Heath's+Article+(Elizabeth)

Heath mentions two Literacy Events in detail. One is about neighbors talking on the porch. The conversation involves a written piece. I have been involved in such a type of conversation in Lebanon, and I have shared our rent contract with a neighbor to figure out how much rent we were to pay come the new year, given the government mandated increases. Here in the USA people are more private and I have never shared such information as bills or immigration applications with anyone. Instructions in the USA are straight forward and I even do my taxes on my own. Instructions for governmental forms in Lebanon are not clearly stated and I couldn't follow them. As for Heath's second example about the Literacy Event at Church, I go to St. John's Lutheran Church and the Pastor distributes a sheet which has the highlights of his sermon for the day with blanks to fill in to keep the congregation attentive. He provides a list of key words at the bottom of the page, so that those interested can fill the blanks with these key words. I really like his method and it keeps me interested and actively engaged in following the sermon. He also provides the congregation with a typed worship guide where the responsive psalms are printed in bold for the congregation to sing or read aloud whereas what the pastor reads or sings is plainly printed. So, I guess it is a very engaged literacy event if we choose to call it by that name.