, (Beat the Street), Nancy Friday-Cockburn (St. Christopher House Adult Literacy Program).