Literacy Night
I am a natural planner at heart and when my Education Associate gave me the opportunity to plan the 2018 Literacy Night I knew exactly what to do. My intentions for this night were to give my students a unique experience that most kids and parents do not get on a literacy night. I provided resources from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, reading resources, opportunities to obtain a library card and tickets to the revolutionary movie Black Panther.
I used the theme of Marvel's Avengers to engage student's interest. This was my theme because Marvel's Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War was around the time of planning. To get children to come to the event, I offered grade specific prizes. For Pre-Kindergartners, to second graders I offered superhero toys and games. For third and fourth graders, I offered superhero slime as prizes. For fifth and sixth graders, I offered stereo fidget spinners as prizes. To get seventh and eighth-grade students to come, I offered Black Panther tickets because my principal said that this was the hardest group to convince to come. I knew this prize would get them to come because the Black Panther movie came out a week after the event. In addition, I researched the importance of engaging students to come and surveyed student's interests.
At the event, those four groups of students were to answer reading comprehension questions, write a paragraph and identify vocabulary words using strategies that are taught during the event. In addition, I invited the local Public Library to sign students up for library cards and the local church to volunteer. Overall, this experience was unforgettable and the families walked away from being exposed to newly opened life paths that support the growth of the child.
Table of Contents
1. Research and Delegation
2. Contacting Third Parties
3. Planning
4. Literacy Night
5. School Reflection
6. Conclusion
Research and Delegation
The first step to planning a successful literacy night, I had to think of a unique theme that would capture the interest of my students. I used the theme of Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War. The gist of that movie is that a villain collects mystical stones to obtain universal power. I wanted students to collect these stones as they completed tasks associated with literacy. The more stones students collected, the chance of earning prizes increased as well. In addition, I organized the first meeting for the 2018 Literacy Night and I gave my colleagues assignments and roles leading up to the event. These details are provided below.
Below is the task sheet that I sent each volunteer. I used this sheet to track the progress of tasks every meeting that led up to the event.
Contacting Third Parties
Although learning literacy skills is vital, inviting other entities to the literacy night can make this experience unique. The three parties that volunteered are as followed; Enoch Pratt Library, The Broken Wall and University of Maryland School of Medicine. These three parties gave out resources that assisted with growth within literacy.
Planning
Although I planned Literacy Night, I had to plan my own lesson for the middle school activities. I used a power point presentation to teach students skills that are necessary to master vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing. My partner teacher planned for the reading comprehension portion while I planned for the others.
I used engaging writing topics on the heat issue in Baltimore schools and vocabulary pertained to African culture to engage the middle school students. Below is the presentation I created to teach my students about literacy skills and the questions I gave out on literacy night.
Moreover, allowing students to master reading concepts through African history and Marvels's Comics is not readily accessible. Within the Baltimore City Curriculum students in grades, 6th through 8th do not master language standards using this material. This material is engaging due to the survey results and learning about vocabulary through the story of Shaka Zulu is not accessible in the curriculum.
Below is the lesson plan I used to implement these activities during the 2018 Literacy Night.
Literacy Night
The event of Literacy Night was an extreme success. More families participated this year than before and students were excited to learn how to earn prizes. With the help of the school staff, The Broken Wall, University of Maryland School of Medicine and Enoch Pratt, the event was successful. Many families were given many resources to be successful in the classroom and at home. Below is the opening presentation that explained literacy night.
Below are pictures from Literacy Night
School Reflection
The leadership of my school reflected on the event by emailing me their opinions and writing a formal letter stating the effects of the event. As a result of the effects of the event, I received an award. Below are those reflections and I used these things to do my own reflection.
Conclusion
Moreover, this experience was personally beneficial because I grew as a leader. Delegating coworkers that have been teaching longer than I have been alive was a rewarding experience. I learned that building relationships via in-person conversations were effective for the event. For an example, many of my co-workers participated because of my relationship with them. I placed two teachers in every classroom and three teachers in the hallways to guide families to their destinations.
This event also gave unique opportunities to families. The Enoch Pratt library gave students the opportunity to sign up for library cards. This opportunity lead to a great relationship between the library and school. My students, who are twins, go to the library now three times a week to receive tutoring now. In addition, the Broken Wall comes to the school and helps with small group instruction using the skills they gave out at the event. Lastly, families have reached out to University of Maryland School of Medicine for counseling services. Overall, this event had many participants that had an opportunity for growth and support.