Outreach Program: Family Literacy Night Scavenger Hunt

Location: Snow Elementary School, Middletown, CT

Introduction:
In order to promote reading and literacy in our school the reading teacher and myself are
purposing a Family Literacy Night. To plan the night we will gather a committee together that
will consist of the reading teacher, myself, a preschool teacher, a kindergarten teacher and a 1st
grade teacher. In addition we will be asking for volunteers from the Parent Teacher Organization
(PTO) to help with the event. This program is intended for our pre-K through 1st grade families
to deliver the message of how important reading is and what parents can be doing at home.
Parents will complete a Scavenger Hunt activity with their children. At each station families will
complete a clue regarding reading and parents will find tips they can use at home when reading
to their children.
Demographic(s):
Per Snow Elementary Schools Strategic School Profile for 2012-2013 there are 356
students enrolled, of which 47.5% are white, 23.6% are African American, 6.2% are Asian
American, 16.6% are Hispanic and 6.2% are two or more races (C). Of those students 43.8% are
eligible for free/reduced-priced meals compared to 45.1% in the district and 41.3% in the state.
This in house program is designed for our preschool through 1st grade families. Since
many of our students have working parents this program will be held in the evening. Siblings are
welcome to attend. In addition there may not be books in all of our students homes; therefore,
each child will be able to pick out a free book to take home. These books will be pulled from the
Reading to Grow donation we received in the beginning of the year. We received such a
generous donation that there are enough books for each of the children that attend, as well as any
siblings. As Snow has a diverse student body a variety of multicultural books will also be
available to take home as well as on display during the evening.
Focus: The focus of this program is to promote reading and literacy at home. It is an event to
bring our families together and experience the joy of reading with one another.
Objective(s):

Parents and students will complete a literacy scavenger hunt

Parents will be given information of the importance of literacy at home while retrieving
each clue
Students will be able to take one book home with them for free

Assessment: Parents will fill out an exit survey to ensure that they understood the program and
have a chance to offer suggestions.

Activity/ies:

Scavenger Hunt

Materials:
The following materials are needed for this program:

Letter home to parents regarding event

A variety of childrens books to display
Name tags
Pencils
Scavenger Hunt
Informational hand out for parents
Bookmarks
Books for the children
Baked goods
Coffee, water, juice
Fruit

Space: The night will begin and end in the Library/Media Center. This is where parents and
students will sign in, put on name tags, get instructions for the Scavenger Hunt and materials
needed. The entire school will be used for the scavenger hunt.
Budget:
Item
Name Tags (100 per pack)
Pencils (100 assortment)
Bookmarks (100 per pack)
Shipping & Handling
Total:

Cost:
$2.99
$21.25
$10.00
$5.00
$39.24

As seen above there is a minimal cost for this program. The event will sponsored and paid by
the PTO of the school. There will be no charge for the books we will hand out since we already
have a donation from Read to Grow. The PTO will provide the refreshments so there will be no
charge for that as well.

Time Management:

Time

Event Timetable

5:30PM- Set up for event.

6:30PM
6:30PM Welcome to students and parents in the Library/Media Center. Students and parents will sign in, get name
to
tags and receive their scavenger hunt.
6:45PM
6:45PM- Parents and students will participate in the scavenger hunt.
7:15PM
7:15PM- Families will meet back in the LMC and will be given bookmarks for completing the scavenger hunt. The
7:45PM bookmarks will have tips for parents on them when reading to their children. There will be a brief discussion
on what parents can do at home when reading to their children. Refreshments served: baked goods, fruit,
coffee, water and juice.
7:45PM- Conclusion of event. Each family will receive a free book to take home with them. Parents will be asked to
8:00PM fill out an exit survey before leaving.
8:00PM- Myself, participating teachers and volunteers from the PTO will clean up event and lock up for the night.
8:30PM

Preparation: The Family Literacy Night committee will need approximately two months to
prepare for this program. We will meet one evening a week to plan the activities. We will also
attend one of the PTO meetings to ask for parent volunteers to help with the event as well as help
with refreshments.
Publicity: This event will be displayed on the school wide district calendar, on our webpage,
and information will go home to every students home two times: three weeks before the event
and a week before the events. We will ask families to sign up for the event so we know how
many families to plan for.
Delegating:
Family Literacy Night committee: The committee will consist of the Library/Media Specialist,
the reading teacher, a preschool teacher, a kindergartener teacher and a 1st grade teacher.

Library/Media Specialist: Display of books for families to view. Gathering the books from the
Read to Grow donation. Bookmarks. Sign in sheet, pencils.
Reading Teacher: Creating a pamphlet for parents to take home in regards to reading at home.
Exit survey.
Pre-K, kindergarten teacher, 1st grade teacher: Scavenger Hunt
PTO: Refreshments
Emergencies/Incidents:
Inclement Weather: Should we have to cancel the event due to inclement weather this program
will have a make-up date already scheduled.
There will be books on display in the Library/Media Center to help with younger siblings who
may not be interested in the scavenger hunt or for families who finish early. The Library/Media
Specialist will remain in the library to assist families.