How might we improve literacy skills in underserved K-3rd graders?
Open Book Adventures is One Stone’s free tutoring and mentoring program for underserved kindergarteners through third grade students. Once a week for six weeks, the K–3rd grade “Buddies” are paired with a One Stone “Adventure Guide” for an hour and a half of reading, writing, games and connection. This is the seventh iteration of the program, and the planning team continues to learn from each session. Open Book Adventures provides leadership opportunities for One Stone students and forges an unparalleled bond between guide and buddy.
The theme of this session was Open Book Adventures: Your Story. Buddies and their guides spent six weeks exploring books written by different beloved children’s authors including Eric Carle, Bill Martin, Laura Numeroff, Shel Silverstein, Stan and Jan Berenstain, and Dr. Seuss. Each buddy spent time learning the parts of a story and writing their own book. The illustrated masterpieces covered a wide range of interests, and the buddies were so proud of their newfound creativity and determination! New to this session, buddies and guides spent some reading time in the digital literacy world, reading ebooks on iPads.
The session culminated in a celebration of their accomplishments. Each student received a book and certificate of awesomeness for completing the program. Each One Stone Adventure Guide shared a highlight they had with their buddy and celebrated achievements with the families of their buddies.
Outcomes:
This Open Book Adventures session reported one of One Stone’s best outcomes yet, with an average 33% increase in reading proficiency from week 1 to week 6.
From parents:
"Ella has always enjoyed reading (or to be specific, being read to) but OBA has helped cement her love of books and she knows SO much about the basics of a story! And she's reading tons of environmental print now!"
"This is an amazing program, we've told other parents and can't wait to enroll again!"
"Elle's favorite part was writing her own book! But I think she also loved the one-on-one interaction as well."
