Stronger Me, Stronger We provides opportunities for personal growth and connection at no cost as a gift from The Patterson Foundation.
SCGLR’s THIS BOOK IS COOL! received the prestigious Bright Spot award from the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. This program is a great opportunity for parents and caregivers on the Suncoast to help boost their children’s confidence in learning!
Premiering on June 1, 2020, thousands of children and their families across the Suncoast region learned about new books, increased their vocabularies, and created works of art aligned to the book’s themes. Due to its success, and because the community wanted more, SCGLR is offering guided conversations to teach you how to help children process new information from books and the world around them.
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- Track One: For the Classroom
Created as a response to the global pandemic that halted summer camps in the summer of 2020, THIS BOOK IS COOL! was piloted as an opportunity to engage children PreK-3rd grade in summer reading.
The overwhelming success of THIS BOOK IS COOL! summer program helped us understand the opportunities for expanding the offerings to teachers and educators during the school year. In the fall of 2020, we began working with educators and administrators throughout the four-county region to develop standards-based lesson plans, classroom resources, and family engagement activities to assist teachers in their efforts to help children in grades PreK-3 become superstar readers.
These lesson plans and resources were developed to provide maximum flexibility for teachers. Each three-book “unit” is developed around a focused theme. The lessons can be taught as a stand-alone ELA block or as part of an integrated curriculum through extension activities.
What You Receive for Your Classroom
As an educator participating in THIS BOOK IS COOL! In School, The Patterson Foundation will provide you and your students with the following materials:
● A set of 3 high-quality books for each student to keep and to take home to add to their home libraries.
● A teacher’s copy of each book to add to your classroom library.
● Guided Lesson Plans developed by teachers for teachers. Each lesson plan covers approximately 30–45 minutes of classroom time, including extension activities that you can choose to incorporate. The extension activities include writing, learning activities and experiences, and exercises designed to foster increased student engagement. Check out this sample lesson plan.
● Thematic Content developed by our team of educators. Lesson plans were created around themes for all books. Each theme includes a set of 3 books covering a range of topics: inclusion, critical thinking, emotions/feelings, discovery and exploration, language arts, music/visual arts, non-fiction, relationships, science and math, self-control, and awareness.
● Activity Sheets to use in your classroom and for students to share with their families as part of their extended learning experience.
● Family Engagement Zoom Event with a local teaching artist for students and their families.
Please click here to register for THIS BOOK IS COOL! IN SCHOOL.
- Track Two: After School (for organizations)
THIS BOOK IS COOL! After School was created to develop additional partnerships with after school providers. These offerings can be ongoing or one-time events as we craft engaging ways to get books into the hands of children PreK-Grade 3 in our region.
Similar to our THIS BOOK IS COOL! In School offering, THIS BOOK IS COOL! After School ongoing programs will include books, directed lesson plans, and engaging activities. Ongoing programming could include after school programming, weekly or monthly book clubs, or club meetings. Examples of one-time events might include a school-wide literacy night, an activity fair or a pop-up event.
We are open to creativity and would love to discuss further any concepts you may have to bring this to life within your community.
Interested in learning more? Send us an email, and we’ll be in touch with more information!
- Track Three: Family Book Circles
During guided conversations, families will explore three themes highlighted in books from THIS BOOK IS COOL! while participating in fun and interactive activities designed to nurture a love of reading and learning. As a gift from The Patterson Foundation, each participating child will receive books to add to their home libraries.
The Suncoast Campaign is looking forward to partnering with schools, groups, nonprofits, agencies, and faith-based organizations to offer this workshop throughout the Suncoast region. Please email connect@gradelevelreadingsuncoast.net if you would like to offer this workshop or if you would like SCGLR to hold a workshop for your group.
