TEACHERS—Focus Groups | Teachers who participated in the focus groups reported observing students develop fluency and read books for longer periods of time , and some teachers commented that students were choosing more challenging books . One teacher specifically noted that students were using vocabulary introduced in the LitCamp lessons in discussions. Another teacher reported increased confidence in reading among some students.
"We're working on vocabulary and—if we talk about a vocabulary word—a couple of my [ students ] will use that word throughout or make a connection.”
– GRADE 4 TEACHER
FAMILIES—Interview | During a family interview, a Grade 5 student reported reading different kinds of books such as graphic novels, and being exposed to new vocabulary because of LitCamp.
Attitudes Toward Reading
STUDENTS—Survey | Students rated how they felt about a series of reading-related activities using a scale from 1 ( I don’t like it! ) to 4 ( I love it! ). After participating in LitCamp, 48% of Grade 5 students reported liking or loving to read during summer vacation —a statistically significant increase from 31% at the beginning of LitCamp; see Exhibit 3.
Exhibit 3. Change in Grade 5 Students' Enjoyment of Reading During Summer Vacation After participating in LitCamp, significantly more Grade 5 students said I like it or I love it! to reading during summer vacation than at the beginning of LitCamp.
Baseline
31%
Follow-up
48%
n = 52
TEACHERS—Focus Groups | Teachers noticed that older grade 14 students were more willing to read . One teacher reported that after participating in LitCamp, some students seemed more excited about reading , and another teacher reported students became more comfortable reading aloud .
"They are more comfortable . . . whereas at the beginning our kids wouldn’t read out loud to me at all, now I’ll start reading it and get them into it and [ then they are saying ] , “Can I read? Can I read?”"
– GRADE 5 TEACHER
14 Generally, older grade refers to Grade 3 through 6.
LITCAMP EVALUATION IN SCHENECTADY CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 9
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