We are still very busy at NHR this week as we are preparing for our Bristol Street renovation project that will take place August 12 – Sept. 7. There will be a sign-up schedule forthcoming if you would like to join in the fun! Keep checking in for further details.

The Book Bank will remain open and the six-week Summer Tutoring Session will start on July 1. For Book Bank queries, contact Theresa@newhavenreads.org and for volunteer opportunities and questions, contact Keri@newhavenreads.org.

Our semester is over! Tutoring is finished for two weeks, our 108 field trips are completed, and all of our 550+ students have chosen a brand new book to keep for their summer reading.

“My name is Jessica and I am tutoring at New Haven Reads as part of the Yale-China Exchange Fellowship. I am from Ann Arbor, Michigan, but have spent the past four years in New Haven as a Yale student. I loved tutoring at New Haven Reads as a student, and am so excited to be here for the summer!
I have always loved reading and have WAY too many favorite books. Here are just a few of my very favorites. There are chapter books for all ages, including tons of Young Adult fiction, which have always been my favorite books to read. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I have!”

Jessica’s selection includes: The Golden Compass, Little Women, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Poisonwood Bible.

One of our volunteer tutors, Christopher D., works for Coach Inc. and he nominated us for this award. We are very excited to be one of 38 organizations chosen as the 2013 award recipients.

The Coach Foundation’s principal mission is to champion organizations that empower, educate and support women and children around the world.

They focus their efforts in two program areas: Coach’s Women’s Initiative explores the best opportunities to help women fully realize their potential by supporting programs that encourage personal and economic empowerment. Coach’s Education Initiative focuses on improving educational opportunities for the underserved, to provide everyone with the opportunity to learn, grow and meaningfully contribute to our society.

Check out this link to the grant award winners for 2013: http://www.coach.com/online/handbags/genWCM-10551-10051-en-/Coach_US/CompanyInformation/CoachFoundation/#grant-recipients

Thank you to the Coach Foundation!

Our tutors are planting the seeds of literacy with their students every time they come to New Haven Reads and we appreciate our volunteers so much! Thanks to The Study for all of their support!

Students in their 12^th grade (senior) year will receive preference for the summer and fall classes; 11^th graders (juniors) will receive preference for the spring class. Students will be provided with a text, a notebook, and a basic calculator.

The class will be limited to 12 students on a first-come, first-served basis and will be taught by New Haven Reads’ tutors. If you would like to register a child for a class, please complete NHR’s SAT Registration form and bring it to one of their sites. Forms can be found here: SAT Registration Form-summer 2013 and at all 3 sites. The SAT Prep Coordinator, Lisa Loeb, can be reached at 203-691-1260 or lisa@newhavenreads.org.

Attendance for all sessions, including the pre-test and post-test, is mandatory. The verbal and math sessions take place at 5 Science Park on Winchester Avenue. Please be prompt. Students are expected to treat the tutors and each other with respect.

Note: This class, like the one-on-one tutoring NHR offers, is reserved for students who are struggling with reading comprehension and/or math and have few outside resources to turn to for help. Please do not take up a space if you have the ability to pay for SAT tutoring.

Dates for the summer class of 2013:

• Sat., June 29    SAT Pre-test               @ DYCLC         7:45 a.m. – noon (required)

• Mon., July 1     Verbal Session #1        @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Wed., July 3     Math Session #1          @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Mon., July 8     Verbal Session #2        @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Wed., July 10   Math Session #2          @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Mon., July 15   Verbal Session #3        @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Wed., July 17   Math Session #3          @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Mon., July 22   Verbal Session #4        @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Wed., July 24   Math Session #4          @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Mon., July 29   Verbal Session #5        @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Wed., July 31   Math Session #5          @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Mon., Aug 5    Verbal Session #6        @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.
• Wed., Aug 7    Math Session #6          @ 5 Science Park        4:00-6:00 p.m.

• Sat., Aug 10     SAT Post-test                         @ DYCLC         7:45 a.m. – noon (required)

Try this tactic with your student during your next session.

Step 1: Choose a word of the day. Maybe it is a word you know your student struggles with or maybe it is a word you want to introduce to them.

Step 2: At the begining of the session let the student know about the new word. Then define it: look it up together, or describe it to them.

Step 3: Try to use the word yourself verbally as many times as possible during the hour!

Theresa said, “I am so lucky to do my VISTA service at New Haven Reads.  The staff has been incredibly supportive, and what we do clearly makes a difference for kids.  I see it every day!”

As Bristol St. Assistant Site Director, Theresa sees the tutoring side of our operation and gets to know our students and their families. As Book Bank Manager, Theresa is responsible for the day to day running of our community book bank. She manages volunteers and coordinates the book orders that come in from across our community. She also organizes field trips for teachers who want to bring their classes “book shopping”. Each student gets to bring home 5 books to keep and teachers can take as many books as they like for their classroom libraries. In the last 8 months, under Theresa’s supervision, the Book Bank has distributed almost 83,000 books and 49 classes have come on field trips!

The K stands for “Know”, the W stand for “Will or Want” and the L stands for “Learn”.  Before reading, ask your students the first two questions  illustrated on this worksheet (What I think I Know, and What I Want to Know) and have them write down their responses. After reading, ask students questions about what they learned. Feel free to print the PDF at the bottom of this post to use during your tutoring session!

KWL worksheet

Step 1: Set a goal

For younger students ask questions like, “Why did you pick this book?”. Be sure to respond to the student’s answers to your questions (“So you want to laugh when we read this book”).

Older students might be reading an assignment for class so their response might be: “We have to read this text to learn the answers for class”.

Step 2: Preview the text

If you are tutoring a younger student, look at the title and pictures and ask students what they think the book is about based on that information.

Older students can skim the text for a general idea of content or look for bolded words in non-fiction texts.

Step 3: Predict what the text will say

Example question: “What do you think you will learn from this story or book?”

Stay tuned for our next tip!

Step 1: Tutor selects a word and writes it clearly.

Step 2: Have student choose any 5 colors! Any 5! This is their rainbow.

Step 3: Student traces over every letter with one color, saying the name of the letter and reading the word when they finish tracing.

Step 4: Repeat with remaining colors!