BookPALS
| |
For more information
about BookPALS, or to
learn how to become a
BookPAL, visit the
official BookPALS site
at www.bookpals.net!
|
BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools), our community outreach program is an all-volunteer program comprised of performing artists who read aloud to students in at-risk elementary schools.
BookPALS is founded on a clear premise: children must be exposed to the magic of books in order to develop a love of reading. The world of literacy and literature is then opened to these children by the very people who make books come alive through their talent and training. Who better to instill that love than actors, gifted in the art of storytelling?
Through our decade long focus on early literacy we have identified several key obstacles that many children, especially those for whom English is a second language, face in their developmental process. In addition to our core reading aloud program, we have expanded the BookPALS program to address these primary obstacles through innovative programming that reinforces the BookPALS mission.
BookPALS History
BookPALS is a nation-wide literacy program that reaches over eighty thousand (80,000) children in eleven (11) branches.
Arizona
Atlanta
Boston
Coachella Valley
Florida
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Minnesota
New Jersey
New York
San Francisco
Washington DC
BookPALS produces Storyline in several cities allowing children to dial a toll free number and listen to an actor read a children's story. This program ensures that every child who has access to a telephone can hear a story. Currently, Storyline is available Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Minneapolis / St Paul and Phoenix.
Pencil PALS is a program designed to make reading and writing a first person experience for children in elementary and middle schools. Each child involved in this program has an opportunity to write and illustrate his/her own letters and stories. The children's letters are then mailed to a BookPALS volunteer who then writes response letters to the children propelling inter-generational relationships to develop between the children and their PALS.
These programs combine approaches to learning that support and enhance reading comprehension with writing skills helping English as second language learners as well as native speakers bridge the gap between concept and practice.
For more information about BookPALS, or to learn how to become a BookPAL, visit the official BookPALS site at www.bookpals.net!
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