March 2018 
Dear parents/caregivers: 
 
My name is Matthew Kennedy and I’m an English teacher at Place Cartier Adult Education Centre. On 
Wednesday mornings, I meet for two hours with 8-10 students in the Delta Program in order to work on 
specific reading strategies. This session is part of the “Delta Split” component of the program, where 
students participate in smaller group instruction/remediation on Wednesday mornings. By the end of the 
year, I will have worked with all students in the program. My current goal is to discover how we can 
better support students in terms of reading and writing, and also how best to prepare them for the 
formal, credited English classes they are completing with Carmen and Jason this year. For the first few 
weeks, I spent time getting to know the students in my group and I identified their interests, strengths, 
and abilities. Based on my interactions with them and the work they completed with me, I then placed 
them in groups of three, and assigned each group a graphic novel that is appropriate to their reading 
level, but also that corresponds to their thematic and literary interests. The reason I have chosen to use 
graphic novels is because I feel that the form is of higher interest to reluctant or struggling readers than 
traditional texts, and also because the form requires a different kind of reading which will challenge even 
the strongest of readers. I also wanted to jump on the opportunity to introduce students to a type of 
novel that they probably haven’t studied before. Some of the reading strategies we have covered so far 
include: making predictions, making inferences, and summarizing a text. The session will culminate in 
them reading an entire graphic novel independently which they will have chosen based on their interests 
and research. 
 
 
 
 
M: I really enjoy having M in my group -- he has such a great energy, and gets along so well with 
the others in the group! He likes to joke around a little (which I enjoy!), but is able to buckle down 
and complete his work when needed. M writes quite well, but often his journals and answers to 
questions are little too short, and so it is sometimes a little difficult to provide him with adequate 
feedback. He will be completing his Sec. IV English in the winter, and I think it is important that he 
increase the volume of his writing so that his teachers can provide him with more comprehensive 
feedback and more specific writing tips. This session, M read ​21​, the graphic biography of 
Roberto Clemente, and really seemed to enjoy it. Also, he will be working with me on Tuesdays 
from 2:00 - 3:00 in a tutoring group, so we will have extra time to work together on his reading and 
writing. 
 
Thank you, 
 
Matthew Kennedy 
English Department