Planning Reading Program
Setting program outcomes. CLA encourages libraries to set outcomes for their summer reading programs and plan programs that will help you achieve those outcomes. This book presents an organizational model for reading program development. Following an overview of the program-planning/needs-assessment design, two sections of the.
Summer Break is a favorite time of year for school-age children across the nation. When I was a child it meant freedom from the daily grind of alarm clocks, bus stops, school bells, homework and testing. It also meant extended stays at my grandparents’ ranch, long days playing out in the sun and chasing down the ice cream truck with my friends, and the much-begged-for trips to the community pool. However, one of my favorite memories of Summer Break was participating in our local library’s Summer Reading Program. Just as soon as my Mother had a moment to spare she would load me and a few of my friends into her car and drive us to the library to register and get our reading logs. The guidelines clearly spelled out how many books we had to read to reach certain reward levels, as well as the prizes we could earn if we made the mark.
I remember I checked-out four books a visit. I am not certain whether that was my Mother’s or the library’s rule (not that it mattered), but it was usually just enough pages to keep me occupied until the next visit. Even without the Summer Reading Program I was a voracious reader. Reading was encouraged and modeled in my childhood home.
We did not often watch television; unlike many of my friends’ homes, our black and white set was small enough to fit atop a barstool and was stored in the closet when we weren’t using it. Television was not an important part of my early childhood (well, not until The Cosby Show anyway) so instead, I spent a good deal of time splayed across any number of surfaces with my nose in a book–lost in one story after another. When Emelie was three I began taking her to the weekly Preschool hour at our local library. We moved several times in her Preschool years, but no matter where we settled we always sought out the local library or bookstore to participate in their childrens’ programs.
They were free, fun for Emelie, and it was a nice way to break-up the monotony of running necessary weekly errands. As Meredith and Kenny came into our family we maintained the same routines.
At the ages of 15, 12 and 9 the kids share mine and Jeff’s love of reading, but have little interest in our local library’s Summer Reading Program. Though they usually need little incentive to read, I would like to ensure they are reading more often than not in their “down” time throughout the Summer.
There is simply nothing better than discovering a new author or nestling in with an old favorite, so I thought perhaps I could spur them on to read more if I develop a customized incentive program of our own. I am not sure whether I want to measure by the book count or pages read, though I’m leaning toward book count. I would like the ultimate prize to be a family activity (Six Flags for instance), but in that case the intermediary prizes would need to be less costly while we save for the big one. For instance, we could implement chore trade-offs where Jeff or I wash and put away their dishes, clean their rooms, wash, fold and put away their clothes, etc., for a 24 hour period. If you have established a personalized summer reading plan or program with your children, or just have some awesome ideas to share, please inspire me with your ideas in the comments. About the Author: Heather Sanders writes about: the choice to surrender and simplify your life to create peace and balance in all the busyness., and follow her on and. I’m Heather, a freelance writer living in Huntsville, a smallish town on the tail-end of the East Texas Pineywoods.
Twenty years ago, I married Jeff, the love of my life, and shortly after, we chose to “go forth and multiply.” We have three kids: Emelie, Meredith and Kenny. We homeschool. It's what we do, and it works for us. Tired of feeling overwhelmed, we recently 'faithsized' our family into a 960 square foot lake cabin in need of renovation. I write at HeatherSanders.com about faith and simplifying your desires so you can be content right here and right now. As a children’s librarian, I’d like to ask that you reconsider encouraging your homeschool readers to participate in local public library Summer Reading Programs.
Program Planning Template
Besides being well-planned activities that encompass and encourage reading, they are great opportunities for your students to stretch their circle of friends and can often encourage new interests. I’m also recommending public library programs as a homeschooling mom of a 7 year old voracious reader who has also learned to share her love of reading at these programs as well as being a myth-buster about homeschooling. Our local children’s librarian has been invaluable to recommend reading material for us. Public libraries (and the librarians who staff them) should be your “go-to” resource for all things reading, at all ages. I’m the (volunteer) director of our tiny public library. We rely entirely on volunteers and donations to accomplish our summer reading program, and drool with envy when looking at the programs offered by larger, richer libraries. I might suggest that you get your children involved with supporting your library’s SRP, so that they can help other kids learn to love reading — and get a wider view of the books available for their own reading.
By the way, our library (and others in TN) now allow children to count e-books read through the TN State Library’s R.E.A.D.S electronic library on their SRP book logs. My children are younger (4 6 and under) so we have a limited knowledge of summer reading programs. We are participating in our local library’s summer reading program.
We’ve tried it the past couple of years but haven’t been successful due to scheduling conflicts. So far, the kids are liking it. We have yet to join in the on-site festivities since they are all at nap time. We are also participating in the Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program. For 8 books read and reviewed, the child gets to pick an age-appropriate book from a selection group chosen by B&N. The boys are very excited to get a free book. I’m interested to hear what others have to say since I know we’ll be trying to customize programs as the kids get older.
My daughters both love to read but my 11 year old son could take it or leave it (especially if video games are an option). So a few years ago we came up with a rule to “make” him read while making it fun and a privelege. Bedtime for kids at our house is 8pm, but once they’re a proficient reader and reading chapter books (usually in 2nd grade), we allow them to stay up until 9pm. The catch is that during that hour they are only allowed to read. (The reading privelege is the first thing revoked as a punishment and the kids hate it!).
If you are creating your own program, you might consider rewarding the amount of time spent reading, rather than page length or number of books. That way your kids would read what truly interests them, rather than possibly making decisions based on book length. Also, slower readers wouldn’t be penalized more than faster readers. As far as smaller and cheaper prizes, do you have a dollar movie theater or used book store close?
$1.50 goes a long way in those places, plus the idea of being alone with a parent on one of those outings would be motivating as well. Another prize that might go over well would be having their favorite food made for dinner one night or being in charge of picking the movie for a family movie night. We loved our library summer reading program for years, but since I usually have the opposite problem — I have to force my kids to put down their books and do something else– we really don’t bother with it now.
We do look for other reading incentives, though. Our local county fair offers 3 free rides for 3 books read during the summer, so we fill out their list, and Barnes and Noble offers a free book to kids who bring in their reading list.
I also encourage my kids to read books that will expand their horizons and assign non-fiction or classic reading during the summer time so that they read a little beyond their comfort level. I figure that with 3 or 4 hours a day spent reading in the summer, they can spend a little time on my books. My oldest is 8. We participated in the local library reading program when she was 3 and it was great! The highlight for me was at the end when she got a beautiful medal.
(Just like the 7 or 8 I earned as a child!) She was absolutely awestruck. We moved the next spring and were dissapointed with our new library system. It is a small town not cooperating with other towns in the county or our larger metro. (I don’t understand the politics involved in THAT!) In any case, the summer reading program prizes consist mostly of lame restaurant coupons that we aren’t interested in. And NO MEDAL.
We only did it once or twice. My daughter now participates in an online reading program where she has a chance to earn a book store gift certificate. It is HIGHLY motivational. She loves to read. I do miss the live, local aspect, but.
My 2 oldest children and special needs so they are not able to participate in the summer reading programs at the Librarynot in the way I’ve always envisioned for my children or as I participated as a child. My #3 child is 6 1/2 and though and has TOTALLY fallen in love with reading. She began reading at 3 1/2 – every time I think of it it absolutely amazes me. This is the first summer we have really gotten involved with the summer reading program. It brings back such wonderful memories of my childhood! I mention my 2 older children because I’ve been a Mom for nearly 17 years and am just getting to experience all of those exciting moments that I had with learning and reading and such.
I am ecstatic every time I see my 6 year old pick up a book and get so excited with reading!!! So, in a nutshell.no particular reading program for the summer that I’ve set up, just what is offered at the library. We LOVE our library!!! I found a great “bingo chart” on pinterest so as they read for the required number of minutes (10 for the younger ones – 30 for the elementary school kids) in various locations they cross it off on their bingo board.
For example, one kid read for 30 min while wearing a hat and another read for 30 min after dinner! When they get a bingo they get a smaller prizemaking cookies, getting ice cream, i’ll buy them a new book or we’ll go mini-golfing. When they get a blackout we’ll do something bigger like take a trip to the beach.
It’s been working so far this summer and my kids have each gotten 2-3 bingos and by the end of the day or so they’ll each have 2-3 more! Time to start redeeming those rewards! I guess I’m not sure why you need an incentive program at your house.
They all clearly love to read already (Emelie’s book reviews have guided my daughter toward some great reads!). To me it seems like the only incentive they need is access to all, all, all the books!
The fabulous book critic and essayist Michael Dirda wrote a great piece about summer reading once in which he said that a great summer reading program should involve setting your moral parameters (which are different for every family), then providing as much access to as much different material (high-brow, low-brow, uni-brow) as you can — and then stand back. Comic books, newspapers, classics, magazines, trendy series fiction — doesn’t matter. The readers love to read! I feel like removing the distractions that may appear at first glance to be more enticing than reading has been the best reminder to my kids that reading is their first and best love. We have chosen to have limited access to television, and in the past kept a close eye on the amount of other kinds of ‘screen” time as well. These days (with one in college but home for the summer, and two in high school) they all would rather read than do anything else. Summer Reading Clubs have a special place in my heart.
Wonderful idea for individual and family rewards! I would use books instead of pages. If they already love reading, chances are they won’t abstain from a book because it’s long. And if they read a few shorter books to reach a goal, maybe they will find books they might not have noticed before.
Individual reward levels (every 5 books): chore trade-offs, Root beer float, bike ride with dad, homemade cookies, bag of favorite chips, Pizza with choice of toppings, getting to push mom/dad into the pool, matinee movie, stay up late Family reward levels (every 25 books): water balloon fight, shaving cream fight, water gun fight, new diving sticks/pool toys, new boardgame, family movie night Are you and Jeff going to count your books, also? You deserve treats, too. 🙂 The Houston Public Library has a Summer Adult Book Club that started June 1. I’m on my seventh book. How about reading one book from several different categories, and then telling about what you liked and didn’t like about each one. Basically it’s a book club premise.you choose a book, read it, then discuss.
With our kids, we did our own research and came up with a list of 5 books in each categorynon-fiction, fiction and classic-then we also had a fluff category. They each got to choose at least one book from each category, but they had to choose carefully, because they had to finish whatever books they started.
Free service manuals pdf. Sometimes books might sound interesting, but the plot moves too slowly or it’s too dry with facts, facts and more facts–and if you choose one of those, it’s very difficult to keep momentum and finish. In the ‘fluff’ category, they basically could choose a book (or books) they wanted to read based on a recommendation by someone they know.
I was hoping they would choose the same book at least once for pure debate value, but they didn’t. We did one section per month in summer, and they could read as many ‘fluff’ books as they wanted throughout, but they had to complete each section before the month was over and the last day of the month, we would discuss their findings. I thought they actually had the most fun with the non-fiction, which I was amazed about. Being very different children, my son picked a book about Lou Gehrig, and my daughter picked one about Queen Elizabeth I–both were hits, but both could have been a little less dry. Happy summer reading!! I like the idea of something visual, even with older kids.
I worked at a summer school for a couple of years and we had an ice cream cone on a bulletin board for each kid. For each book, they got to add a scoop of ice cream to their cones. As the summer progressed, the scoops ran off the bulletin board, up the wall and across the ceiling. That was really fun to see.
Our library tracks time read in 15 minute increments rather than number of books read. I like that because my 2 year olds read the same picture books over and over. I’m a grandmother of 2 grandsons (9 1/2 and 7) who live in another state. My husband and I wanted to encourage them to continue reading during the summer so we told them that at the end of the summer we will give them 50 cents for each book they read. I created two spreadsheets and they have to list the name of the book, the author, whether they liked or did not like the book, and why. I thought this way they would have to pay attention to what they are reading, learn authors’ names, and express their opinions of the books.
My 13-year-old informed me just Tuesday that she rather not participate in the Summer Reading Program anymore. It has been a summer staple in our home for years, but I am encouraging her to make some decisions on her own regarding some of avenues we take with schooling. That said, we still have a reading plan for the summer. During the school year we usually try and follow a required reading list for the year (with a few she wants to read added here and there).
She really looks forward to summer b/c she gets pick all she reads. We do page count and I will let her set the goal of how many pages she wants to read. We did decide she has to choose one book out of all the ones she reads and has to do a written report on the book with a storyboard (she is an artist) This was something she thought would be fun to do. Should be a different kind of reading summer for us! We started out with reluctant readers, so to encourage them we started rewarding them for every 1000 pages. This worked great and we now have 4 kids who love to read! We have lowered the reward (because they read too much!) and they still prefer to read then almost every thing.
The trick was to let them pick something easy to start with (below their reading level). This helped them see that reading could be fun.
My 14 yr old boy still doesn’t read anything too hard, but my 12 yr old girl is reading adult material. And her 10 yo sister, who was a reluctant learner, reads more than anyone else!
Learn how to plan and develop an Adult Literacy Program. Author's Note: I've spent nearly 20 years in adult education, 13 of those helping to found and run The Literacy Project, a community based adult literacy program in western Massachusetts. Much of this section and the next is based on personal experience, and most of the examples are out of my own work. In general, my prejudices in this area run to collaborative management and to the concept of adult literacy as an extremely broad endeavor which embraces education, learner empowerment, and social change. Phil Rabinowitz. What is adult literacy?.
Why start an adult literacy program?. How do you plan an adult literacy program? In 1984, the issue of adult literacy was highlighted in Illiterate America, a best-selling book by Jonathan Kozol.
The book pointed out that most estimates placed at 20 to 25 the percentage of Americans reading and writing below the level needed to function in the society. Illiterate America caused a sensation, and moved government to pay more attention to the issue. The National Adult Literacy Study (NALS) was ultimately established by the Bush administration, and in 1993 published a report that confirmed the fact that there was a problem with the literacy rate in a country that had always considered itself nearly 100% literate. For individuals, lack of basic skills can lead to unemployment or low-paying, dead-end jobs; to status as permanent political outsiders, with no opportunity to have their voices heard; and to the possibility of watching their children repeat the cycle. For your local area, low literacy levels can affect economic development, diminish the effectiveness of local government and citizen participation, and place a heavy financial and educational burden on the school system. For all these reasons, many communities support adult literacy programs. This section provides some information about adult literacy and some guidance about how to plan an adult literacy program.
The will help you to actually get your program started in the community. What is adult literacy? This may seem like a simple question to answer - adults being able to read and write, right? - but in fact educators have been puzzling and arguing over it for at least a hundred years. It encompasses reading and writing, of course, but at what level?
A hundred years ago, people were considered literate if they could write their names, a qualification that would certainly be woefully inadequate today. And what about math?
To be literate, do you have to be able to at least add, subtract, multiply, and divide, so you can balance your checkbook and figure your gas mileage? Do you need a certain amount of general knowledge in order to be literate? A lot of educators who use the term 'cultural literacy' think so. How about people who can't speak or read or write English: are they literate, if they can read and write in their own language? And do you have an obligation to help learners understand how to use their literacy? Components of adult literacy As you can see, adult literacy can be looked at in a number of different ways.
In planning an adult literacy program, you have to consider all of them, and decide what your community needs and what you have the resources to do. The areas that are generally referred to when adult literacy is discussed are:. Reading: 'Functional literacy' is often defined as the ability to read at a particular grade level. Writing: Written literacy might best be considered to be an individual's capacity to write what she needs to in clear and reasonably accurate language. Math: 'Numeracy' or 'mathematical literacy' usually refers to the ability to perform the basic mathematical operations - addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and whatever else - normally needed in everyday life. English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL ): The teaching of English speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills to those for whom it is not the native language. Cultural literacy: Familiarity with the background knowledge that is everywhere in American culture.
This can include everything from the great classics of western literature to knowing the names of Elvis Presley hits from the '50's. The uses of literacy The uses of literacy also have to be considered in any discussion about the subject. Mark Twain said that someone who can read and won't is considerably worse off than someone who can't read, because the latter can be taught to read, while the former is stuck in ignorance. It is the use of a skill that matters: there may be many athletes with the potential of a Michael Jordan, but only one of them developed his basketball skill to the point where he was considered the best in the world. So what do adults want to use literacy skills for? Sondra Stein, of the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), conducted a nationwide survey and reported the results in 'Equipped for the Future.' Adult learners in literacy programs, asked why they were pursuing literacy skills, gave three equally important reasons:.
They wanted to improve their employment situations. Whether that meant gaining more responsibility on their jobs, becoming more competent at what they did, being promoted, finding a better job or career, or just being able to work at all, most learners felt that improving their skills could lead to improving their work life and finances. They wanted to be better parents, spouses, and family members.
Reading to children or helping them with homework, keeping better contact with faraway relatives, even writing love letters to husbands or wives were all cited as reasons for learning to read and write better. They wanted to be better citizens, and to participate in the political life of their communities. Learners wanted to be able to read about and understand the issues in political campaigns or local controversies, so they could make their own reasoned decisions, and wanted to be able to work in their communities to influence or change the things they cared about. As you plan an adult literacy program, you need to consider what learners want and need. Their motivation comes not from what you think they should have, but from what they see as necessary in their lives. Often, as learners gain competence and confidence, learning itself may become one of their goals, and that is certainly to be encouraged. But don't lose sight of the fact that their lives dictate the uses of their newly acquired skills.
Why start an adult literacy program? There are two general reasons to start an adult literacy program: to meet community need, and to support a larger initiative.
Planning A Summer Reading Program For Kids
Community need Communities can assess and interpret their own needs in a number of different ways. Once you've determined to start a program, it's necessary to and determine how many people need what kinds of literacy services. But before you look at numbers, you have to listen to the community to understand how it views the issue of literacy, and what kinds of needs resonate with its residents.
Some community reasons for establishing a program may be:. Economic concerns. Do local employers have difficulty finding qualified and competent workers to keep their businesses and industries competitive? Is the local unemployment rate high? Is the area depressed?
Literacy could be closely related to all of these conditions. Immigration. A community may experience growth in its immigrant community, creating a need for ESOL services. Employers, merchants and service industries, and health services may have difficulty communicating with immigrants, often because of cultural as well as language differences.
The local schools may also be seriously affected. Children's education. It is often mentioned that the one clearly significant literacy statistic that applies under virtually any circumstances is that mothers (i.e. Primary caregivers) with low literacy levels have children with low literacy levels. If the community and its schools are concerned about the literacy of children, one component of addressing the issue may be literacy services for parents, or a family literacy program that works with parents and children together.
Health issues. Literacy is often a factor in health issues, particularly preventive health and health maintenance. Do parents understand the need for good prenatal and infant care? Are elderly residents aware of how their medication is to be taken and stored? Does everyone understand the instructions to be followed if the water treatment plant breaks down? Concern for public health may be a motivator for literacy services.
Quality of life. In many communities, raising the quality of life for all citizens is a priority. Thus, a community may decide that literacy services are important simply because there are community members who need them.
More often, this concern links with one or more of the others mentioned to strengthen the determination of the community to support a program. A literacy program as part of a larger initiative Literacy programs may be seen either as integral to the achievement of the goals of a larger community initiative (one on education, for instance), as one part of a multi-pronged approach to a community problem, or as a component of an all-out assault on poverty and other conditions that produce unwanted consequences in the community. Online Resources is the world's largest digital library of education literature. Includes pages on a number of important thinkers in the history of adult education, including John Dewey, Paulo Freire, Malcolm Knowles, Eduard Lindeman, and others., the federal literacy agency, which includes a many available on-line (including the full text of Sondra Stein's '.' Provides resources, articles, links, etc. Is a federally -funded national adult literacy research and policy center at Harvard.
Site includes research reports, copies of the NCSALL journal, and links to other adult education sites. Print Resources Dewey, J. Democracy and Education.
New York, NY: Free Press. Experience and Education. New York, NY: Collier. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
New York, NY: Basic Books. Hirsch, E. (1987). Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (ed.) (1984).
Andragogy in Action. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Knowles, M. (ed.) (1970). The Modern Practice of Adult Education: Pedagogy vs. New York, NY: Association Press.
Illiterate America. New York, NY: New American Library, Lindeman, C. The Meaning of Adult Education. New York, NY: New Republic. Merriam, S., & Caffarella. Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Mezirow, J.
Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. San Francisco: Jossey -Bass. National Adult Literacy Survey. Adult Literacy in America: A First Look at the Results of the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS).
Walsh, C, (ed.) (1991). Literacy as Praxis: Culture, Language, and Pedagogy.
Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corp.