A grant submitted to the Scholastic Patterson Partnership in collaboration with Estes Hills Elementary School in Chapel Hill has been selected as one of 467 national winners in a pool of applications that exceeded 28,000!
Our project will use the funds to:
- Develop the folklore collection at the school library with particular emphasis on books that are accessible to developing readers in kindergarten and first grades.
- Bring Story Squad storytellers into the kindergarten classrooms to tell the stories that have been added to the collection to motivate children to read the books.
Research shows that storytelling is a valuable method of building reading excitement and motivation, as children who may struggle to read the text may encounter the stories aurally first, building familiarity and easing the reading transition. Storytelling also adds a layer of drama to the printed page, modeling the feeling of immersive reading.
We look forward to extending the relationship with Estes Hills (where we already share stories each week with first grade classes) into the kindergarten classrooms.