The Impact of Using the Arts
in Summer School
Many types of after-school and summer school programs provide important access, extension and support to children’s learning and social development, however, those that include the “arts” add a special dimension. Learning in and through the arts can even help students overcome the obstacles of disadvantaged backgrounds.
Arts learning experiences can alter the attitudes of young people toward themselves and each other. For example, students involved in sustained theater arts (scene study, acting techniques, dramatic or musical theater productions, and interpretive reading) often show gains not only in reading proficiency, but also in self-control and motivation and in empathy and tolerance for others.
Plays, scripts, and reader's theater stories inherently come with built-in strategies to help students read better. The acting out of story dialogue compels readers to work more closely with the text to interpret and project meaning into the experience. As a result, students show improvement in vocabulary, comprehension and retention.
"Modeling” is a key component to building fluency. Children improve their reading ability through listening to more advanced text than they can read on their own because they have higher "listening comprehension" than "reading comprehension." Therefore, to increase their reading ability and fluency, they should be "listening" to richer vocabulary and more advanced text than they are able to read independently. Multi-leveled character roles in a Reader’s Theater script address this need.
*Source: Building Effective Programs for Summer Learning by Peter Johnson USDOE, 2000 |
Summer School
Reader's Theater
with .....
Parent Involvement!
All educators know what the U.S. Department of Education declared about reading aloud ...
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"Reading aloud is the single most important activity that parents can do with their children to ensure their future success, and that reading aloud should continue throughout the grades."
Prevent Summer Set-back and keep students reading all summer long!
Most children make decent progress during the school year. It’s summer when they fall behind! Research shows that “on average, children from low-income families lose nearly three months of grade-level equivalency during the summer months each year, compared to an average of one month lost by middle-income children.” *
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Playbooks, Inc. Announces
2 New Summer School Kits that include
a
Parent Engagement Program!
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Summer School Kit - Grades K-5 - $449
Includes 8 Playbook® Stories (6 copies each),
3 Mini-Costume Kits, Supplemental Activity Packets, Award Certificates, Teacher's Guide, and a 30-Day Parent Engagement Program Kit (gives free access to the stories online for parents to practice with their children at home)
Summer School Kit - Grades 6-8 - $369
Includes 6 Playbook® Stories (6 copies each),
2 Mini-Costume Kits, Supplemental Activity Packets, Award Certificates, Teacher's Guide, and a 30-Day Parent Engagement Program Kit (gives free access to the stories online for parents to practice with their children at home)
Click here for more information on what's included with the Parent Engagement Program for these new and special Summer School Kits.
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