Based on the Oakland Neighborhood Centers experience this curriculum guide provides ideas for literacy instruction for nonliterate students in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program. Section I lists some learning needs common to many literacy students. The three categories of needs are emotional and social difficulties, physical problems, and conceptual difficulties. Section II describes assessment for screening and placement of the nonliterate learner, including formal assessment, informal classroom assessment, and assessment for advancement readiness. Section III, on classroom organization, considers structuring the literacy classroom, pacing class time, organization of students' learning materials, and organization of learning outside the formal classroom (field trips). Section IV outlines the survival/life skills competencies to be considered--personal data, orientation (cultural, spatial, time), health, consumer needs, and community resources. The learning sequence (with corresponding learning tasks and objectives) is presented in section V. (The skills are listening comprehension, verbal, prereading, introductory writing, and reading and writing.) Section VI contains sample lesson plans (each containing topic, goal, materials, and procedure), sample worksheets, and a list of other ideas for classroom activities. A bibliography lists classroom texts, classroom materials, and teacher references. (YLB)