Useful Links

Here to Help: www.HereToHelp.pa.gov

Governor Rendell launched www.HereToHelp.pa.gov in December as a new online resource that will make it easier for citizens to find the resources they need through existing government programs to help make ends meet during the economic crisis. The Here to Help Web site puts many beneficial programs under one umbrella, making it easier for families to locate the resources that can get them through this tough time. Pennsylvanians can find resources grouped by the following topics: employment, family services, housing, older Pennsylvanians, and economic development.

• The Employment section is there to help the many people who are experiencing lay-offs or losing their jobs. The page provides information on the recent expansion of unemployment services, including extended call-in hours and increased levels of staff to help claimants. Visitors can also find a link to file an unemployment compensation claim online, which is the most convenient and efficient way to do so.
  
• Parents can find information on enrolling their children in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or themselves in the Adult Basic health insurance program. There is a waiting list for adults, but once you are on the waiting list you are able purchase coverage for $305.
  
• Additional information is available for job training and job opportunities.
  
• The Family Services section includes a wide range of resources including the resources available for food for women and children, health care for the neediest Pennsylvanians, and even tips for those who wish to quit smoking.
  
• Don’t forget, now is a great time to check with the State Treasury to see if you or your relatives have any unclaimed property waiting to be claimed. A link is provided at www.HereToHelp.pa.gov
  
• The Housing section is a place to go for help in lowering and paying your heating bills, tips to better manage your money, and mortgage assistance.
  
• The Older Pennsylvanians section should be a destination for seniors looking to sign-up for Pennsylvania’s prescription drug program, PACE or PACE net or the Property Tax and Rent Rebate program. More than 110,000 seniors have had their property taxes eliminated in Pennsylvania, but thousands of yet to sign up for their rebate.
  
• The Economic Development section includes information to help business owners weather this economic downturn, including information on grant and loan programs.

Literacy Activities

ABLE Resource Center Valuable materials for tutoring or teaching small groups - the focus in on materials that are free and available for immediate use. The topics are numerous and extremely relevant to today's tutors and adult learners. Many thanks to Eileen Kocher, ABLE Resource Center Librarian, for gathering these practical sites.

Advice for reading teachers and literacy tutors

Adult Education wiki

Adult Literacy and Technology Network, Teacher/Tutor Resources

Equipped for the Future, Teaching/Learning Toolkit

Great Geography Lessons

Guidelines for Reading Tutoring Sessions: Adult Literacy and Adult Learners

Just Read Now Information on Active Reading Strategies

The Key: A Newspaper for new readers, for tutors, for administrators

LessonCorner Puzzle Makers

Literacyconnections.com great resources for those interested in "Promoting literacy and a love of reading"

Literacy and Learning Disabilities A Web site for tutors/teachers with info about how to improve their programs to better serve adults with learning disabilities

Literacy Assistance Center This site features a search engine that locates specific areas of interest. Once on the site go to resources, go to the EXCITE search feature. Type in adult literacy lesson plans. This will take you to links of lesson plans where you can click on gallery of web-based lesson plans. Here you will find a variety of topic areas that are developed into lesson plans. Some are specifically for teachers, but others are for adult students. Click on A Night Out on the Town. Print out the instructions on the lesson plan. Here you will find a link to the city of Boston home page. Instructionally, this exercise gives the student an opportunity to practice basic Internet skills while getting a virtual tour of Boston. Language experience stories and reflections of the experience can be created by the adult learner and used for a variety of purposes such as; identifying sight words to practice or making cloze sentences about the visit.

Literacy Works Online Lesson Plans

National Adult Literacy Database This site contains various literacy materials such as manuals, booklets, guides, project reports and other material useful to anyone practicing in the field of adult literacy.

Northwest LINCS Lesson Plan Site

Online lesson plans for adult learners, varied topics

Practical Money Skills for Life Excellent financial literacy Web site for tutors, parents and administrators – is sponsored by VISA and has lesson plans, free materials, calculators, games, banking tutor, and many other resources.

Puzzlemaker Create and print customized word search, crossword and math puzzles using your word lists. Build your own maze or print our specialty hand-drawn mazes created around holidays and classroom topics. Sponsored by the Discovery Channel, this site was designed for classroom teachers, but tutors and adult learners could adapt it for instructional purposes. Several uses are for working on word parts; prefixes, dipthongs, rhyming words, or contractions. Phonics drills and rhyming can be reinforced. Even numeric skills can practiced by using the features number block and math square.

www.sparktop.org This is an interactive site for kids who learn differently; it has activities and games and numerous other things to inspire children who have their own learning style.

Teaching and Learning with Internet-based Resources This Web site is a great place to start for students and tutors new to using the Internet. It gives strategies for Internet users, electronic field trips, and specific lessons to help learners develop skills while exploring the Internet. Instructionally, it focuses on critical thinking skills yet uses an easy reading context. Each section gives specifics on skill building and learning objectives followed by a description of the learning activity. It uses Internet links as a teaching tool in an organized, structured manner.

Thirteen Ed Online

For Administrators and Coordinators

Demystifying Adult Literacy for Volunteer Tutors This Web site provides information about literacy itself, roles and responsibilities of tutors, working with adult learners, and the development of learner/tutor relationships and learning programs.

NIFL Special Collection for Literacy & Learning Disabilities: Managers/Administrators A Web site for administrators with info about how to improve their programs to better serve adults with learning disabilities.

Literacy-related Organizations

AAACE Home Page The American Association for Adult and Continuing Education is the nation's premier organization dedicated to enhancing the field of adult learning.
With members from 60 affiliates and 40 nations, the Association represents its members from secondary and post-secondary education, business and labor, military and government and from community-based organizations. AAACE publishes three of the nation's leading periodicals in education and training: Adult Learning magazine, the scholarly journal Adult Education Quarterly and the journal Adult Basic Education. AAACE also publishes books, monographs and booklets on a variety of adult education topics.

The American Literacy Council The American Literacy Council provides resources and assistance to persons and organizations who are involved in the literacy crisis in America. The organization provides software and publications that seek or promote solutions to the problem of illiteracy in English-speaking countries.

Bureau of ABLE

Commission on Adult Basic and Literacy Education (COABE)

ProLiteracy America

National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL)

National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)

Pennsylvania Association for Adult and Continuing Education (PAACE)

U.S. Department of Education (ED) Home Page
The Department's mission, is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence for all Americans. This award-winning web site is part of the effort to pursue that mission and help America reach the National Education Goals. It offers a range and an ever-growing collection of information about the Department, including... initiatives and priorities | grant opportunities | offices | publications | research and statistics. 

Page last updated 30-Sep-2009  
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