Melissa Edwards, a gifted education teacher in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, came away from a program at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, a recognized national leader in professional development programming for teachers, with an idea to reach readers of all levels.
Edwards attended “Reaching Reluctant Readers: Bringing Boys to Books” led by Dr. Ernest Johnson.
“One of my takeaways was to plan a Sports Book Club,” Edwards wrote. “My media specialist and I have spent the majority of this school year searching for ideas and developing a plan. We plan to do a full roll out next school year but will start with a small pilot from now until the end of school this year.”
Here is more from Edwards about the project:
“Sports play a major role in the lives of many of our students. For example, I may not be able to get a student to tell me what he or she read last night but depending on the season, I can find out all kinds of information about football, basketball, or baseball games (local, college, or professional). Student interest and excitement is a motivator that I don’t mind taking advantage of for reaching literacy goals…and sports just might be the way to do it! My Media Specialist and I are working together to create a Sports Book Club…Our book club will be focused not on struggling readers or advanced readers, but both and everyone in between. We want to celebrate reading and provide encouragement for the development of reading as a lifelong habit.”
Edwards is currently working to find books and other literacy materials and is thinking about an elective class one day a week next year for fourth and fifth grade students.
Another “Reaching Reluctant Readers: Bringing Boys To Books” will be offered October 11–14 in Cullowhee. Participants will discover solutions to capture the attention of reluctant male readers and examine strategies that motivate boys to sustain reading in the classroom and at home. Click here for more on the course.
Some other upcoming literacy courses from NCCAT below:
14193 • LITERACY FOR NON-LITERACY TEACHERS—CULLOWHEE
August 30–September 2
In this program, those teachers whose expertise is not literacy, will investigate ways to integrate literacy into their content area by supporting the instruction that occurs in the 90-minute literacy block. Additionally, teachers will collaborate, explore, and create integrated literacy activities and lessons that they can take back and employ with their students in their classroom.
Click here for link to more.
14195 • SUPPORTING THE LITERACY OF GIFTED CHILDREN—OCRACOKE
August 30–September 2
Create lessons that enrich, extend, and accelerate AIG literacy standards. Explore the policies and best practices of AIG expectations, create ways to challenge gifted children, enhance literacy needs, and encourage continual intellectual growth.
Click here for link to more.
14199 • TEACHING ENGLISH II: ENRICH THE MIND AND THE SCORES WILL FOLLOW—CULLOWHEE
September 13–16
In this program, teachers will consider the “big picture” issues that English II should address. They will also engage in a variety of activities intended to enhance students’ reading, writing, and thinking skills.
Click here for link to more.
Click here for link to entire NCCAT Calendar of Programs.