Literacy and the ENG 4C class

We do a unit at the end of our ENG 4C class that looks at really interesting podcasts, documentaries, essays, and opinion editorials. It's a tough unit but the 4Cs seem to really appreciate it. We make sure we pick materials that show that we realize that these are adults we're talking to--most of whom own cars, some of whom voted in the last election, some of whom have babies and husbands already. The topics are mature, current, and sometimes controversial.

This is all great, except that some of these adults are still very weak readers. So, what I've done is I've come up with a week's worth of lessons that still use these challenging materials as texts, but that emphasize literacy skills some of these students might benefit from. I'm going to experiment with it in the fall, and I'll get back to you on how it goes.

Here's an overview, and five 75-minutes lesson plans.

Overview
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five

So, we'll see. The unit will continue after these five classes, moving into writing and into looking at documentaries and more essays. I'm hoping that this week of skills will help give the weaker readers a boost so that they won't hesitate to pick up a paper, or click on a podcast, or watch the documentary channel.