Hamilton Avenue School will host its first Jumpstart Literacy Camp over February Break for roughly 25 third graders.
Four teachers will deliver a learning experience designed to help these students come away with additional strategies for close reading, utilizing a process from literacy expert Dr. Beryl Irene Bailey, who has personally trained these teachers through a recent Professional Development experience.
The Jumpstart Literacy Camp will provide the opportunity for third grade students to receive literacy instruction related to close reading which will support test-taking strategies (technical and motivational) and overall application of close reading. At the end of the program, students and parents will be provided with a playlist (academic strategies and choice) that will allow them to continue to practice their close reading skills and test-taking skills independently. Ultimately,
this will help to maintain momentum from the program and build on their learned techniques for close reading, both of which will be beneficial for these students across all subject areas and during their first interactions with the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
“The Jumpstart Mini-Literacy Camp is designed to strengthen our students close reading skills, deepen their reading comprehension skills and broaden their vocabulary skills using fun and practical strategies that will enhance our students’ ability to read complex texts across subject areas and assessments,” said Hamilton Avenue School’s Principal Ms. Shanta Smith, adding, “I look forward with great anticipation to observing our Hamilton Avenue Scholars and teachers in action during this inaugural event.”
Students will arrive at Hamilton Avenue School each morning at 8:00am and begin their day with a collaborative gathering before going to their individual classrooms for lesson plans on close reading techniques. In parallel to this academic exercise, students will have moments for movement to instill the importance of combining academic with social and emotional learning;
these moments will include physical movement, mindfulness and techniques for reducing anxiety.
Hamilton Avenue School Fifth Grade Teacher and Jumpstart Literacy Camp Teacher Ms. Kristin Zizzamial said, “I am excited about the possibility of this program lifting the level of learning and understanding for our students in ways we have not explored before. Strategically using these learned reading skills will guide our scholars at Hamilton Avenue through the ins and outs of critical thinking and analyzing texts.”