Welcome to BC Reads!

This course pack is designed to meet the learning outcomes for Adult Literacy Fundamental English Level 3, as outlined in the Adult Basic Education in BC 2014/2015 Articulation Handbook. This is roughly equivalent to grades 3 to 4.5 in the K-12 system.

The units in this course cover three themes:

• Mysteries in BC History
• Snapshots of Culture in BC
• Wild BC

Each unit begins with a lesson related to “Skills and Strategies for Learning” (as noted in the Adult Basic Education in BC 2014/2015 Articulation Handbook). The lesson is taught using a profile based on a real community college learner in British Columbia.

Every chapter within the units includes a level-appropriate, high-interest reading of between 350 and 500 words. The readings are freely available in a separate reader, BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English – Reader 3. Convenient links to the readings are embedded in each chapter of this course pack.

Each chapter also teaches:

• A reading strategy
• A word attack strategy
• Exercises for identifying subject, main idea, details, and sequence
• A grammar rule
• Writing conventions

For more details, please see the Level 3 Scope and Sequence. Note that the learning goals for “Skills and Strategies for Learning” are covered in the unit introductions and are not included in the scope and sequence document.

This course pack makes use of a number of graphic organizers to help students order their thoughts in a visual way. You can download the complete set of graphic organizers. Students can also download them as needed, through the links embedded throughout the course pack.

In the appendix, you will find rubrics tailored to score each of the writing tasks assigned at the end of each chapter.

You may wish to use this program online, or you may wish to print it for your students by downloading it as a PDF. A print-on-demand option is also available, for a nominal fee. This program was designed to suit both options. Font size and line spacing can be adjusted in the online view, and have been enhanced for the print and PDF versions for easier reading. (In addition, both epub and mobi files are offered for students with e-readers and Kindles.) For students using this program in a self-paced format, there are audio clips embedded throughout the course pack. These clips narrate the denser sections of text.  This course pack has been reviewed by subject experts from colleges and universities.

I hope you and your students find the contents of these pages to be both enjoyable and rewarding!

-Shantel Ivits