Valerie Bogert Emporia State University LI831: Resources/Services for Children Spring 2012

Literacy Night: The Rhythm and Rhyme of Reading

Harrison Elementary School- Springfield, MO Tuesday- April 3rd 6:00-7:30pm

Introduction and Background:

Harrison Elementary School is home to grades Pre-K through 4th grade. Once a year a committee of teachers and volunteers put together a literacy night for children and their families to attend. The event is free and features guest authors, games, literacy themed rooms and a book give away for each child that attends. The event is funded through donations from the PTA and the English Languages Arts Department for Springfield Public schools. This is one of the largest events held at the school each year with around 350 parents and children in attendance. Due to unforeseen events and staff health issues the program was going to be cancelled for the year. However, several staff and I felt that this was too good of a program to skip. In less than two months we formed a new planning committee, gathered supplies and volunteers, had our budget and funds in place to create an extra special night of reading and fun for our students. Our number one goal was to come in under budget and create a program that was simple and relaxed for those working and participating. The proposed program would be smaller than that of years past since we had a limited time frame for planning and implementation. Instead of using every classroom in the school, having a meal for the families, and using all of our staff, we proposed the following changes: One classroom per grade level will be used along with the library, gym, art room, computer lab and cafeteria Instead of spending the majority of our funds on an author visit, use specialty staff along with the Principal to read their favorite books in the library Partner with the Public Library to provide resources for literacy and summer reading programs Only snacks will be provided instead of an entire meal The program will be half the size of previous years to save money and utilize minimal staff.

The changes and plan were approved by the principal. The committee was given the go ahead to select a date and proceed with the program planning.

Target Group, needs and site:

This program is created for Pre- Kindergarten through 4th grade students and their families. Although this is a broad age range, the focus is on bringing families together for fun reading activities and to promote literacy. The event will take place at the school with activities spread throughout the classrooms for all ages. This program was designed to be simple and cost effective for the school and librarian in charge of running it. The emphasis of the program is to promote literacy with fun activities and projects that students and their families can participate in together. The library will be at the center of the event with star readers that will read to the children that attend. We decided to partner with the public library to further promote reading outside of the school.

Description of Program:
Literacy night is a special night for children to come and participate in fun activities that feature their favorite books and authors. It is a night that encourages families to read together not just for school but for fun and enjoyment. The attendees will also take home a brand new book to add to their personal library. Since this Literacy night would take place in April, I decided to feature poetry in our theme. Many of our classrooms were already doing poetry lessons so I felt that this would be a good fit. When the families arrive they get a map of the activities that are taking place that evening. Each grade level has one classroom with a themed activity for them to try.

Activities:
Library The library has special star readers consisting of the specialty staff (Art teacher, Music teacher, Principal, Coach, and ESL instructors) that will read their favorite books at scheduled times. Computer Lab Students will use the computers to fill out Mad Libs poetry to read aloud to family and friends. A djembe player will lighten the mood for this funky fun activity. Art Room The art room will have a design your own bookmark contest. Students can design a bookmark that will be voted on the following week. Winners will have their bookmarks printed for the whole school. Gym The gym will have a book walk game where students can win gently used books. Husky Den/Multipurpose room The multipurpose room will be set up like a campground where students can listen to spooky Poetic stories told by a local author.

Foyer in front of Library The public library will be in the main hall in front of the library handing out summer reading program information, library card sign ups and online literacy help. Tables will also be set up so students will have the opportunity to choose a free book to take home. Cafeteria Snacks and drinks

Classroom Activities:
Predictable Bookmaking (Wonder Years) Students and Families will create their own predictable picture book. Examples such as Brown Bear Brown Bear will be out for reference. Laura Numeroff Room (Kindergarten) Students create their own book title, write a short story, and vote for their favorite Laura Numeroff story. Garden How-to and seed planting (1st Grade) Students plant seeds to take home and create a Husky plant marker. Students will make a step by step instruction card on how to plant and take care of their seed. Dr. Seuss (2nd Grade) Students will vote on their favorite Dr. Seuss book and write about why they like it. They will also create a Lorax themed pencil that is either a Lorax moustache or a truffula tree. A fun Dr. Seuss video will be playing in the background for families to enjoy. Fractured Fairy Tales (3rd Grade) Students will write their own Fractured Fairy tale using prompts provided. There will be fairy tale books on display for inspiration. Students can also vote on their favorite fractured fairy tale.

Staffing:
The committee members in charge of the program (and their duties) consist of the following Harrison staff: Valerie Bogert- Lead Chair and Program Creator also in charge of A+ tutors, announcements, Publicity and photography Susan Willenbrink- Co-Chair and Program Creator in charge of Public Library and Star Readers, committee meetings Chelsea Tepe- Drinks, room plans, flyers for book walk book drive Cheri Gump- Finances and room plans Terri Gee- PTA representative, free book orders and husky den activities Dawn Licata- Pre-planning Kim Taylor- activity map, free book orders and poetry slam Elizabeth Flood- Snack donations, room planning and evaluation

We decided to ask our feeder high school for students needing volunteer hours for graduation. They sent us the A+ program students to help in the rooms with activities. These students received 2 hours credit towards their A+ scholarship goal. Eighteen students were able to attend and receive credit. Two teachers from each grade level were asked to sign up for that night and either volunteer their room or help in another room. This way we only had to have half of our staff in attendance.

Materials and Budget:

Room
Wonder Years

Theme
Early Literacy

Activities
Make predictable books

Supplies
Paper (for books) Stamp pads Coloring Supplies Paper (1/4 sheet) Writing utensils Dixie cups Potting soil Large tub for soil Seeds Foam (for marker) Popsicle Sticks Hot Glue Gun Markers (to write) Garden Books Dots Pencils
Construction Paper

Cost
$20.50 (for all) donated $6.48 Donated Donated

Kindergarten 1st

Laura Numeroff Garden How-To

Create own title (If you give a ____ a ___) Plant a seed husky plant marker

2nd

Dr. Seuss

Consensogram Video Make a pencil (Lorax) Write about favorite book

Pom Poms Paper Dr. Seuss Books Dots Paper writing utensils Fairy Tale books Books Index Cards writing utensils Construction paper Music (?) Table (for books)

$7.82 $2.10 $10.00

3rd

Fractured Fairy Tales

Consensogram Write a Fractured Fairy Tale Mad Libs (on computer) Joke/Poetry books out Write favorite joke/poem to read out loud Students play to win a gently used book (donated). They may only win one time. We may have two games going at once. Students will walk on colors. There are 3 of each color, so 3 winners each round. Specialty teachers read aloud.

donated

4- Computer Lab

Jokes and Poems

$1.26

Gym

Book Walk

Library

Star Readers

Husky Den

Campfire Stories

Mr. Samples reads campfire poems Cookies Drinks Water and Juice from McDonalds Create a bookmark Judged to be printed for library

Cafeteria Entrance Art

Snacks

Pillows, blankets, tents, artificial bonfire Tables

Donated

$25.00

Harrison Library Bookmark Contest Public Library Booth

Paper (template) Coloring supplies Print Winners

(1,000)

$80.00

Foyer

Tables

Current Total

$153.16

Many of our supplies came from previous Literacy nights. We utilized as many as we could to save money. We were given $200 from the English Language Arts Department to spend and we came in almost $47 under what we were given.

Budget for Book Give away:

We were given $300 to spend on books to give away to students. We had 176 books left over from the previous year. We ordered 224 books to give away. Several of our teachers used their Scholastic bonus points to purchase a third of the books for free. Early Childhood and Easy Chapter books= 143.30 Chapter books= $150.05 Total= $293.35

Total Spent:
$446.51

Publicity:
Chelsea and I created flyers for the book walk book drive and flyers to go home with students promoting Literacy night. These flyers went out the Friday before Spring break and again a week before the event. I made special announcements over the intercom the week before Literacy night. The library had trivia questions read by staff members that the classrooms could answer for prizes. Our goal was to get the kids super excited to come to Literacy night. Posters were hung on the doors to each classroom and the front doors of the building for parents and visitors to see. Additional announcements were emailed to parents and placed on our schools web site. Attached is the copy of the flyer that went home with students.

Evaluation:
Our school uses Pluses and Deltas to evaluate any of our programs or events that take place in the school. Emails were sent out to every staff member asking for their evaluation of the nights events. These will be kept for future events as guides. Pluses: Loved that there were not so many activities/rooms that the kids felt like they needed to run room to room. Kids could actually focus and go more in depth on the activities. Loved, loved, loved that the kids could pick any free book that they wanted. Young advanced readers were not limited to just the picture books Spread out Students were on their best behavior and following norms Low-key- we dont always have to have huge events to have a good time! Kim Taylor going all out for the Poetry Slam Chelseas husband playing the djembe Valeries husband helping out with the book walk Mr. Samples reading his original stories to the kids! Lots of positive feedback from the campfire Our AMAZING A+ tutors! We were so impressed by how they all interacted with the students and families and had big smiles the whole time. What a way to show our students how cool and respectful high school students can be. Wonderful role models. GREAT staff turn-out Star readers what a great idea to use the specials and other staff to present. Great way for students to meet all of our staff members! Great choice of books for kids free books A Plus supervisor came with students Thought A Plus students were very helpful in cleaning up afterwards Getting the Public Library to come in and give out information. What a great way to partner with our community! They were so helpful with our families and students!

Deltas (suggestions): Move the Book Give-Away to the cafeteria or another classroom so the hallways are not clogged More signs in the hallway Less cookies Doing this after MAP or earlier in the year *Since this was planned in only a month and a half we went with the best time on the calendar. Next year will be different. Keep the activities in the 3rd/4th wing closer together Better communication with the staff (especially wonder years) on what will be provided to them for activities

Attendance was measured when the students picked out their free book. The teachers had attendance lists for every classroom. When a student picked out a book they highlighted their names. We had 138 children get books and we estimated that 250 people came that night out of 480 students in our school. Almost a third of our students attended Literacy night.

Resources Consulted:
http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/newpoem.htm http://cdn.babble.com/family-style/files/2012/02/lorax-craft-template.pdf http://seusstastic.blogspot.com/2012/02/seusstastic-seuss-week-freebies-ideas.html

I cannot wait to come tonight It looks like lots of fun With stories, games and lot of friends and books for everyone! A FREE book for all Harrison students who attend!