Teach 36 children with limited English to read

Dear Donors,

            The students in our Penndco Literacy Master Map Program benefit from current educational strategy objectives to develop confident readers who enjoy, understand and grow emotionally and academically through reading. Whereas many programs identify and provide resources to struggling readers, this unique program is offered to top-tier students who are committed to honing their reading skills. The students’ eagerness and their dedicated parents’ support partnered with the expertise of our instructor and the support of our program donors make for an enthusiastic and meaningful weekly experience.

            The most important way to advance a skill is to practice it, both in a supervised setting and independently at home. Our students practice dramatic reading aloud to confidently embrace new vocabulary rather than shun it; make word maps

in order to integrate new morphemic building blocks in their pursuit of enhancing their vocabulary; study basic grammar in order to self-edit written sentences in an effort to write using standard English word order; write cohesive opinion papers; and, share thoughtful questions and opinions in order to learn the dialogue of respectful academic discourse.

            Additionally, the instructor guides parents who are eager to make their child’s home conducive to the reading enterprise. In the same way that nonmusical parents can support their children’s instrument music practice, so, too, non-native English speakers are given techniques to support their children’s reading practice in their bilingual homes. Parents who enroll their children in this program are making a statement of family values and committing family resources to support their youngsters. The parents are to be commended for supervising the homework, following the program on Facebook and making sure their youngsters show up to each class eager and prepared.

            Our fall semester book is the well-known historical fiction, The Fighting Ground, a Newberry Medal Award winning and ALA Notable Children’s short novel by Avi, increasingly popular since its 1984 publication. It revolves around a young boy whose romantic image of war is quickly replaced by the reality of the Revolutionary War taking place near his New Jersey home in 1778. This coming-of-age story chronicles the 24 hours in which Jonathan learns what it means to be a soldier and is forever changed because of his experiences after he volunteers to fight without his Dad’s permission.

            The theme of remaining true to one’s family values during a negative situation resonates for our young Literacy Master readers. They especially understand that although they are young, each and every person deserves respect and no person should be terrorized. In reading the book, both in class and independently at home, the students will gain 65 vocabulary items, weekly opportunities to demonstrate comprehension and recall, and structured writing exercises to encourage higher level thinking skills. The book supports our students’ social studies and history curriculums. Moreover, each student will experience the thrill of being transported into the whirlwind environment of our country’s past as stronger literacy grounds their national and language identity as inheritors of the language and historical imperatives of America’s birth pangs.

            Joyful weekly classes promote joyful reading experiences at home and culminate in students who strengthen their verbal skills and emotional growth.

           The students in our Penndco Literacy Master Map Program continue to develop as confident readers who enjoy, understand and grow emotionally and academically through reading. Our activities are for serious students to hone their literary skills. Although goals are serious, our experiences are fun.

            Our spring semester book is Peter Pan, the original novel by J.M. Barrie.  We can all relate to the mischievous boy who can fly and never grows up.  Maybe Peter Pan refuses to grow up; maybe he is unable to grow up.  For Mother’s Day, each student wrote a poem to the Mother s/he has unlike Peter Pan who has none. The profound themes are deep and personal.  As we read about him, we speculate on what is never-ending about our own childhood and how each of us has so many adventures within the small island of our own mind. We realize that books are like ships: through them we can travel far and wide.

            Each of our literacy master students has become the captain of his/her own fate.  As they read Peter Pan, each one is a “pirate captain” collecting “booty” in the form of vocabulary and syntax, images and style to save for future reading and writing adventures.  Each student is a “pirate captain” and commands his/her own ship.  There is respect for the other captains in the world of our class. No one is bullied; now one is “forced to walk the plank.”  In our class, we all ride the high seas of literacy adventure in a mutually supportive way. All for one and one for all!

            In reading this novel, both in class and independently at home, the students have already gained more vocabulary items than Tinker Bell’s number of fairies.  Our weekly classes are full of comprehension, recall and structured writing exercises to stimulate higher level thinking skills.  Like pixie dust, our meetings sparkle. And, most importantly, each week, each “captain” experiences the thrill of being transported to Neverland as s/he meets Wendy and her siblings, Peter Pan and his band of Lost Boys, Tinker Bell, and Captain Hook while becoming stronger readers and writers.

            Joyful weekly classes promote joyful reading experiences at home and culminate in students who are strengthening their literacy skills and emotional growth.  Our literacy skills are as good as Peter Pans swordsmanship skills!

            On a personal note, the instructor, Claire Green, is a reading and adventure specialist who creates a “treasure map” for our weekly gathering with our Penndco Literacy Master Map Program readers.  She is impressed by the young “pirate captains” and the treasure of remarkable families who proudly encourage them to “set sail” for excellence and adventurous literacy skills.

            Our special Thank You is following to all our Donors who support us and our children!