Our Website Planning Doc formatted for Adult Literacy Lessons: Conducting Research
Project Research
Our site planning doc presented as a literacy lesson
Once you have defined your objectives and visualized the deliverable, the next step is to gather the information needed to build the project.
Research involves identifying the topics your document will cover, determining what information is needed, and locating reliable sources.
Step 1: Outline Topics
Begin by drafting a simple outline that lists the major topics your project will include. This outline helps ensure the final project covers the information readers expect.
Interactive Alphabet
- Introduce each letter of the English alphabet.
- Show each letter in uppercase and lowercase.
- Distinguish vowels from consonants.
- Provide audio examples of English sounds for each letter.
- Suggest lesson topics for coaches.
- Provide exercises for self-study.
- Provide practice writing letters.
Learning Drills and Grammar
Using the public-domain Elementary Spelling Book, create learning modules for each drill set (56 drills in the current scope).
Each module will include:
- Word lists with audio pronunciation and images.
- Definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and rhymes using the Datamuse API.
- Links to online dictionaries if preferred by the learner.
- Practice exercises for spelling and sound recognition.
- Read-aloud sentences that demonstrate common word usage.
- Suggested lesson topics for coaches (grammar, spelling, prefixes, suffixes, punctuation).
- Later modules introducing composition topics such as writing stories, photo essays, and reports.
- Guidance on using AI tools such as ChatGPT to expand lesson plans.
- Workbooks that can be printed and used offline.
- Suggested reading materials connected to adult learning themes.
Reading and Writing Practice
Original reading material will be created to provide positive, peaceful reading practice for adult learners.
Planned topics include:
- Short stories (for example: a new puppy, a home garden, a childhood home, a first date).
- Photo essays (botanical gardens, downtown areas, public transportation).
- Critical reading exercises such as analyzing fake news.
- Reading-based games.
- Letters and project documentation templates.
Literature and Critical Thinking
- Collect 52 poems in the public domain.
- Provide lessons on how to read poetry.
- Analyze arguments and public issues to develop critical thinking.
These advanced sections require significant preparation time. To avoid delaying more essential literacy content, some of this material has been moved to a future phase of the project.
Step 2: Identify Information Needed
After outlining the topics, the next step is identifying what information is required to create each section.
In this project, much of the needed information already exists in literacy teaching materials, public-domain books, and educational resources. The challenge lies in organizing this information so that coaches and learners can use it easily.
Another important consideration is copyright. Whenever possible, sources should be free or inexpensive so that learners and coaches can access them easily.
Step 3: Conduct Research
Research may involve reading books, reviewing online resources, consulting experts, or examining public-domain materials.
The sources used for this project are documented in the following section.
Coach's Notes
Research is an important step in planning any document or project. Writers gather information so that their work will be accurate, useful, and complete.
Discussion questions:
- Why is it helpful to outline topics before doing research?
- How can an outline help writers avoid forgetting important information?
- What kinds of sources might be helpful when researching a topic?
Activity:
Ask the learner to choose a topic they are interested in (for example gardening, cooking, or travel).
Have them create a short outline listing three or four topics that a document about that subject should cover.
Explain that research begins with questions. Once you know what questions you want to answer, it becomes easier to find the information you need.
- Website Planning
- Project: guidedreadingjourney.com - a rogue literacy site
- Date: 2019-2024
The steps for planning a document are summarized in the Researching and Gathering Information Chart and the Organizing Information Table from: Markel, Mike. Technical Communications. Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston, MA, 2010.