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USCIS 2025 One Nation, One People

(English)

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Reading Horizons Instructional Videos Chapter 1

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Reading Horizons Instructional Videos Chapter 1

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Reading Horizons Elevate Virtual Lessons | Chapter 1

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Reading Horizons Instructional Videos Chapter 2

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Reading Horizons Instructional Videos Chapter 2

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Reading Horizons Elevate Virtual Lessons | Chapter 2

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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List of Citizenship Resources in Multiple Languages

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List of Citizenship Resources in Multiple Languages

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A 14-hour online training on the basics of Adult Literacy Tutoring:

https://my.nicheacademy.com/callacademy/course/79186

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What is dyslexia? - Kelli Sandman-Hurley

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https://padlet.com/literacyprogram/resource

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Adult Education Center - Student Enrollment Contact Request

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Adult Education Center - Student Enrollment Contact Request

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An easy-to-read breakdown of the California State initiatives available in multiple languages.

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We would appreciate your feedback about this guide! Click here to complete a quick survey.

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The aim of the Easy Voter Guide project is to make nonpartisan information about why vote, how to vote and what’s on the ballot accessible to as many Californians as possible. Founded in 1994, the Easy Voter Guide project is a collaboration of the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund,…

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Calbright offers free online certification programs for Californians.

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Calbright College: Free Online Certificate Programs in California

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With free online programs geared to help develop skills for in-demand jobs, Calbright prepares you for a better career, on your timeline, without student debt.

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AARP Foundation Tax-Aide provides in-person and virtual tax assistance to anyone free of charge with a special focus on taxpayers who are over 50 or have low-to-moderate income. Tax-Aide volunteers are located nationwide, and are trained and IRS-certified every year.

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AARP Foundation Tax-Aide service is closed for the 2023 tax season. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide provides in-person and virtual tax assistance to anyone, free of charge, with a focus on taxpayers who are over 50 and have low to moderate income. For taxpayers in certain areas of the following states (CA, AL, AR, MS, GA, NY, TN) impacted by severe storms, check to see if you qualify for a filing extension on the IRS website.

With the help of 26,163 volunteers, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide had a very successful season by filing 908,767 federal returns with a value of $813,370,409 serving 1,212,894 people. To help with year-round tax prep support, you may qualify for the free file option OnLineTaxes. We hope you will visit us again during the next tax season.

If you would like to receive the latest information on Tax-Aide, sign up for SMS text alerts from AARP Foundation Tax-Aide.

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Free Tax Preparation from AARP Foundation Tax-Aide

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The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program provides free tax counseling. Use our free online locator to find the AARP Tax-Aide site nearest you.

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Information about Who and What are on Your Ballot.

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Information about Who and What are on Your Ballot.

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Learn about each of the items on your ballot. Who is for and against them. Who is funding and sponsoring each measure.

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Voter's Edge California Voter Guide | Get the facts before you vote.

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Nonpartisan election guide. Find your ballot with key information on candidates and measures.

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In this free Grammar tutorial, you'll get the grammar help you need to avoid making grammatical mistakes in your writing and in life.

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There are eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

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There are eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence. An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the dictionary.
1. NOUN

A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.
man... Butte College... house... happiness
A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are often used with an article ( the, a, an), but not always. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter; common nouns do not. Nouns can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract. Nouns show possession by adding 's. Nouns can function in different roles within a sentence; for example, a noun can be a subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, or object of a preposition.
The young brought me a very long from the , and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
See the TIP Sheet on "Nouns" for further information.
2. PRONOUN

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.
She... we... they... it
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. A pronoun is usually substituted for a specific noun, which is called its antecedent. In the sentence above, the antecedent for the pronoun she is the girl. Pronouns are further defined by type: personal pronouns refer to specific persons or things; possessive pronouns indicate ownership; reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize another noun or pronoun; relative pronouns introduce a subordinate clause; and demonstrative pronouns identify, point to, or refer to nouns.
The young girl brought a very long letter from the teacher, and then quickly disappeared. Oh my!
See the TIP Sheet on "Pronouns" for further information.
3. VERB jump... is... write... become
The verb in a sentence expresses action or being. There is a main verb and sometimes one or more helping verbs. (" She can sing." Sing is the main verb; can is the helping verb.) A verb must agree with its subject in number (both are singular or both are plural). Verbs also take different forms to express tense.
The young girl me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared . Oh my!
See the TIP Sheet on "Verbs" for more information.
4. ADJECTIVE

An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.
pretty... old... blue... smart
An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a pronoun. It usually answers the question of which one, what kind, or how many. (Articles [a, an, the] are usually classified as adjectives.)
The girl brought me a very letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
See the TIP Sheet on "Adjectives" for more information.
5. ADVERB

An adverb modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
gently... extremely... carefully... well
An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but never a noun. It usually answers the questions of when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree. Adverbs often end in -ly.
The young girl brought me a long letter from the teacher, and she disappeared. Oh my!
See the TIP Sheet on "Adverbs" for more information.
6. PREPOSITION

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence.
by... with.... about... until
(by the tree, with our friends, about the book, until tomorrow)

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence. Therefore a preposition is always part of a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase almost always functions as an adjective or as an adverb. The following list includes the most common prepositions:
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
See the TIP Sheet on "Prepositions" for more information.
7. CONJUNCTION

A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses.
and... but... or... while... because
A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, and indicates the relationship between the elements joined. Coordinating conjunctions connect grammatically equal elements: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. Subordinating conjunctions connect clauses that are not equal: because, although, while, since, etc. There are other types of conjunctions as well.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
See the TIP Sheet on "Conjunctions" for more information.
8. INTERJECTION

An interjection is a word used to express emotion.
Oh!... Wow!... Oops!
An interjection is a word used to express emotion. It is often followed by an exclamation point.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
See the TIP Sheet on "Interjections" for more information.

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The Eight Parts of Speech - TIP Sheets - Butte College

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RoadtoGrammar.com - Free quizzes, notes and games to improve your grammar

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Tutorial for Using Zoom for Literacy Lessons

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Tutorial for Using Zoom for Literacy Lessons

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Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing - Zoom

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Instructional Videos: Sample Lessons on Comprehension

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Instructional Videos: Sample Lessons on Comprehension

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This 25 video playlist has example comprehension lessons.  Topics include:
1. How to teach using a KWLN (What I know, What I want to know, What I Learned, What I think will happen next) Chart
2. Posing and Answering Questions
3. Making Inferences
4. Titles, Heading, Graphic and Pictures & Summaries
5. Mind Maps/ Clustering
6. Skimming
7. Making Predictions
8. Think Aloud/ Strategic Reading
9. Scanning

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Instructional Videos: Teaching Vocabulary 

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Instructional Videos: Teaching Vocabulary 

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A 21 video playlist on introducing and teaching new vocabulary words.

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Sample Lesson Video: Teaching Prereading from ProLiteracy

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Sample Lesson Video: Teaching Prereading from ProLiteracy

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In this example the teacher has three learners but the lesson can easily be adapted to a single learner.

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Sample Lesson Video: Introducing New Vocabulary Words

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Sample Lesson Video: Introducing New Vocabulary Words

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Reading comprehension passages with audio recordings and comprehension pre and post questions. Also available in an app form that will track progress and stories read here: https://www.crowdedlearning.org/our-work/rsta

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READING SKILLS FOR TODAY'S ADULTS UPDATE

Already Using Reading Skills for Today's Adults?

Want to increase student hours?

Try this new CCRS aligned online software family literacy program where adults work with each other, with their children, and with other family members:

In Partnership With:

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Home Reading Skills for Today's Adults Southwest Adult Basic Education Marshall

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This is the new Reading Skills for Today's Adults Website! If you searched us by Marshall Adult Education or Marshall Reading don't worry you've found the right place we are now better than ever with CCRS standards implemented in our new updated product: Reading Skills 4 Today!

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Great videos of family activities to build literacy skills.
Invitation Code: SMPL
Select: L.E.A.F. Literacy Education for Adults and Families

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Overcoming Dyslexia Series (Yale University)

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Overcoming Dyslexia Series (Yale University)

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Free self-paced course on dyslexia including defining the course, screening for dyslexia and teaching dyslexic adults how to read.

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Dyslexia is everywhere, touching so many children and adults, and while science has made extraordinary progress in understanding and clarifying the condition, this incredible powerful knowledge rarely reaches those who most need to know and would greatly benefit from it. Our goal is to change all this with the Coursera you are about to view, produced by Dr. Sally Shaywitz, the Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development, both the leading scientist studying dyslexia and the most devoted advocate for helping those who are dyslexic.

The course addresses and answers just about all the questions you have: beginning with what is reading and what is dyslexia and sharing with you the most up-to-date 21st century federal definition of dyslexia. If you are dyslexic, you'll come to learn you are not alone - dyslexia is very common affecting one out of five, that is, 20% of the population, including both boys and girls all over the world. The course addresses a major question we hear from so many parents and teachers- how do I know if my child may be dyslexic? What signs or symptoms should I be on the lookout for? And here's another very important question we hear from so many parents and educators who are eager to do the best for their child - when should screening for dyslexia begin? What is the best method? What should I look for or ask about? A major source of worry for parents is their child's slow reading- they ask will this prevent a happy future for the child. Yes, dyslexics are slow readers and here, in Coursera, you will come to understand the brain's role in dyslexia, including slow reading. Great news to share - you will also be so delighted to learn that surrounding a dyslexic's slow reading is a phenomenal powerful sea of strengths in big picture thinking and reasoning. Dyslexia is a true paradox: dyslexics may be slow readers but at the same time are incredibly fast thinkers! You can be assured, if you care about a child or someone who is dyslexic and have questions or concerns, you will find it addressed here in this course: everything important to know about and help you select the most effective interventions for a dyslexic child; how to go about choosing the best school, including potentially one that is specialized, for such a child, including what is most important to look for when visiting a potential school; the role of accommodations and how to select the best one; and common co-occurring conditions like ADHD and anxiety - their impact, how to recognize and treat. In the following lessons you will meet wonderful, incredibly insightful and highly successful dyslexics - including governors, cardiac surgeons, nationally renowned attorneys, basketball coaches, economists and dyslexic children and their wonderful families who will share their experiences and advice. Enjoy!

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Offered by Yale University. Dyslexia is everywhere, touching so many children and adults, and while science has made extraordinary progress ... Enroll for free.

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The complete playlist of the Partners in Reading- San Jose Public Library Tutoring Demonstrations.

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Partners in Reading - San Jose Public Library

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Partners in Reading - San Jose Public Library

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Conversation Classes, Book Groups and Pronunciation Classes from the Los Angeles Public Library

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Conversation Classes, Book Groups and Pronunciation Classes from the Los Angeles Public Library

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https://www.lapl.org/literacy

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Dia De Los Muertos - Face Painting Workshop Celebrate Día De Los Muertos with a free Zoom Online Face Painting Workshop hosted by the Mark Twain Library! Learn how to...

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USA Learns now has a U.S. Citizenship course to help you prepare for your citizenship or naturalization interview. The course has four units:

Unit 1: Steps to Becoming a U.S. Citizen

Unit 2: N-400 Interview Practice

Unit 3: Civics, Reading and Writing Practice

Unit 4: Your Interview and New Citizenship

USA Learns Citizenship will help you with the information and language you need to become a U.S. citizen.

Unit 1: Steps to Becoming a U.S. Citizen

In Unit 1, you will meet Jean, your video guide to the course, and you'll learn important information you need to know if you are thinking about becoming a U.S. Citizen. We'll help you answer these questions:

Who can become a U.S. Citizen? Can I become a U.S. Citizen? How do I start the application for U.S. Citizenship? Where can I get help with my application?

Unit 1 will also explain situations where you might need to ask for legal help before you apply for citizenship and recommend organizations that can help you.

Unit 2: N-400 Interview Practice

In Unit 2, you'll learn about what to expect at the naturalization interview at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office. During the interview, the officer asks many questions about the application for U.S. Citizenship (the N-400 form). You will learn the key words and grammar you need to understand the questions.

You'll also listen to different ways that the officer might ask the questions and will practice giving different correct answers. At the end of every lesson, a video "officer" will ask you questions from the lesson and you can record yourself answering with your own information.

Unit 2 begins with a review of question words and short answers. It also introduces you to some questions that you may need to ask the officer if you don't understand something.

After that, each lesson is based on a part of the N-400 form. You'll listen to and practice answering questions about each part of the form, from basic information about your address and your employment, to questions about illegal activities you may have been involved in.

You'll learn about and practice the Oath of Allegiance, which each person must say to become a new U.S. Citizen.

Unit 3: Civics, Reading and Writing Practice

In Unit 3, you will learn about U.S. history and government. You'll learn important vocabulary and useful grammar, and then read, listen, and watch videos about the subjects covered in the U.S. Citizenship test.

In each lesson, you'll practice your pronunciation, and take practice quizzes to check your understanding. You'll also practice reading aloud and writing.

Unit 3 covers all of the "100 questions" that you need to practice to become a U.S. Citizen. The subjects covered are:

U.S. Geography

Early America

The Declaration of Independence

The Constitution

The Bill of Rights

The 1800s and Civil War

Difficult Times and Great Leaders Since 1900

Fighting for Equal Rights

Our System of Government

The Executive Branch

The Legislative Branch

The Judicial Branch

Participating in Your Government

Rights and Responsibilities

American Symbols and Holidays

Unit 4: Your Interview and New Citizenship

In Unit 4, you will learn what to expect from the moment you arrive at your interview. You will learn how to greet the officer and how to have a casual conversation or "small talk." You will also practice responding to some simple commands the officer may give you.

Unit 4 will show you what to expect the day of your interview and during your naturalization ceremony when you become a United States citizen. We will also give you some information about what to do after you have your new U.S. citizenship.

USA Learns Citizenship will provide you with the information, language practice, and resources you'll need to prepare for U.S. citizenship.

REGISTER NOW to use USA Learns!

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Study to become a U.S. citizen at USA Learns: USA Learns is a free website to help adults learn English online and prepare for the naturalization interview to become a U.S. citizen.

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Printable Civics Flash Cards for the Naturalization Test

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Printable Civics Flash Cards for the Naturalization Test

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Includes education, health & housing, utilities & finances, & social services

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News For You: An Adult Learner Newspaper

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News For You: An Adult Learner Newspaper

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This terrific, weekly paper is available in print form inside the library or available to read online.  The articles include vocabulary and discussion topics. Learners also enjoy doing the crossword puzzle!

https://www.newsforyouonline.com/

Online access code: 489355

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https://www.ldoceonline.com/
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online

Has definitions, pronunciation, whether or not a word needs a preposition.

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Santa Monica Public Library - By Grade or Age

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Is there something you’d like us to consider for our collection, that you don’t see in these lists? Send us a suggestion here!

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Get a high school diploma and career certification all in one.  Scholarships are available through the Library.

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The Santa Monica Public Library is excited to offer a limited number of scholarships for Career Online High School (COHS). This program, funded by the California State Library and the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library, offers adult students the opportunity to earn an accredited high school…

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GED/HiSET Preparation Materials - Santa Monica Public Library

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GED/HiSET Preparation Materials by Santa Monica BiblioCommons Staff - a staff-created list

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Ebooks and audiobooks available for immediate checkout.  Sign up for a free account with your library card.

Adult Literacy collection: https://www.hoopladigital.com/collection/adult-literacy/95859

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The collection includes:

1. Read-a-long format books, which combine ebook text with audio

2. Who is...? / Who was...? biography titles in both ebook and e-audiobook formats

3. Young Reader editions of popular adult nonfiction titles, in ebook and e-audiobook formats

4. Hi-Lo fiction (high interest-low readability)

5. And more!

https://santamonica.overdrive.com/library/easyreads

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Overdrive: More free Ebooks and Audiobooks from your library.

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Overdrive: More free Ebooks and Audiobooks from your library.

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Hoopla and Overdrive are similar services. The book offer ebooks and audiobooks that can be read on a computer screen, table or ereader. The difference between the two services is that Overdrive acts more like a traditional library. It has a limited number of copies of an item that can get checked out. That means an item might not be immediately available when you want to check it out.

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Search and borrow from OverDrive's huge catalogue of eBooks, audiobooks and videos

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Borrow eBooks, audiobooks and videos from thousands of public libraries worldwide.

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Website that lists news stories from multiple sources and denotes which ones are balanced, left skewed and right skewed. 

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Website that lists news stories from multiple sources and denotes which ones are balanced, left skewed and right skewed. 

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AllSides Headline Roundups™ bring you top news stories from the left, center and right of the political spectrum - side-by-side so you can see the full picture.

We rotate the order of headlines to avoid biasing our coverage in favor of the left, which otherwise would always be listed first.

Learn how AllSides provides balanced news

MSNBC (Left bias) announced it's canceling opinion commentator Mehdi Hasan's Sunday night show on Thursday, drawing opinions from journalists and media outlets. For Context: Hasan is known...

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AllSides | Balanced news via media bias ratings for an unbiased news perspective

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We use media bias ratings to provide balanced news, perspectives and issues across the political spectrum. Unbiased news coverage doesn't exist - there is no such thing as unbiased news or t

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Reading Comprehension Strategies for College Students

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Reading Comprehension Strategies for College Students

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Also useful tips for Career Online High School and GED/ HiSet students.

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by

Tessa Cooper

Tessa Cooper is a freelance writer and editor who regularly contributes to international and regional publications focused on education and lifestyle topics. She earned a bachelor's in public relations from Missouri State University and is passionate...

Learn about our editorial process.

Updated September 19, 2023 · 0 Min Read

AffordableCollegesOnline.org is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.

Are you ready to find your fit?

Improving Your Reading Comprehension

Have you ever caught yourself reading on autopilot? Like operating a car, reading becomes second nature, and you might find yourself not fully comprehending the text's whole meaning. However, reading without comprehension may occur even more subtly. You may read through a paragraph, think you understand it at the moment, but then immediately forget what it said.

To fully succeed in college, you need reading comprehension strategies. Utilizing these methods will help prepare you for test day. Reading also exposes college students to new viewpoints, helping them form arguments and choose credible sources.

Below, we discuss common challenges students face when reading, as well as strategies, techniques, and how to improve reading speed.

College-Level Reading Challenges

Reading academic texts, primary sources, and white papers requires flexibility. Readers must adapt their comprehension skills to different writing styles and topics. For example, when reading through a biology text, learners should pay attention to how the text relates to the study of living organisms. However, for a sociology text, readers should comprehend it through the lens of social relationships and interactions among individuals.

A heavy reading load also challenges college students, as professors do not account for lengthy reading requirements in other classes. As such, learners should practice time management skills. Attempting to read large quantities of text in one night does not set a person up for success.

Become a Time Pessimist

[/statbox] [stat-box theme="accent" title="Learn Unfamiliar Words"]

Certain texts challenge some students more than others. It takes time to learn economic jargon or math formulas. Do not shy away from writing down words you do not understand, and then move on. Come back to these words later and search for their meanings. Context clues often hint at the definition too.

Although we briefly discussed some tips for reading challenges in this section, we delve deeper into effective college reading strategies in the next section.

Effective College Reading Strategies

A quick Google search offers various types of reading comprehension tips. With so many resources available, it may feel overwhelming. Additionally, not every strategy works for every student. Start by implementing these nine methods for active reading first before attempting more specific reading strategies, which we discuss in a later section.

AffordableCollegesOnline.org is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.

Featured Online Programs

Our partner schools offer programs that help you advance your education while accommodating your schedule. Visit their sites to learn more about degrees, course offerings, start dates, transfer of credits, and more.

How to Improve Reading Speed and Comprehension

To keep up with course demands while fulfilling other life responsibilities, individuals must practice their speed reading skills. However, reading too quickly without comprehension strategies does not usually yield successful results. In the following sections, we discuss five-speed reading methods that help students.

Since most people have been reading since age five, many readers can think about other things while they speed read. However, a person must stay entirely focused on a text for complete comprehension, and anyone can train themselves to concentrate better and avoid multitasking. Reading quickly may prevent a mind from wandering, so speed reading can lead to better overall comprehension. Iris Reading offers a free comprehension and memory course to help learners develop both speed reading and comprehension skills.

For starters, skimming a textbook helps prevent information overload. Additionally, sometimes a student simply cannot avoid cramming before an exam due to scheduling conflicts. Consider utilizing a skimming technique, like pointer finger reading. A school teacher popularized this reading method in the 1950s when she discovered gliding her finger across words allowed her to read 2,700 words per minute. Students may also benefit from previewing a text by skimming before doing a thorough reading.

While most textbook editors design the publication for front-to-back reading, reading from back-to-front presents a few benefits. For starters, most chapters include a summary section. Reading this part first allows a learner to capture the essential information while their mind still feels fresh.

Additionally, textbook chapters typically include practice questions at the end. Glancing over these first offers hints at what to pay close attention to while reading.

This method for enhanced reading comprehension considers that memory involves three components. These components include impression, association, and repetition. When something makes an impression on a person, they likely remember it. An individual can increase a reading's impression on them by forming a mental image and exaggerating the scene in a shocking, memorable way.

For association, readers should try and form connections about details that relate to their everyday life. To remember a date, a reader could relate it to a friend's birthday. To utilize repetition, a reader should simply reread assignments.

Francis P. Robinson, an American educational psychologist, discovered this reading comprehension method in 1946. The acronym stands for survey, question, read, recite, and review. To utilize this method, learners should first skim headings, pictures, and bold words. Then, they should write down initial questions. Next comes the reading stage, which should fill in gaps and answer questions from the previous sections. Finally, reading aloud and then reviewing the sections further solidifies the acquired knowledge.

Coordinator of Instructional Services, Niagara University's Academic Success Center

Expert Q&A: Tips to Set Yourself Up for Success

Q. How is reading in college different from reading in high school?

There's a lot more of it, and it has to be done, rather than simply should be done. In high school, there's a lot of memorizing facts. In college, it's different. If a professor assigns something, you're expected to read it. What I've been hearing from students is that when they were in high school, the teacher would assign a book and no one would read it.

So, the teacher would wind up reading aloud to the class. When that happens, students don't get the practice, they don't get the exposure to language, and they don't get the time to read and reflect. If they don't have the practice, and they don't have the exposure, they may give up easily. If students get frustrated and they just give up, it affects their confidence and their self-esteem.

Q. What's the biggest challenge for students moving up to college-level reading?

Many students just haven't practiced. If students haven't read much before college, their background knowledge is limited. There's a significant drop-off in newspaper reading. That's a problem because the more you read, the more language you're exposed to. I've read about students spelling valedictorian as "valid Victorian." They've never seen the word before. It almost doesn't matter what you read as long as you read. People who don't want to read Hemingway might be able to read "Fifty Shades of Grey." Some people will say, "That's kind of trashy." I don't care if it's trashy. Practicing makes you better.

Q. What's the biggest reading mistake students make?

There are a few. Avoidance of reading is a big problem. Some of it occasionally has to do with a learning disability. Some of it has to do with attention span. Most students just haven't had the practice. Reading is a skill you build up over time. Another one is that students will see unfamiliar words, and they just skip over them without looking up the words. They admit it. I tell them, "You're walking around with a dictionary in your pocket. Why don't you just look up the word on your phone?" But if students don't know what the word means, they miss a lot of meaning, and that translates into errors on tests.

Q. Some material is going to be difficult for anyone, even avid readers. Say my professor assigns a complicated legal argument or a highly technical paper. How do I approach the assignment?

Attitude is very important. If you're going to read something difficult, just tell yourself, "This is going to be the best thing I've ever read." Keep an open mind, and stay positive. Break it up into chunks. Take a break - get up and move around every few minutes. Not everything is going to be fun. Keep your ultimate goal in mind. A lot of students are in college because they want good jobs, and when you're in the workplace, you're going to have to read things you're not crazy about - whether it's technical material, correspondence, or annual reports. I tell students, "Welcome to adulthood. Sometimes you have to do things you're not crazy about."

Q. How about note-taking while reading? What tactics should students use?

Too many students want to highlight. Highlighting is OK, but it can be coloring after a while. Writing a little summary in the margin is much more effective because it forces you to put the material in your own words. If you realize you can't summarize a section, that tells you to go back and read it again.

Reading Comprehension Tools and Resources

Tessa Cooper

Tessa Cooper is a freelance writer and editor who regularly contributes to international and regional publications focused on education and lifestyle topics. She earned a bachelor's in public relations from Missouri State University and is passionate about helping learners avoid high student loan debt while pursuing their dream major. Tessa loves writing about travel and food topics and is always planning her next meal or vacation.

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If a question occurs to you while reading, don't anticipate that you will remember it come lecture day.

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Paste a bulk of text into the Vocabulary Profiler and it will give you an idea of the difficulty level of the text.

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Easy to follow tutorials about how to use SMPL's eResources and other digital resources.  Learn how to check out an eBook, stream a movie, access online tutoring and more!  It also includes tutorials for Google services, MS Office, social media sites, internet basics and more.

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Niche Academy gives your people the knowledge and skills they need to succeed-both the people you serve and the ones you employ

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Learn touch typing online using TypingClub's free typing courses. It includes 650 typing games, typing tests and videos.

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If you are new to computers, haven't used them for a while, are a little unsure and uncomfortable, or just need a bit of a refresher, we have the tools to help you tackle technology at your own pace and gain the confidence you need to succeed.

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If you are new to computers, haven't used them for a while, are a little unsure and uncomfortable, or just need a bit of a refresher, we have the tools to help you tackle technology at your own pace and gain the confidence you need to succeed.

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Free or Reduced-Priced Audiobooks for People with Disabilities that Affect Reading

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Free or Reduced-Priced Audiobooks for People with Disabilities that Affect Reading

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Bookshare | An Accessible Online Library for people with print disabilities

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Bookshare makes reading easier. People with dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers can customize their experience to suit their learning style and find virtually any book they need for school, work, or the joy of reading.

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Irlen — The Official Irlen International Website, Colored Lenses, Colored Overlays, Diagnosticians, Screeners

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The Official Irlen International Website, Colored Lenses, Colored Overlays, Diagnosticians, Screeners

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Click Here To Register For Independent Facilitator Mentor Training Empowering individuals with autism, their families, and professionals through advocacy, education, support, and community collaboration. To improve the lives of all affected by autism in Los Angeles County. Volunteer Donate Membership To improve the lives of all affected by autism in Los Angeles County.

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It is Westside Regional Center’s mission to empower people with developmental disabilities and their families to choose and access community services that facilitate a quality of life comparable to persons without disabilities.

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Westside Regional Center - Culver City, CA

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It is Westside Regional Center's mission to empower people with developmental disabilities and their families to choose and access community services that facilitate a quality of life comparable to persons without disabilities.

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Free Online English Classes From USA Learns

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Free Online English Classes From USA Learns

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USA Learns Now on Phones!

Exciting news! You asked for it, and it's here. With a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, USA Learns is now available to use on phones, tablets, and computers.
More >

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Learn English free and study to become a U.S. citizen at USA Learns: USA Learns is a free website to help adults learn English online and prepare to become a U.S. citizen. Online courses include fun videos and activities that teach basic and intermediate ESL to adults around the world, plus the opportunity to prepare for the naturalization interview to become a U.S.

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Practice listening comprehension skills.

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Boosting Your English Listening Skills

Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab has been providing online English listening comprehension activities for ESL and EFL learners since 1998. Visit Randall's other Web sites at DailyESL.com, EZslang.com, and Trainyouraccent.com for more language practice.

General ESL Listening Quizzes

Activities focus on everyday English comprehension skills at three levels based on content, voices, vocabulary, and natural speed. A combination of adult, teenage, and children's voices are included.

Explore More English Listening Activities

Randall has created a variety of other ESL listening activities to improve your comprehension, speaking, vocabulary, and cultural awareness.

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Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab - English Listening

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Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab helps ESL and EFL learners improve their English listening comprehension skills through conversations.

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Breaking News! New WSNYC Episode... Shola's Voice!

What difference does a blouse make? What difference does democracy make? Shola's Voice is a story about a blouse and a lot more-the power of voting, education, health care, housing, and other issues that matter to you, your family, and the community. Watch Shola's Voice and discover the power of Shola's voice and your own.

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Grammar worksheets and instruction

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FREE printable PDF grammar worksheets, quizzes and games for busy teachers, from A to Z. FREE on-line grammar quizzes for EFL&amp;amp;#x2F;ESL learners.

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Learning a new language is always daunting, especially when that language is as full of weird rules and contradictions as English. Even native speakers sometimes have trouble mastering the nuances of tense and grammar. Fortunately, if English is not your first language, there are a variety of ESL resources online to help you master the English language. From speaking to writing, these tools will help you get a handle on English and give direction to your education and career. Don't let the size of the task deter you from getting it done. Use these resources to become fluent in no time.

Grammar and Usage

Use these sites to boost your grammar skills, from verb tenses to noun placement.

1. Purdue Online Writing Lab: The OWL offers a comprehensive repository of practice sheets and linguistic primers for learners at all levels.

2. Dave's ESL Cafe: ESL teacher Dave Sperling's in-depth site provides numerous lessons about sentence structure, word use, and more. It's one of the best instructor-led websites for learning English.

3. The English Learner Movie Guides: This site takes popular movies and uses their summaries and idioms to examine the English language. This site is ideal for ESL students with a love of U.S. culture.

4. Wyzant Resources:
On this site, tutors share their knowledge and experience to help you learn to understand and recognize everything from a preposition to an irregular verb.

5. Breaking News English: These inventive lesson plans teach ESL online by drawing inspiration from recent news and global affairs. Each lesson is packed with information about word usage, grammar, and more.

6. ESL Lounge: ESL Lounge offers hundreds of language exercises, making this site ideal for students and scholars. Lessons in parts of speech and vocabulary are classified by difficulty.

7. Activities for ESL Students: This pared-down website offers grammar quizzes at multiple degrees of difficulty, designed for learners from dozens of different linguistic backgrounds.

8. Using English: This site offers a handy reference guide to major parts of speech and their usage, with bonus material for ESL instructors.

9. 5-Minute English: This comprehensive site not only offers a variety of lessons and exercises, it also boasts links to other helpful ESL online programs, books, and schools.

10. English, Baby!: ESL students can download MP3s, join chat rooms, take quizzes, and more on this useful site.

11. English Forums: Get help from English speakers and other ESL online learners in the world's largest ESL network. The site encourages students to speak up and ask questions.

Spelling and Pronunciation

These sites will help ESL online students learn how to speak or spell the English words they've been learning.

Vocabulary and Writing

Building a vocabulary is one of the most important parts of mastering any language. These sites help students start building a sophisticated vocabulary, learning how to use words verbally and on paper.

Quizzes and Worksheets

Put your knowledge to the test with these helpful tools:

Podcasts

These podcasts make great instructional tools for students on the go:

YouTube Channels

Dynamic, audio-visual lessons that you can both see and hear can make all the difference in learning conversational English skills. Check out these YouTube channels to get the experience of talking to someone face-to-face, and seize the opportunity to talk back!

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Learn ESL Online | Resources for ESL Students

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We've compiled many tools for teaching ESL, and resources for ESL students. Our list of websites to learn English will help any ESL teacher as well.

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Mon, 01/12/2009 - 00:18 - Chris McCarthy

'This book was written ___ Charles Dickens.'

It's time to test your understanding of prepositions. Take a look at the ten sentences and choose the correct preposition.
Link: Test your Prepositions knowledge!

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Learn English. 1 FREE English lesson added every single day. Grammar, vocabulary, listening & reading

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There are 57 fifteen-minute MP3 files. That is about 14 hours of listening.

The Stories Sorted by Author

Bierce, Ambrose (1842-1914)

Burroughs, Edgar Rice (1875-1950)

Butler, Ellis Parker (1869-1937)

Cather, Willa (1873-1947)

Chopin, Kate (1850-1904)

Crane, Stephen (1871-1900)

Folk Stories

Garland, Hamlin (1860-1940)

Harte, Bret (1836-1902)

Hawthorne, Nathaniel (1804-1864)

Henry, O. (1862-1910)

Irving, Washington (1783-1859)

Jewett, Sarah Orne (1849-1909)

London, Jack (1876-1916)

Melville, Herman (1819-1891)

O'Brien, Fitz-James (1828-1862)

Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849)

Porter, Eleanor H. (1868-1920)

Stockton, Frank R. (1834-1902)

Twain, Mark (1835-1910)

Weaver, Caty

Wharton, Edith (1862-1937)

MP3 Files Problems?

About

These will all print very cleanly (without printing the MP3 player and menu.)

You can read the text as you listen to its MP3 file.

The Voice of America (VOA) American Stories are good for people studying English
because they can not only listen to the stories but also read them. These are in VOA's Special English.

This site only hosts the American Stories that are not adaptations of copyrighted material.
"All text, audio and video material produced exclusively by the Voice of America
is public domain. However, some images and graphics are licensed for use and
covered by all applicable copyright laws."

Please note that though the source files were in the public domain, I have done some editing.

Other VOA Material on This Web Site

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American Stories in Easy English / American Stories in VOA Special English (ESL/EFL)

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Listen and Read Along - Text with Audio - For ESL Students - For Learning English

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Free Online High School Equivalency Prep

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Free Online High School Equivalency Prep

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Must have an active library card to use this service.

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Discover how the Brainfuse Adult Learning Center™ can help you

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Instructional Videos: Tutor Ready Writing

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Instructional Videos: Tutor Ready Writing

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Watch tutors demonstrate the various areas of teaching writing
1. The Writing Process
2. Pre-writing
3. Responding and Revising
4. Editing
5. Assessing Writing
6. Drafting Strategies
7. Writing for Everyday Purposes
8. Writing Mechanics
9. Learner Experience Approach for ELL

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Chapter 1: Responding to an Image (1:15) Chapter 2: Creating a Spelling Bank (4:24) Chapter 3: Using a Poem Template (7:13)

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Instructional Video: Language Experience Approach to Writing

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Instructional Video: Language Experience Approach to Writing

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This video demonstrates the language experience approach to reading with an adult student in a 1-1 tutoring environment.

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Teaching Editing - Practice Correcting Paragraphs

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Teaching Editing - Practice Correcting Paragraphs

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Correction exercises are valuable because they allow students to learn to proofread and edit. This skill inevitably carries over into their own work, allowing them to be better writers. What's more, correction worksheets give students more practice identifying common grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. It also gives beginning students practice learning new idiomatic expressions.

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Correction exercises are valuable because they allow students to learn to proofread and edit. This skill inevitably carries over into their own work, allowing them to be better writers. What's more, correction worksheets give students more practice identifying common grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. It also gives beginning students practice learning new idiomatic expressions.

Is is correct to say that Tom lives at Main street or on main street? These are the types of skills students will learn through using these worksheets.

Below you'll find our lists of printable paragraph correction worksheets. On these worksheets, students must choose the best way to correct errors highlighted in the given paragraph. They are tested on their knowledge of punctuation, spelling, syntax, symmetry, vocabulary, and verb tense usage. Each paragraph correction worksheet is 8 questions long. Most of the content tested is explained in other sections on this website. For all student levels.

Interested in using interactive versions of our worksheets? Want to use a study tool which automatically scores your work and allows you to review your mistakes? Have fun and help preserve the environment at the same time. Try out our online paragraph correction quizzes here!

© This is copyrighted work to be used only by teachers in school or at home. Binding, bookmaking, and or collation of our worksheets, reproduction and or duplication of our worksheets on other websites, and or use of our worksheets for commercial gain is strictly prohibited.

Beginning Level Paragraph Correction Worksheets

Intermediate Level Paragraph Correction Worksheets

Advanced Level Paragraph Correction Worksheets

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SANTA MONICA PUBLIC LIBRARY HelpNow - Online Tutoring

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Demo lessons between tutors and learners covering decoding strategies and exercises. This is an 11 part series.

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A Decoding Strategy Part 1: Practicing the Strategy

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A series of videos of a tutor working with a learner on recognizing phonemes. This is a six-part series.

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Instructional Video: Teaching Word Patterns

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Instructional Video: Teaching Word Patterns

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Phoneticists (who study the sound of the human voice) divide consonants into two types: voiced and voiceless. Voiced consonants require the use of the vocal cords to produce their signature sounds; voiceless consonants do not. Both types use the breath, lips, teeth, and upper palate to further modify speech. This guide presents the differences between voiced and voiceless consonants and gives you some tips for using them.

Voiced Consonants

Your vocal cords, which are actually mucous membranes, stretch across the larynx at the back of the throat. By tightening and relaxing as you speak, the vocal cords modulate the flow of breath expelled from the lungs.

An easy way to determine whether a consonant is voiced or not is to place a finger on your throat. As you pronounce a letter, feel the vibration of your vocal cords. If you feel a vibration the consonant is a voiced one.

These are the voiced consonants: B, D, G, J, L, M, N, Ng, R, Sz, Th (as in the word "then"), V, W, Y, and Z.

But if consonants are only single letters, what are Ng, Sz, and Th? They're common sounds that are produced by blending the two consonants phonetically.

Here are some examples of words that include voiced consonants:

Voiceless Consonants

Voiceless consonants do not use the vocal cords to produce their hard, percussive sounds. Instead, they're slack, allowing air to flow freely from the lungs to the mouth, where the tongue, teeth, and lips engage to modulate the sound.

These are the voiceless consonants: Ch, F, K, P, S, Sh, T, and Th (as in "thing"). Common words using them include:

Vowel sounds (A, E, I, O, U) and diphthongs (combinations of two vowel sounds) are all voiced. That also includes the letter Y when pronounced like a long E.

Examples: city, pity, gritty.

Changing Voice

When consonants are put in groups, they can change the vocal quality of the consonant that follows. A great example is the past simple form of regular verbs. You can recognize these verbs because they end in "ed." However, the consonant sound of this ending can change from voiced to voiceless, depending on the consonant or vowel that precedes it. In almost all cases, the E is silent. Here are the rules:

If the "ed" is preceded by a voiceless consonant such as K, it should be pronounced as a voiceless T. Examples: parked, barked, marked

If the "ed" is preceded by a voiced consonant sound such as B or V, it should be pronounced as a voiced D. Examples: robbed, thrived, shoved

If the "ed" is preceded by a vowel sound, it should be pronounced as a voiced D because vowels are always voiced. Examples: freed, fried, lied

Exception: If the "ed" is preceded by T, it should be pronounced a voiced "id" sound. In this case, the "e" is pronounced. Examples: dotted, rotted, plotted

This pattern can also be found with plural forms. If the consonant preceding the S is voiced, the S will be pronounced phonetically as a Z. Examples: chairs, machines, bags

If the consonant preceding the S is voiceless, then the S also will be pronounced as a voiceless consonant. Examples: bats, parks, pipes.

Connected Speech

When speaking in sentences, the ending consonant sounds can change based on the following words. This is often referred to as connected speech.

Here is an example of a change from a voiced B in the word "club" to a voiceless P because of the voiced T in "to" of the following word: "We went to the club to meet some friends."

Here is an example of a change from a voiced D past simple verb changed to voiceless T: "We played tennis yesterday afternoon."

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Know the Difference Between Voiced and Voiceless Consonants

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Improve your speech and enunciation with this lesson on the key differences between voiced and voiceless consonants in English language pronunciation.

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Learn the six types of syllables found in English orthography, why it's important to teach syllables, and the sequence in which students learn about both spoken and written syllables.

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Moats, L, & Tolman, C (2009). Excerpted from Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS): Spellography for Teachers: How English Spelling Works (Module 3). Boston: Sopris West.

For more information on Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) visit Voyager Sopris .

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Learn the six types of syllables found in English orthography, why it's important to teach syllables, and the sequence in which students learn about both spoken and written syllables.

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Printable resource pack with good visual representations of the 6 syllable types.

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Includes a nice visual list of common words with r-controlled vowels.

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R controlled vowels - How to teach the Bossy R pattern

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How to teach r controlled vowels and the r combination syllable to struggling readers - multisensory activities and strategies for teaching bossy r

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A quick overview of the phonics skills a learner will need to master with visual guides.

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What is Phonics? Phonics is the relationship between letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language. When a younger child learns that the letter 'T' has the sound of /t/ or when an older child leans that 'tion' sounds like /shun/, those are examples of them learning phonics. Knowing the sounds of letters and letter combinations will help your child decode unfamiliar words during their reading and phonics will help the child with spelling by them knowing which letter to use. Phonics is a key element to helping children learn to read and write. When learning phonics they are developing the ability to match a unit of sound (a phoneme) to a the letter or letters that make the sound (a grapheme). This is the foundation of reading by separating the written word into individual sounds and then blending it all together to make out a word.

Blends: two consonants come together quickly; still able to hear both sounds (L Blends, S Blends, R Blends) Phoneme: the smallest unit of sound that makes a difference in communication. In the English language we use about 44 different phonemes. : two letters come together to make one sound; they can not be separated
Consonant Digraphs: two or more consonants in which you can hear both sounds blended (can not be separated) Example: th, sh, ch, ph, wh [can be found anywhere in a word] Grapheme: is the consonants or consonant combination that represents a phoneme Vowel Digraphs: two vowel letters that make one sound; "when two vowels go walking, the first vowel does the talking"
R-Controlled Vowels: vowels in which the vowel sound is affected by the r; Also known as the "Bossy R" or "R-Influenced Vowels; Example: car, her, girl, horse, or urgent Consonant + le: ble, ple, gle, dle, kle, cle, fle, stle, tle, or zle Alphabetic Principle: rapid recognizing upper and lower case letters and matching sound to letter
The alphabet has 26 letters, 21 are consonants and 5 vowels (sometimes 'y' and 'w')
Open Syllable: syllable that ends in a vowel sound, such as the first syllable (CV and CVCe words are open syllable)
Closed Syllable: syllable that ends in a consonant sound. (CVC words are closed syllable)
Rule of Silent 'e': the silent 'e' makes the first vowel say his alphabet name

examples: table, apple, eagle, cradle, crackle, uncle, waffle, castle, bottle, and puzzle.

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What is Phonics? Phonics is the relationship between letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language. When a younger child learns that the letter 'T' has the sound of /t/ or when an...

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Instructional Video: How to Teach Open Syllables

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Instructional Video: How to Teach Open Syllables

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Instructional Video: Teaching Syllable Division

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Instructional Video: Teaching Syllable Division

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How to divide vowel/ consonant/ vowel words

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Teaching Syllable Division in V/CV and VC/V Words

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Instructional Video: How to Teach Short Vowels

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Instructional Video: How to Teach Short Vowels

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How To Teach Reading: Short Vowel Sounds with Hand Motions

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A way to deal with irregular spellings for the curious learner

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You don't have to be a teacher to want to laugh at how bizarre the English language can be. But if you are a teacher, your laughter may turn to tears the next time one of your students mixes up the homophones "two," "to," and "too."

Most of us learned that the English language is made up of rules and when a word doesn't follow rules it's called irregular. But this approach can be frustrating to both teachers and students alike.

Is it "c-a-t" or "k-a-t?" If <k> represents the /k/ sound, then why does "know" start with the /n/ sound?

We know how strongly you want to shout "just because!" when you receive a question like this. But the truth is, any time you answer with "because that's the way it is," you risk sending the message that your student isn't smart enough to catch up or that their curiosity to just too much. Most importantly, you might not be helping students for whom sounding it out is just not working, setting them up to feel like bad readers.

That's where structured word inquiry (SWI) can help. Using these guidelines, you can bring basic word inquiry into your elementary school classroom to ignite your students' curiosity and prepare yourself for the next time someone utters that dreaded "why?"

First Things First: Structured Word Inquiry Foundations

There are a few essential guidelines to remember when planning your word inquiry activities.

Good questions guide the way.

One of the neatest things about SWI is that children are learning through asking and answering their own questions, helping them master the scientific method without even realizing it. See how this second grade teacher helps her students develop, then explore, their theories.

Letters have more than one job.

Word inquiry can be complex, but it has simple building blocks. One fundamental understanding kids need to know is that letters have more than one job. Sometimes their job is to make sounds, but those sounds are not always the same. Sometimes, letters don't even make a sound, but their job is important nonetheless. Which brings us to understanding number three ...

The English language is spelled according to meaning, NOT sound

One of the first lessons children learn is that words are spelled based on how they sound. But any five-year-old is smart enough to call our bluff. If this were actually true, "nose" and "knows" would be spelled the same, and "car" could be spelled "kar," no problem.

In English, the reason words are spelled the way they are is primarily about meaning and only secondarily about sound. Some letters don't even make a sound, but their presence adds important etymological markers that signify meaning. For example, "two" is related to "twin," "twenty," "twice," etc. Without the <w> in "two," how would we know it's referring to a numeric value?

Graphemes and Phonemes

When you want to incorporate SWI into your classroom, one of the first ways to start is to use the terms "grapheme" and "phoneme" and teach your students to know the difference. In English, one phoneme (or, more simply, sound) can be represented by more than one grapheme. The difference in writing them is that graphemes use <> symbols and phonemes use //. For example, the /k/ phoneme can be represented with a "hard" <c> or <k> grapheme. Think: "cat" and "kite." Same initial phoneme, different graphemes. This goes for digraphs and trigraphs, too. The "long i" phoneme (/ī/) can be represented with <i> like in "mind" or the <igh> trigraph like in "sigh." Seems confusing? Watch how this first-grade teacher invites his students to investigate graphemes.

Overwhelmed? Don't be. Bear with us and try out SWI in your classroom with these simple and fun ways to begin:

1. Cultivate curiosity with a wonder word wall.

Making mistakes is not fun for anyone, especially new spellers. But it shouldn't be scary to ask questions! Celebrate risk-taking and help your students find the answers to their ambitious questions with a wonder word wall, like the one this second grade teacher uses.

2. Go on a phoneme hunt.

After introducing simple sounds, like long vowels, for example, go for a walk. Have students write (with assistance, if necessary) a list of things they see that contain that sound. For example, on a long E hunt, students might see a tr ee, the number thr ee, a b ee, the s ea, a k ey, a p each, the color gr een, a bab y. Once you are back in the classroom, write down every object and make a list of all the ways the /ē/ phoneme can be spelled. You'll even surprise yourself!

3. Teach students to spell prefixes and suffixes as one unit.

If students get used to seeing prefixes and suffixes isolated, they will learn to identify base words more easily. This can be helpful for some dyslexic learners, who often benefit from thinking of words in chunks or parts, rather than a series of tiny letters. For example, the word "transition" is less scary when it is thought of as transit + ion. Most students can remember that "transit" has to do with moving on. Slap that -ion on the end, and transition to the next word without fear. Read about how Gina Cooke incorporates SWI with her Orton-Gillingham training to teach spelling to students with dyslexia.

4. Redefine word families and expand your students' vocabularies.

With traditional phonics-based spelling, word families are presented as groups of words that share similar letter patterns, like mat, cat, hat, sat, bat. But these words share no meaning! Try teaching word families in a new way, this time based on meaning. Your students will find that related words also share letter patterns because they share meaning, too! Introduce a word like "instruct," which most students are familiar with. Hand out other words in the <struct> family and ask volunteers to read and spell them out loud. Guide students to look at 1) spelling and 2) meaning. Build a word matrix like this one from Real Spellers.

You'll notice that words in the <struct> family include: instruct, destructive, infrastructure, obstruction, structure. They all have to do, at their core, with building and assembling, and their meaning is modified by the affixes. For this activity, make friends with the free online etymology resource Etymonline, where you and your students can discover the hidden meaning of words!

5. Spell out loud for impact.

When spelling on the board, model your process out loud, naming graphemes like <ee> phoneme "double e" or <oo> "double o." Read digraphs and trigraphs, like <ea> and <igh>, and any other combination of letters that only makes ONE sound, as a unit. If you make a mistake, model how to laugh it off with your students and try again. The joy of word inquiry is that everybody, even adults, will always have more to discover.
We'd love to hear-have you tried structured word inquiry in the classroom? Come and share your experiences in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook. Plus, check out our free Boggle and whack-a-word printables for teaching spelling.

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Using these guidelines, you can bring basic word inquiry into your elementary school classroom to ignite your students' curiosity.

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Look up a word or a part of a word and find out where it originated and what it means. This is a map of the wheel-ruts of modern English. Etymologies are not definitions; they're explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago.

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Etymonline - Online Etymology Dictionary

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The online etymology dictionary (etymonline) is the internet’s go-to source for quick and reliable accounts of the origin and history of English words, phrases, and idioms. It is professional enough to satisfy academic standards, but accessible enough to be used by anyone.

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More Information in Structured Word Inquiry

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More Information in Structured Word Inquiry

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Instructional Video: Teaching Site Words with Adult Learners

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Instructional Video: Teaching Site Words with Adult Learners

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Teaching Sight Words With Adult Learners

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Make and review site word and vocabulary flashcards online.

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This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/

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everydayesl.com - everydayesl Resources and Information.

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everydayesl.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, everydayesl.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

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Just For Fun: The Chaos by Gerard Nolst Trenite

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Just For Fun: The Chaos by Gerard Nolst Trenite

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This is a classic English poem containing about 800 of the worst irregularities in English spelling and pronunciation.

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This is a classic English poem containing about 800 of the worst irregularities in English spelling and pronunciation. Will Snellen wrote a PDF version using the phonetic alphabet. You can hear some of it pronounced mostly correctly in videos here:

You can also skip down to a more complete introduction at the bottom of this page.

Gerard Nolst Trenité - The Chaos (1922)

Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as vague and ague,
But be careful how you speak,
Say: gush, bush, steak, streak, break, bleak ,

Have you ever yet endeavoured
To pronounce revered and severed,
Demon, lemon, ghoul, foul, soul,
Peter, petrol and patrol?

Say abscission with precision,
Now: position and transition;
Would it tally with my rhyme
If I mentioned paradigm?

Twopence, threepence, tease are easy,
But cease, crease, grease and greasy?
Cornice, nice, valise, revise,
Rabies, but lullabies.

Of such puzzling words as nauseous,
Rhyming well with cautious, tortious,
You'll envelop lists, I hope,
In a linen envelope.

Would you like some more? You'll have it!
Affidavit, David, davit.
To abjure, to perjure. Sheik
Does not sound like Czech but ache.

Arch, archangel; pray, does erring
Rhyme with herring or with stirring?
Prison, bison, treasure trove,
Treason, hover, cover, cove,

Perseverance, severance. Ribald
Rhymes (but piebald doesn't) with nibbled.
Phaeton, paean, gnat, ghat, gnaw,
Lien, psychic, shone, bone, pshaw.

Don't be down, my own, but rough it,
And distinguish buffet, buffet;
Brood, stood, roof, rook, school, wool, boon,
Worcester, Boleyn, to impugn.

Say in sounds correct and sterling
Hearse, hear, hearken, year and yearling.
Evil, devil, mezzotint,
Mind the z! (A gentle hint.)

Now you need not pay attention
To such sounds as I don't mention,
Sounds like pores, pause, pours and paws,
Rhyming with the pronoun yours;

Nor are proper names included,
Though I often heard, as you did,
Funny rhymes to unicorn,
Yes, you know them, Vaughan and Strachan.

No, my maiden, coy and comely,
I don't want to speak of Cholmondeley.
No. Yet Froude compared with proud
Is no better than McLeod.

Argil, gill, Argyll, gill. Surely
May be made to rhyme with Raleigh,
But you're not supposed to say
Piquet rhymes with sobriquet.

Had this invalid invalid
Worthless documents? How pallid,
How uncouth he, couchant, looked,
When for Portsmouth I had booked!

Zeus, Thebes, Thales, Aphrodite,
Paramour, enamoured, flighty,
Episodes, antipodes,
Acquiesce, and obsequies.

Please don't monkey with the geyser,
Don't peel 'taters with my razor,
Rather say in accents pure:
Nature, stature and mature.

Pious, impious, limb, climb, glumly,
Worsted, worsted, crumbly, dumbly,
Conquer, conquest, vase, phase, fan,
Wan, sedan and artisan.

Thompson, Chatham, Waltham, Streatham,
There are more but I forget 'em-
Wait! I've got it: Anthony,
Lighten your anxiety.

The archaic word albeit
Does not rhyme with eight-you see it;
With and forthwith, one has voice,
One has not, you make your choice.

Pudding, puddle, putting. Putting?
Yes: at golf it rhymes with shutting.
Respite, spite, consent, resent.
Liable, but Parliament.

Pronunciation-think of Psyche!-
Is a paling, stout and spiky.
Won't it make you lose your wits
Writing groats and saying "grits"?

Hiccough has the sound of sup...
My advice is: GIVE IT UP!

Notes on The Chaos

"The Chaos" is a poem which demonstrates the irregularity of English spelling and pronunciation, written by Gerard Nolst Trenité (1870-1946), also known under the pseudonym Charivarius. It first appeared in an appendix to the author's 1920 textbook Drop Your Foreign Accent: engelsche uitspraakoefeningen. The Chaos on Wikipedia

Chris Upward introduces The Classic Concordance of Cacographic Chaos

This version is essentially the author's own final text, as also published by New River Project in 1993. A few minor corrections have however been made, and occasional words from earlier editions have been preferred. Following earlier practice, words with clashing spellings or pronunciations are here printed in italics.

A number of readers have been urging republication of The Chaos, the well-known versified catalogue of English spelling irregularities. The SSS Newsletter carried an incomplete, rather rough version in the summer of 1986 (pp.17-21) under the heading "Author Unknown", with a parallel transcription into an early form of Cut Spelling. Since then a stream of further information and textual variants has come our way, culminating in 1993-94 with the most complete and authoritative version ever likely to emerge. The time is therefore now truly ripe for republication in the JSSS.

Our stuttering progress towards the present version is of interest, as it testifies to the poem's continuing international impact. Parts of itturned up from the mid-1980s onwards, with trails leading from France, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. The chequered career of the first version we received was typical: it consisted of a tattered typescript found in a girls' High School in Germany in 1945 by a British soldier, from whom it passed through various hands eventually to reach Terry De'Ath, who passed it to the SSS; but it did not mention who its author was. A rather sad instance of the mystery that has long surrounded the poem is seen in Hubert A Greven's Elements of English Phonology, published in Paris in 1972: its introduction quoted 48 lines of the poem to demonstrate to French students how impossible English is to pronounce (ie, to read aloud), and by way of acknowledgment said that the author "would like to pay a suitable tribute to Mr G Nolst Trenité for permission to copy his poem The Chaos. As he could not find out his whereabouts, the author presents his warmest thanks, should the latter happen to read this book". Alas, the poet in question had died over a quarter of a century earlier.

For the varied materials and information sent us over the years we are particularly indebted to: Terry De'Ath of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Tom McArthur (Editor of English Today) of Cambridge; Benno Jost-Westendorf of Recklinghausen, Germany; Professor Che Kan Leong of the University of Saskatchewan, Canada; the Editor of Perfect Your English, Barcelona; and SSS committee member Nick Atkinson for the French reference. From them we learnt who the author was and that numerous versions of the poem were in circulation; but many tantalizing questions remained unanswered.

Three contributions in 1993-94 then largely filled in the gaps in the picture. The first of these contributions was due to the diligent research of Belgian SSS member Harry Cohen of Tervuren which outlined the author's life and told us a good deal about the successive editions of the poem. The second came from Bob Cobbing of New River Project (89a Petherton Road, London N5 2QT), who sent the SSS a handsome new edition (ISBN 1 870750 07 1) he had just published in conjunction with the author's nephew, Jan Nolst Trenité, who owns the copyright. This edition had been based on the final version published by the author in his lifetime (1944), and must therefore be considered particularly authoritative. Finally, Jan Nolst Trenité himself went to considerable trouble to correct and fill out the details of his uncle's biography and the poem's publishing history which the SSS had previously been able to compile.

The author of The Chaos was a Dutchman, the writer and traveller Dr Gerard Nolst Trenité. Born in 1870, he studied classics, then law, then political science at the University of Utrecht, but without graduating (his Doctorate came later, in 1901). From 1894 he was for a while a private teacher in California, where he taught the sons of the Netherlands Consul-General. From 1901 to 1918 he worked as a schoolteacher in Haarlem, and published several schoolbooks in English and French, as well as a study of the Dutch constitution. From 1909 until his death in 1946 he wrote frequently for an Amsterdam weekly paper, with a linguistic column under the pseudonym Charivarius.

The first known version of The Chaos appeared as an appendix ( Aanhangsel) to the 4th edition of Nolst Trenité's schoolbook Drop Your Foreign Accent: engelsche uitspraakoefeningen (Haarlem: H D Tjeenk Willink & Zoon, 1920). The book itself naturally used the Dutch spelling current before the 1947 reform (see JSSS 1987/2, pp14-16). That first version of the poem is entitled De Chaos, and gives words with problematic spellings in italics, but it has only 146 lines, compared with the 274 lines we now give (four more than in our 1986 version). The general importance of Drop your foreign accent is clear from the number of editions it went through, from the first (without the poem) in 1909, to a posthumous 11th revised edition in 1961. The last edition to appear during the author's life was the 7th (1944), by which time the poem had nearly doubled its original length. It is not surprising, in view of the numerous editions and the poem's steady expansion, that so many different versions have been in circulation in so many different countries.

The Chaos represents a virtuoso feat of composition, a mammoth catalogue of about 800 of the most notorious irregularities of traditional English orthography, skilfully versified (if with a few awkward lines) into couplets with alternating feminine and masculine rhymes. The selection of examples now appears somewhat dated, as do a few of their pronunciations, indeed a few words may even be unknown to today's readers (how many will know what a "studding-sail" is, or that its nautical pronunciation is "stunsail"?), and not every rhyme will immediately "click" ("grits" for "groats"?); but the overwhelming bulk of the poem represents as valid an indictment of the chaos of English spelling as it ever did. Who the "dearest creature in creation" addressed in the first line, also addressed as "Susy" in line 5, might have been is unknown, though a mimeographed version of the poem in Harry Cohen's possession is dedicated to "Miss Susanne Delacruix, Paris". Presumably she was one of Nolst Trenité's students.

Readers will notice that The Chaos is written from the viewpoint of the foreign learner of English: it is not so much the spelling as such that is lamented, as the fact that the poor learner can never tell how to pronounce words encountered in writing (the poem was, after all, appended to a book of pronunciation exercises). With English today the prime language of international communication, this unpredictability of symbol-sound correspond-ence constitutes no less of a problem than the unpredictability of sound-symbol correspondence which is so bewailed by native speakers of English. Nevertheless, many native English-speaking readers will find the poem a revelation: the juxtaposition of so many differently pronounced parallel spellings brings home the sheer illogicality of the writing system in countless instances that such readers may have never previously noticed.

It would be interesting to know if Gerard Nolst Trenité, or anyone else, has ever actually used The Chaos to teach English pronunciation, since the tight rhythmic and rhyming structure of the poem might prove a valuable mnemonic aid. There could be material for experiments here: non-English- speaking learners who had practised reading parts of the poem aloud could be tested in reading the same problematic words in a plain prose context, and their success measured against a control group who had not practised them through The Chaos.

This version is essentially the author's own final text, as also published by New River Project in 1993. A few minor corrections have however been made, and occasional words from earlier editions have been preferred. Following earlier practice, words with clashing spellings or pronunciations are here printed in italics.

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This is a classic English poem containing about 800 of the worst irregularities in English spelling and pronunciation. Will Snellen wrote a PDF version using the phonetic alphabet. You can hear some of it pronounced mostly correctly in videos here: You can also skip down to a more complete introduction at the bottom of this page.

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Make and review site word and vocabulary flashcards online.

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We're focused on creating safe and welcoming spaces for everyone, and we look forward to seeing you soon. LAUSD students are automatically assigned a Student Success Card. Don't know your library card number or PIN? Fill out this form and we'll look up that information. Retrieve Your Card Info

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