Practice Pages for Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary

These workbook/practice pages are a compilation of fun and engaging activities that I have used for students needing comprehension and vocabulary practice.  They are particularly geared towards adults learning how to read or improve their reading skills.

The printable file is on the very bottom of this page.  Just scroll down to the end.

Helping adults to Improve Their Literacy Skills

In a few weeks I will be taking a tutoring course geared toward helping adults become better readers.  I'm excited because as a former elementary school teacher I have never lost my desire to teach reading.  So learning to become an adult tutor will be similar to teaching 5 year olds to read and yet very different.

Teaching anyone how to read is a step by step process.  It begins with teaching the alphabetic principle or simply learning the names of the letters and sounds.  Next is phonemic awareness which involves hearing the sounds that are being spoken.  Clapping the syllables in words, pointing to words and word parts, and rhyming are all examples of phonemic awareness.  The next step is learning the phonics rules involving the pronunciation of the letters and letter combinations.  As students master the beginning skills they move on to vocabulary and comprehension instruction.  

A reader is someone who is able to read fluently with speed and expression, understands what they are reading, which includes the vocabulary in the story, and is engaged and enjoying the reading process.  Sounds like a daunting task!  It can be a difficult challenge especially for adults who for some reason never learned how to read fluently.  

I'm looking forward to the challenge of becoming a reading tutor.

Welsh Ponies Are My Favorite Ponies

Today I'm going to write about my special pony Murphy.  I have 2 other horses that are in their 20's and really wasn't considering getting another horse.  However, someone I know was going through a divorce and had to quickly give away their Welsh pony.  I couldn't pass up a pony that had been trained in both the English and western riding style for the show ring..  I have been taking lessons on Welsh ponies for over 10 years and have always wanted one of my own.  So...I have had Murphy for about 6 months.

Murphy is a very sweet and versatile pony.  He has won many ribbons in the show ring in both english and western and is also trained to jump over small jumps.  I have taken him out on trail rides and he does pretty well.  His main quirk is that he think he's the boss or lead pony, so he insists on being out in the front.  If anyone challenges him for the lead he will speed up and go out in front.  We definitely have to work on that! Even though he is 15 years old, he has many years ahead of him.  Welsh ponies tend to live to 30 and beyond with good care.  I love Murphy and no doubt we will have many happy years together.

Health Care - Not Affordable for Everyone

 As the affordable health care plan takes effect, I can't help but reflect on the fact that some of us will see our health insurance rates rise.  I doubt that president Obama intended this to happen.  I understand that the system is in it's infancy and hopefully will change over time.  In the mean time we are a retired couple in our early 60's whose monthly health insurance rate will increase by $130 a month.

We did not retire by choice.  My husband was actually laid off and forced to retire, although he had worked 30 years for the same company and was pretty burned out anyway.  I was a teacher who retired on disability through the teachers' union because of poor health.  I have worked part time, but not enough hours to qualify for health insurance through the part time employer.

Our health insurance is through the company that my husband retired from. Our monthly premium has gone up $30 or $40 every year to $870 a month in 2013.  I thought that was a little extreme, but with my health problems we had to have insurance!  We are on fixed incomes so it will be difficult, to say the least, to find that extra $130 a month.  We will really have to tighten our belts in 2014 in order to pay for our health insurance.patbroker.blogspot.com

The Classic Toys Are Coming Back This Christmas Season

Christmas seems to have somehow crept up on me this year.  November was a very busy month with a wedding in my family (my beautiful daughter) and Thanksgiving.  Even though my children are grown and there are no grandchildren yet, I'm always on alert for what toys are popular this time of year.  I haven't seen any toy advertised that seems to be all the rage this year like the Tickle Me Elmo in the past.  With more and more people struggling to make ends meet this year, I've noticed a lot more advertising for the classic toys.

One of the retro toys that is gaining popularity again are the old fashioned Lego sets.  I'm talking about the beginning sets that have an assortment of blocks.  Kids (especially between 6 and 8) can really use their imaginations and build whatever they want.   My son at that age would build spaceships, castles, towers, spacemen and anything else he could think of.  Legos are great for developing fine motor skills.  There are so many more possibilities in a general set than in a specific set that builds just one object.

Welcome to Pat Broker's Blogger Blog

Welcome to my new Blogger blog.  I am a retired teacher and have just recently taken up.blogging.  I have lots of interests that I would love to write about including horseback riding, yoga, healthy cooking and eating, and gardening.  Of course I'm also interested in all things related to education and reading in particular.  I find that very little is written about the under educated adults in the US.

I definitely recommend retirement to anyone who is willing and able.  Everyone is different!  Some people love their job and want to keep working past the age of 70.Others find it financially necessary to keep working past the age of retirement. I found my teaching job exhausting but fulfilling and unfortunately (or fortunately) chose to retire because of health issues.

It is because of my health issues that I have developed many interests.  I would have to say that all of my interests are related to becoming healthy and balanced.  I have very low energy and struggle everyday to just get through my chores.  I'm hoping that writing about it and interacting with people who have similar struggles will help.