Stevens Literacy Center’s reading camp benefits local K-3 children

Photo courtesy of: Patton College of EducationPatton Pals integrate reading and cooking skills in the PCOE demonstration kitchen with Family and Consumer Science lecturer Lisa Diebel. Food was prepared in the kitchen and then enjoyed by campers and their families.

The Patton College of Education’s Stevens Literacy Center hosted a six-week reading camp, “Reading in the Treehouse,” to benefit K-3 students from Athens, Vinton, and Meigs Counties. Approximately 30 students participated in the camp, which ran June 5 to July 12.

“It was an enriching summer experience for our campers,” said Dr. Julie Barnhart Francis, Stevens Literacy Center director. “As educators, we’re always mindful of summer slide. Many young learners may not have the opportunity to actively engage with books over the summer, so we wanted this camp to be that opportunity.”

It was that and more.

Each day unfolded in similar fashion. Campers greeted each other, discussed their goals for the day, and participated in a hands-on literacy activity. They then read one-on-one with undergraduate teacher candidates – also called the Patton Pals Literacy Ambassadors – for 30 minutes. Campers were encouraged to select reading materials, opting for books that aligned with their interests and ability.

Literacy Ambassadors guided discussions to improve understanding and comprehension of books read and often facilitated an extension activity like writing or a literacy game. Campers also had time for independent reading, with some even reading to each other.

"There were many things I loved and learned being a Patton Pal this summer,” said senior Nicole Phillips, special education major and president of Ohio University’s Student Council for Exceptional Children. “But what resonated with me most was seeing improved reading skills result in increased confidence. As the kids became better readers, their written and spoken vocabulary increased.”

Each week of camp had a theme – Nature, Sports, STEM, Authors and Illustrators, The Arts, and Foods Around the World – along with corresponding activities and guests. During Nature week, for example, Julie Gee, a naturalist from Burr Oak, and Henry Woods and Joanna Sokol from Campus Recycling visited with students. Men’s basketball and soccer players visited during Sports week, along with Rufus.

Other invited guests included: River Road Rabbit Rescue Director Suzanne Greif, Sequential Artist Group’s Keith Wilde, illustrator Erica Magnus, PCOE faculty Dr. Jeesun Jung,

Dr. Christopher Andersen, and Lecturer Lisa Diebel, as well as Scripps College of Communication graduate student Owen Lowery and other students from the Russ College of Engineering and Technology. Francis and the undergraduate Literacy Ambassadors planned language arts activities around the weekly themes and guests that would resonate with children as young as 5, as well as those entering fourth grade.

“The intent of the camp was to promote language and literacy development – and also a joy of reading – through an integrated curriculum,” said Francis. “Language and literacy were at the heart of all of our activities, and we integrated math, science, art, movement, and engineering as well. We had a successful reading camp, and we can attribute much of its success to the generosity of our guests from our college, our university, and our community.”

The title of the camp was a tribute to “Aunt Helen” – Helen M. Robinson, an Athens native who graduated from OHIO in 1926 and worked in reading education for more than 60 years. She is best known, perhaps, for publishing the "Dick and Jane New Basic Readers" in 1962-65. The Helen M. Robinson Center for Reading is a community tutoring center located in The Stevens Literacy Center, which is fondly referred to as Aunt Helen’s Treehouse.

The Center also sponsored a one-week camp at Shade Community Center from July 30-August 3 for students in kindergarten to fifth grade from the Alexander School District. The focus of this camp was healthy eating and interdisciplinary learning.

“Everyone ate together and learned together,” said Francis. “We wanted to provide a holistic experience while creating a community of learners in an outreach event.”

Food was funded by Kids on Campus, a rural community-university partnership that empowers underserved, at-risk children and their families to reach their full potential through educational, nutritional, and recreational opportunities. Members of the Shade Community Center prepared breakfast and lunch daily.

Dr. Courtney Koestler, OHIO Center for Equity in Mathematics and Science (OCEMS) director, and Dr. Brian Rider, Recreation & Sport Pedagogy lecturer, designed "Moving with Math and Literacy" activities with support from Koestler’s Martha Holden Jennings Foundation grant.

In all, more than 50 Southeast Ohio families benefitted from the camps.

“We hoped to improve not only the campers’ reading ability, but also their enjoyment of reading,” said Francis. “Our Patton Pals helped them engage with the language arts materials and were positive role models throughout.”

Undergraduate students benefitted, too. They bonded and grew professionally during both camps, often discussing their experiences with one another and using the group as a sounding board for ideas.

“Aside from providing an enriching, integrated summer experience for children in our community, one of the main reasons we do the camp is to give teacher candidates an opportunity to design a summer curriculum and then implement it with support,” said Francis. “We finished at 2 p.m., but the undergraduate students would often stay for an extra hour to discuss their teaching and the relationships they were building with students. There were fascinating conversations about using different approaches and techniques for different students.”

For Phillips, these experiences and conversations were life-changing.

“Reading opens the door to so many other skills that I didn't notice until I witnessed it firsthand this summer,” she said. “I had been considering getting my master’s in reading education after I graduate next spring, and now I know that's what I'm meant to do. I loved watching the kids blossom this summer, and I blossomed as an educator as a result.”

Photo courtesy of: The Patton College of EducationPatton Pals in Aunt Helen's Treehouse learn about writing and illustrating children's books with local Sequential Artist Group’s Keith Wilde.

Photo courtesy of: The Patton College of EducationThese are the attendees at the Moving with Math and Literacy Summer Camp held at the Shade Community Center.