“The first hour began with “The News”. Class participants talked about their experiences during the week, what they might be looking forward to, who had a birthday, etc. This gave us clues to current interests that might be capitalized on in class and – followed by the deep breathing – prepare the way for concentration.

A monthly calendar sheet, the kind with open blocks for each day of the month, was used for each student to record upcoming events, individual schedules, the weather, birthdays, and even new words that came up in “The News,” as appropriate.

Each week there was a spelling dictation, a real favourite with the class. Those who were just learning initial consonants wrote only the first letter and those more advanced the whole word. Those who were at a more basic level copied from the blackboard spontaneously when corrections were being done.

Early stories centred around feelings and were illustrated by cartoon. This provided opportunity for some to identify and learn facial expressions that they might have misunderstood or misinterpreted. …

Short drills on alphabet, counting, counting by 2, 5, 10, 20, etc. were used, frequently interspersed throughout the night. This gave a chance to change the pace, to test skills, and to provide overlearning, so necessary for retention.

Money was a subject of interest and need. In one semester we used it exclusively to teach basic math skills. And in the second year of our program we taught the use of the calculator in doing basic operations, particularly as in regards to money.

Learning to tell time was important to many of the students.

The last part of each session was devoted to the AUTOSKILL Reading Program.”

Catherine Janossy
A Needs Survey & Program Description: Program Delivery for the Developmentally Challenged Adult in Grey, Bruce and The Georgina Triangle.
Walkerton, ON: The Walkerton & District Literacy Council, pp. 49-50.