 I teach a Saturday morning GED class, with our time devoted mainly to math and writing. Practice test scores in reading are not as high as they should be, with most of my students' errors in the area of fiction. What can I do in our short time together to help my students become stronger in that particular area?
 A: In the best of all possible worlds, our students would read novels and short stories, which would lead to class discussion and appropriate assignments. You should encourage everyone to get a library card. Help facilitate that by providing them the locations and phone numbers or e-mail addresses of the branches in their area.
The GED Connection Language Arts: Writing & Reading Book would be an excellent text for your class. It is possible that many of your students come from other countries and are not familiar with contemporary literature. And others, who left school early, may never have taken a serious course in high school English. This book will give them an excellent orientation and much time to read selected fiction and to practice. Chapter 13 is devoted to fiction.
This statement taken from page 271 of the above-mentioned book puts it in a nutshell:
"The ability to read and understand fiction is important to your success on the GED Reading Test. Most important will be your ability to understand the characters in fiction, to identify a story's point of view, to appreciate the contribution of conflict and the setting to a story, and to identify themes and writing style."
You should try to reprint (for classroom purposes only) some short stories that you can assign for at-home reading and discussion as a group later on.
The following will aid you in introducing students to literary terms that will help them answer questions posed on the reading test: it is a comprehensive list of literary terms that your students will find useful while navigating through the reading of short stories.
Character Development: the change in a character from the beginning to the conclusion of the story.
Characterization: the ways a writer shows what a character is like. The way a character acts, speaks, thinks, and looks defines that person.
Climax: the turning point of a story.
Conflict: a struggle or difference of opinion between characters. Sometimes a character may clash with a force of nature.
Dialogue: the exact words that a character says: usually the conversation between two characters.
Foreshadowing: clues that hint or suggest what will happen later in the story.
Inner conflict: a struggle that takes place in the mind of a character.
Main Character: the person the story is mostly about.
Mood: the feeling or atmosphere that the writer creates. For example, the mood of a story might be joyous or suspenseful.
Motive: the reason behind a character's actions.
Narrator: the person who tells the story. Usually, the narrator is the writer or a character in the story.
Plot: the series of incidents or happenings in a story. The plot is the outline or arrangement of events.
Purpose: the reason the author wrote the story. For example, an author's purpose might be to amuse or entertain, to convince or to inform.
Setting: the time and place of the action in a story; where and when the action takes place.
Style: the way in which a writer uses language. The choice and arrangement of words and sentences help to create the writerÕs style.
Theme: the main or central idea of a story.
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 I found your Web site while surfing for some other information. I am trying to find out how I can get a copy of my own GED that I took back in 1979 (yes, 1979). I am 42 years old and I just was hired into a job that requested it. That is the first time in all these years.
I have no idea where I may have put the original, and I can't even remember the school where I took it. I do know that I took it in the Bronx and the year was 1979.
My name is Robert K...... I do not have a middle name. At the time I lived at 6666 ABC Avenue, Bronx, New York.
Your best bet is to call the GED Testing Service at the New York State Education Department at (518) 474-5906 and listen for instructions for obtaining copies of your transcript. If you wait long enough, someone will assist you.
You can e-mail the GED Testing Service at GED@mail.nysed.gov if you need verification that the diploma was issued, but I suspect that you will need an actual transcript.
You can also obtain a copy of your transcript by writing to New York State Education Department, GED Testing, PO Box 7348, Albany, New York 12204-0348. You will need to enclose a money order or certified check for $4.00 (non-refundable). It must be payable to the New York State Education Department.
Be sure you include the information you gave me. You will need to give your full name, date of birth, social security number and your current address in addition to the address where you were living at the time you took the test. Be sure to sign your letter.
In your letter, be sure to include the reason you need your transcript. It might just hurry the process along. If you are a veteran, include that information as well. Veterans are given priority.
The State Education Department was not computerized in 1979 so the process may take a while.
TIPS - Educators
Life skills:
Phone Messages: Whether you are a regular adult education instructor or teaching job readiness, you should emphasize to your students how important communication skills are.
When leaving a phone message, you want to be sure to have the call returned. Therefore, you need to pronounce your name clearly and leave your area code and phone number. Indicate when you can be reached at home or at work. State the purpose of your call. For example, "I am interested in your Distance Learning Tutorial."
If you are leaving an e-mail message, be sure that you have the correct address of the recipient. Be polite; courtesy in an electronic message is just as important as in a phone call. It is often the first impression someone has of you. People tend to be fast and sloppy when communicating by e-mail. It is good to check your spelling. First and last name are necessary in an e-mail message, especially one when you are asking for something.
If you are addressing an envelope, be sure to put the person's first and last name, correctly spelled. The name of the organization or agency goes next, then the street address, then city or borough and zip code. The floor or suite number should go after the name or in the lower left hand corner. When addressing an envelope for a personal letter, apartment number and zip code are necessary to complete the address. Mail will often be returned to the sender if these items are not included.
TIPS - Students
GED Exam:
Buyer Beware Update: We have talked in the past about bogus offers for GEDs or college diplomas. These offers usually get you hooked by promising a rapid entry exam and the delivery of a degree by return mail. There are fees, of course. More often than not, you do not get a legitimate diploma earned by taking and passing the GED test or completing a course of study at a state-certified community or four-year college. Instead, you may get some kind of certificate that is not accredited or recognized either by the state or federal government.
Read the fine print when receiving offers that sound too good to be true. They are usually far from true and can cost you dearly.
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