Literacy

This page provides information and resources on literacy and literacy coaching.

The coaches hosted a webinar to provide information on literacy practices in Out of School Time Programs to stakeholders in the greater Iowa area.
 * //WEBINAR//**

//**What Good Literacy Practices Look Like in OST - Webinar, October 22, 2013**// //**Angela Cardamon and Emily Hesse - Literacy Coaches**// Recording: [|Click here to listen to the webinar recording]

//**Read Aloud Strategies**// Some strategies to use before, during, and after read alouds. These can be adapted for picture books or chapters books, fiction or non-fiction.

Blank, printable reading logs that students can fill out to reflect on what they are reading.
 * //Reading Logs//**

//**Spelling Practice**// A great list of simple and fun activities to work on spelling.

//**Book Club Incentive Program**// The Boys and Girls Club's Read to Win program model that motivates students to enjoy reading!

//**Questions to Encourage the Use of Comprehension Strategies**// Ask these questions to support the use of comprehension strategies. These questions provide a good starting point for staff who are unfamiliar with the types of questions to ask during a read aloud.

//**Supporting the Use of Reading Strategies**// These prompts are helpful when to use when adults are listening to youth read. Asking these types of questions will encourage youth to build skills and confidence as an independent reading. For these to be fully effective, youth should be reading a book at their independent level.

//**"Back Pocket" Literacy Activities**// Need to fill ten minutes? Did the activity not take as long as you thought it would? The following document contains ideas of fun activities that help build literacy skills.

//**Staff** **Strategies**// How familiar are you and your staff with literacy concepts? The following questions and answers will provided an indication on the extent of literacy knowledge.

//**Emergent to Advanced Readers and** **Writers**// What does a beginning read look like? What are the characteristics of an advanced writer? What should reading look like at different grade levels? The following graphic from Fountas and Pinell's //Guided Reading for Readers and Writers Grades 3-6// (2000) will provide the basic answers to these questions.

//**Creating a Print Rich Environment**// Research has shown that a print rich environment can positively impact the literacy development of young students (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). A print rich environment not only refers to books and access to books, but print on the walls. Use these suggestions to create a print rich environment in OST classrooms.

//**The "RAND" Report - good foundational research for strengthening literacy in afterschool**//.

//**A resource on literacy developed by SPPG specifically for this Initiative**//

//**A resource on the role of the literacy coach developed by SPPG for this Initiative**//

//**A guide to literacy in Afterschool developed by the Connecticut After School Alliance**//

//**Just 10 Minutes a day makes a difference!**//

//**Characteristics of Literacy Coaching - short summary of literacy coaching**//

//**A longer read on literacy coaching specific to secondary schools**//

//**A short research brief on summer literacy**//