Final Assignment
Spend time thinking about a community service literacy project that you could design. Imagine that you would be applying for a grant for this project. The project should include aspects of community, family, and/or school involvement. The project should also be mindful of the diverse needs, cultures and gender of your students.
- You will write a four to five page paper due in module seven describing your project.
- You can use drawings, photos, or any other artifacts to augment your plan. Your idea should encompass the full force of your imagination.
- If you could imagine an innovative, yet useful plan for increasing literacy in your content area, what would it be?
- Where do you see a need for literacy activities in your school community or neighborhood?
Note to M.Ed and MAAL students:
- How can you design this project to enhance your final project?
- What can you come up with that would be feasible, creative, useful, and benefit the children you work with?
For further information see websites:
- Idealist
- Service Learning
A recent call for teacher’s grant opportunities in Connecticut (ctreading.org) was phrased this way:
- Do you promote literacy?
- Does your teaching directly influence your student’s learning?
- Are you using current theory?
- How do you evaluate your students’ learning?
Note: The above grant opportunity was offering each teacher applicant $500.00
The above questions give an idea of what a grant giving organization might look for. Public school teachers apply for grants to enhance their students’ learning all over this country. The Barbara Bush Foundation gives grants of $60,000 to promote student literacy. The International Literacy Association’s website is rich with information on literacy and literacy grants.
In our case, and for the purposes of this course, we are looking for funding ideas that would promote literacy and include either the family, the community, or the wider world. Please tie your proposal to your specific content area.
Gather your thoughts, look at the web resources listed above, and come up with an innovative literacy activity that might be funded by state, local or private agencies.
Note: Some grantors look for funding ideas that promote cross-cultural, cross-socio-economic status (SES) learning activities. One way to accomplish this might be to design a literacy activity that is inter-district in nature. Can you think about how this might play out, or of any other ideas that bridge gaps between communities where you work?