Tag Archives: a to z

Freshened up for the New Year

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With 2015 almost here, A to Z Literacy Movement is excited to share our updated website, www.atozliteracy.org, with you. A huge thank you goes out to Stephanie Brown, one of the A to Z’s founders, for helping us to create a more friendly and informative site for folks to visit. The new site looks fantastic, and we think you will definitely enjoy clicking around to see some new pictures in the photo gallery, find ways to donate time, and read about who we help in Zambia as well as here in McHenry County.

As always, we will continue to publish the A to Z blog for you to enjoy, but look forward to sharing current events on the home page more consistently and hope supporters share the site with friends and family.

3-2-1

By Mal Keenan
One reading activity I love to use in the classroom is 3-2-1. This quick formative assessment for determining importance works well as an exit slip in whole group and small group instruction.
Students are asked to write down three important facts/ideas, two key words, and one memorable sentence directly from the text.
3-2-1 was new to the students at School of Hope in Zambia. The 8th graders did a fantastic job reading a short article about Nelson Mandela and then a few pairs were brave enough to present to the rest of the class.

 

 

Garden Quarter Family Literacy Night

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By Mal Keenan

On October 30th, A to Z volunteers hosted their third Family Literacy Night at Garden Quarter Resource Center. Amanda shared The Spirit of Uncle Fernando (El Espiritu de Tio Fernando) aloud with children, modeling reading interaction and strategies for parents, while engaging the families in conversation about this wonderful story.  After enjoying the story, the kids once again selected five books to add to their home libraries. For me – this is the best part – helping kids decide what books go home after talking about what they really like and what they really want to read.

Reflections on The Clinic

By Koriann Lance

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I was nervous coming to the clinic to volunteer. I didn’t know what to expect, as I had never been a part of an event such as this before. After I helped the first young girl find a book just for her, my heart melted and I forgot about my nerves. To know that this little girl went home with something all her own to get lost in and enjoy….priceless.

I also remember several adult individuals thanking me, repeatedly. I heard from several people “God bless you.” I wanted to say, “No, God bless you!” They gave me the gift of helping me open my eyes to the needs of our community. They gave me the fulfillment of knowing that I helped in some small way, though I know much more needs to be done. They gave me the gift of understanding what a community really means.

The clinic was held at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Crystal Lake, IL.  If you’d like to learn more, please visit them at http://www.imcl.us/#/missions-outreach