Best of The Reader

Welcome

Posted by joan | Filed under Welcome

Welcome to Best of The Reader, a series of e-books for adult literacy and English as a second language learners. This site has 14 e-books, a teachers’ guide, and a calendar of special days and holidays for 2012.

Each e-book has 8 to 10 stories, and each story has exercises and activities to go with it. There is also an answer key in each e-book. The stories, recipes, puzzles, and other material are from past issues of The Westcoast Reader (1982-2009), a newspaper for adults who are improving their English reading skills.

You have permission to download, print, and distribute all the material on this site. To view and print the e-books, you may need to download and install the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Read more | Comments (6) | December 3, 2011

New content

Posted by joan | Filed under Uncategorized, Welcome

These have recently been added:

• A new e-book called Readers’ Stories
• A 2012 Calendar of Holidays
• A new story on page 25 of Canada’s Aboriginal People
• New stories on page 24 and page 27 of Keeping Safe

 

Read more | Comments (0) | December 2, 2011

We welcome your feedback

Posted by joan | Filed under Feedback

We would like to hear from you. If you have any comments, suggestions or teaching ideas, please post them here.

Read more | Comments (26) | September 2, 2010

Easy Stories: People

Posted by joan | Filed under Easy Stories

This e-book is designed for literacy level readers. Please note that it features a selection of stories from some of the other e-books on this site. The stories are all written at the easiest (one book) level.

Read more | Comments (0) | September 1, 2010

Amazing Stories

Posted by joan | Filed under Amazing Stories

Stories include:

• Students and teacher deliver baby
• Climber loses nine fingers
• Pi is lost for 26 days
• Two amazing friends
• People rescue trapped horses

Click the link to download the e-book Amazing Stories.

Read more | Comments (0) | July 30, 2010

Canada

Posted by joan | Filed under Canada

Articles include:

• Canada quiz
• July 1 is Canada’s birthday
• Helping newcomers adjust to Canada
• Workers find dinosaur tracks in B.C.
• Terry Fox is a Canadian hero

Click the link to download the e-book Canada.

Read more | Comments (0) | July 27, 2010

Canada’s Aboriginal People

Posted by joan | Filed under Canada's Aboriginal People

Stories include:

• Susan Aglukark
• Small business is a big success
• A Haida legend
• Susan Point is a Coast Salish artist
• National Aboriginal Day

Click the link to download the e-book Canada’s Aboriginal People.

Read more | Comments (0) | July 26, 2010

Families

Posted by joan | Filed under Families

Stories include:

• A family farm
• Sikh family celebrates
• Helping children learn
• Trinidadian family is happy in B.C.
• Family life with Baby Blues (cartoons)

Click the link to download the e-book Families.

Read more | Comments (0) | July 25, 2010

Keeping Safe

Posted by joan | Filed under Keeping Safe

Stories include:

• What to do in an earthquake
• Boy saves neighbours from fire
• Tips for preventing falls
• How to be safe around dogs
• Safety tips at the ATM

Click the link to download the e-book Keeping Safe.

Read more | Comments (0) | July 24, 2010

Many Ways to Help

Posted by joan | Filed under Many Ways to Help

Stories include:

• Small loans help poor people
• An ESL class finds a way to help
• Mehdi helps Jonathan learn
• Simon works to save rare bears
• Students send quilt to Afghanistan

Click the link to download the e-book Many Ways to Help.

Read more | Comments (0) | July 23, 2010

People and Jobs

Posted by joan | Filed under People and Jobs

Stories include:

• Window washer has a great view
• Alix works at a garden centre
• Ferry captain is at the top
• Honoré has a radio show
• RCMP officer is from Mexico

Click the link to download the e-book People and Jobs.

Read more | Comments (0) | July 22, 2010

Readers’ Stories

Posted by joan | Filed under Readers' Stories

Stories by readers include:

• Save our planet
• Gabi’s hiccups
• New Year’s in Thailand
• Legend of the dancing goats
• Honeymoon in Paris

Tags: Readers' Stories

Read more | Comments (0) | July 21, 2010

Recipes

Posted by joan | Filed under Recipes

Recipes include:

• Healthy snacks
• Fruit smoothie
• Greek salad
• Sweet chili tofu stir-fry
• Cranberry pear crumble

Read more | Comments (2) | July 21, 2010

Special Days and Holidays

Posted by joan | Filed under Special Days and Holidays

Holidays include:

• New Year’s
• Lunar New Year
• Valentine’s Day
• Norooz
• Easter

Click the link to download the e-book Special Days and Holidays

Read more | Comments (0) | July 20, 2010

Sports

Posted by joan | Filed under Sports

Stories include:

• Swedish twins are hockey players
• Grey Cup
• Joannie is an Olympic athlete
• Olga is a track star at 90
• Two Brazilian soccer players

Click the link to download the e-book Sports.

Read more | Comments (3) | July 19, 2010

Word Games and Puzzles

Posted by joan | Filed under Word Games and Puzzles

Puzzles include:

• Crosswords
• Find the differences
• Sudoku
• Word play
• Find the words

Click the link to download the e-book Word Games and Puzzles.

Read more | Comments (0) | July 18, 2010

Your Health

Posted by joan | Filed under Health

Articles include:

• Choose healthy food
• Exercise is good for you
• Take care of your teeth
• Protect yourself from colds and flu
• How to read a medication label

Read more | Comments (2) | July 17, 2010

Teachers’ Guide

Posted by joan | Filed under Teachers' Guide

The guide has four sections: Pre-reading Activities, Listening and Speaking Activities, Reading Comprehension Activities, and Activities for Developing Vocabulary. Each section has an introduction and sample activities.

I hope that teachers will be able to customize the suggested activities to fit the needs, interests, and ages of their students as well as their language and reading levels.

Read more | Comments (4) | July 16, 2010