February Volunteer Hours: 329 |
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School Year to Date: 5164 |
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This week is all about you. We know that becoming a volunteer at Literacy Source is not a small undertaking, and we know you do it because you believe as strongly as we do in our mission of partnering with adults working to gain skills and education to create new opportunities for themselves, their families, and the community.
With every training you take (and we know there are a lot!), you not only create a richer skill set to enhance that partnership, you embrace our core value of lifelong learning. When you enter into a digital classroom and lead breakout rooms or troubleshoot technical problems for our students, you are contributing to a more diverse and equitable society. And we hear it time and time again from you that with each new partnership you create with our students, the teacher and student role is often intertwined: you learn from them as much as they learn from you. We are all learners at Literacy Source.
In honor of volunteer appreciation week (Apr 16-22), we asked our students and instructors to give us one word to describe our volunteers, and you can see the results in the word cloud above: awesome, selfless, inspiring, committed, patient, kind, supportive, to name a few. You are such an incredibly dedicated group of volunteers, and we are thankful this month and every month to have you as a part of Literacy Source.
In community,
Liz Wurster
Communications Coordinator
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"Individuals’ actions are a direct result of their experiences, and when a learner acts out or is disengaged, the question we should be asking ourselves is not “what is wrong with you”,
but rather “what happened to you and how do I help you feel safe?”
~Working Assumption within Trauma Informed Teaching Practices
Many of our students are immigrants and refugees and they may have experienced trauma that impacts their learning. However, Literacy Source also serves many students in our ABE classes that may have special learning needs as well. Whether they are working with our tutors in correctional facilities or taking one of our GED classes at the center, we want to ensure our tutors and classroom assistants have a variety of tools in their toolbox to serve the personalized needs of all of our students.
Some Literacy Source staff members recently attended a training on Trauma Informed Teaching, and we thought the practices and ways of thinking might be helpful to you in your work with our students. The first part of the training explores the effect of stress and trauma on the brain and how that impacts learning. Part two asks the question that we know is a question we all ask ourselves as we create safe spaces for our students: "How can we create a learning environment where everyone can thrive?"
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In celebration of National Volunteer Week please join us for our online Spring Volunteer Social and share your love of books. Bring a favorite book and join the meeting for a show and tell with other volunteers.
This is a great way to meet other Literacy Source volunteers, share your love of reading, and find some more great books to read. Hope to see you there!
Thursday, May 4th, 6:30 - 8pm.
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Question Hierarchy
Do you ever read a page with a student and find them staring at you silently with a blank expression on their face? Uh oh. How do you figure out where you lost them? How do you learn how much and what they understand? Use question hierarchy! Start by asking the student “yes/no” questions such as “Is she at work or home?” Then move to either or questions like “Is she a waitress or a cashier?” Next move on to “wh” questions like “Where does she work?” and “What time does she work?” And last move on to open ended and personal connection questions like “Tell me about her job.” and “Have you ever had a job like this? What was it like?”
Asking your comprehension questions in this order will help you learn about student understanding and support the learner in their comprehension.
Question Hierarchy:
Yes/no
“Do they live in Seattle?”
Either/or
“Is his shirt red or blue?”
Wh (who/what/when/where)
“When did he go home?”
“Who does she live with?”
“Where is the box?”
Open Ended
“Tell me about the story.”
“Why do people lie?”
Personal Questions
“Has this ever happened to you?”
“How do people celebrate birthdays in your first country?”
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Allie Azersky, Community Programs Developer |
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Thank you to everyone who gave to our breakfast. We are at $115,000 and counting. There is still time to give! We have some money left in our challenge pool, so gifts of $300-$500 will be matched, and gifts of $1,000 or more will be triply matched. It's a great time to help us build our future. |
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Whether you didn't have the chance to make our Breakfast or need a feel-good boost, we hope you will enjoy the video of Qingchaun. Originally from China, Qingchaun came to the United States to be a caretaker for his mother. He participates in our Ready to Work class, which provides job placement assistance, skills training, and English language learning.
See why he enjoys Literacy Source in this clip.
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Upcoming Spring Trainings |
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Language Experience Approach to Teaching
Friday 5/12, 10am - 12:30pm (online)
All tutors, please join Phil for his next skills-based training. These trainings are offered every term, providing tools and strategies you will be able to apply straight away to your tutoring sessions. They are also a great way to meet each other!
In this Experienced Tutor Training, we will get better acquainted with the Language Experience Approach (LEA). We will learn to see how and why it is used in LS classrooms, and how it is connected to Culturally Responsive teaching practices. Attendees will review and analyze examples of LEA classroom work, develop lesson components using LEA, and gain insight into supporting LEA practices at LS.
Save The Date!
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Congratulations - and thank you! - to the following volunteers for reaching a year of service with Literacy Source!
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There is one new citizen this month from
Kenya. Congratulations!
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Staff Reads: Nancy Pearl's Book Recommendations |
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Friday, April 21, 7pm (Benaroya Hall, FREE)
Join the Seattle Symphony for a very special community concert at Benaroya Hall featuring the world premiere of Dear Humanity for Youth Chorus and Orchestra, a work composed by Artist in Residence Angelique Poteat and the 2020 Community Youth Chorus that centers around the theme of climate change. RSVP recommended. All seating is general admission. Walk-ups also welcome.
Saturday, April 22, 9am-2:30pm (Washington Park Arboretum, FREE)
The Arboretum Foundation, UW Botanic Gardens, Seattle Parks and Recreation will co-host their annual Earth Day community and volunteer event on April 22. Help restore the Arboretum by removing invasive ivy and blackberry, and by mulching and weeding the plant collections! Pre-registration is required: No walk-ups! Volunteers must be aged 15 or older to participate. Space is limited.
Saturday, April 22, All Day (All Washington State Parks are FREE)
Enjoy the beauty and bounty of our natural spaces at one or more of Washington’s 140 state parks. A Discover Pass is not required to park a vehicle at any state park on Earth Day, April 22.
Come join King County Parks and West Hill Action Mob for a day stewarding and restoring Skyway Park. Skyway Park is located in the West Hill community, an unincorporated urban area on Lake Washington. There are three wetlands in the park that function as the headwaters of Taylor Creek a salmon-bearing stream that passes through Seattle’s Deadhorse Canyon and enters Lake Washington. Skyway Park is 23 acres and has baseball fields an informal football/soccer field a playground basketball and tennis courts. The site address takes you to a house near the park entrance. Meeting location is near the covered picnic shelter – keep an eye out for the King County Volunteer signs.
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AmeriCorps: We are Hiring!
Please help us spread the word. We are hiring 3 full-time positions, starting either June or September 2023.
Please contact Caroline for more details. |
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Our next New Volunteer Orientation (via Zoom) will be on May 3 at either 1pm or 7pm.
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Spring Classes are in full swing and run from April 8th - June 13th.
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Miss any of our past volunteer newsletters? You can access archived newsletters at the bottom of the Volunteer Resources of our webpage.
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Literacy Source acknowledges that we are on the unceded ancestral land of the Coast Salish people, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip, Duwamish and Muckleshoot nations. Indigenous people are still here and continue to honor and bring light to their lived histories. We affirm Native American sovereignty and acknowledge the sacrifices and contributions of Indigenous people of Puget Sound. We acknowledge the ongoing disparities, racism, and political erasure they face today and pledge to donate, promote resources, and educate about the struggles of the Coast Salish tribes. We raise our hands to honor Chief Seattle’s Duwamish tribe of Indigenous peoples past, present, and future. |
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