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MENTOR-SUGGESTED ADULT ED READING LIST (PDF)
These sources are suggested by the Adult Education Mentor Team as tried and true resources. Some of the books for professional reading were published years ago, but they're still excellent. You may be able to order some of them inexpensively through an online bookseller. Others may be available in your adult education center.
BOOKS
The
Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape
of a Teacher’s Life
By Parker J. Palmer
This beautifully written book is a balm to the teacher’s
soul. Palmer maintains good teaching comes from
the identity and the integrity of the teacher. He
believes that the act of teaching requires that
one turns his/her inquiring mind inward—developing
a deeper understanding of what it means to fulfill
the spiritual calling of teaching. Reading this
book will help you reaffirm why you’re doing
what you’re doing!
Writing to Change the World
By Mary Pipher
ISBN 1-59448-920-3
Riverhead Books, 2006
We are all writers in one form or another. As teachers, we all teach writing either directly or indirectly through our example. To this end, this is a must-read book. Filled with Pipher's wisdom and blanketed with thought-provoking quotes, this book is hard to put down. As Pipher wrote, "I hope Writing to Change the World helps you clarify your thoughts, experience new hope and energy, and communicate your best ideas as effectively as possible. My goal is to help you translate your passion and idealism into action. This is not a book on how to write; rather, it's a book on how to write in order to improve the world."
Teaching Adult ESL: A Practical Introduction
By Betsy Parrish
A great place to start if you are new to adult ESL. This book gives theory in easy to understand language as well as lesson plan ideas.
The Middle of Everywhere
By Mary Pipher
This book is a good read about another refugee settlement and follows the students' lives in resettling. You will be surprised by how many of the students you "know."
Practical English Language Teaching
By David Nunan ISBN 0-07-282062-4
Written for practicing ESOL teachers this book covers all skill areas, language and the learning process with suggested tasks and reflections. Each chapter also gives additional book and web resources.
Zero Prep
By Laurel Pollard and Natalie Hess
Alta Publishers ISBN 1-882483-64-2
Wonderful easily prepared and presented ideas fro m icebreakers through the skill areas.
WEB
SITES
lincs.ed.gov
LINCS is a national dissemination and professional development system, providing information on literacy research, practice, and resources.
Florida
TechNet is an excellent resource: www.floridatechnet.org
PBS
TeacherSource www.pbs.org/teachersource
This PBS site has over 4,000 free lesson plans
and activities for all subject areas—a good
resource for diploma teachers (as well as all
levels of adult education.)
The
Global Schoolhouse globalschoolnet.org
This is an amazing site I discovered last summer.
It connects you to online field trips, global
expeditions, student projects, and more, all with
a goal of helping students learn about the world
and its people. You can take a trek across Africa,
visit Antarctica, journey around Australia, or
sail around the world, among other trips.
Web
Quest webquest.sdsu.edu
Web
quests are “an inquiry-oriented activity
in which most or all of the information used by
learners is drawn from the Web. Web Quests are
designed to use learners’ time well, to
focus on using information rather than looking
for it, and to support learners’ thinking
at the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
Click on “portals” and then click
on “top” in the left hand margin for
a table of web quest topics. There is an entire
section devoted to web quests involving life skills
and careers, and these all do a wonderful job
bringing the NH standards to students.
www.edhelper.com
In a pinch, this website could save the day, or
at least part of a class. Although only part of
this site is free, it may be worth the price of
a subscription to have access to the whole thing.
If you have students who want more homework, fly
through material, have used every book in your
classroom (but still need more practice) this
website delivers. It can generate endless math
practice sheets, and deliver vocabulary lessons
from first grade to SAT prep level. It has sections
dealing with reading comprehension practice exercises,
phonics, science, geography and language arts.
It will even generate word searches from your
own vocabulary lists. If your classroom is a little
short on materials, this site can really stretch
your book budget and provide your students with
the practice they want.
www.integratelearning.org
This site includes games and extensive well planned lessons on integrated and project based instruction. Notice the lesson on atoms by Anne McGinley. Also there are some great learning games using few materials listed under "activities and games".
www.superteacherworksheets.com
Excellent website with hundreds of free printable adult-appropriate worksheets appropriate for class and homework. A time-saving, quality website for teachers.
www.enchantedlearning.com
Excellent website with thousands of worksheets that are available with limited access for free and then for $20 membership, unlimited access. Worksheets are of varying level, and on different topics.
