Teachers’ experiences with LitCamp were positive. More than three quarters of teachers believed LitCamp to be effective at cultivating students’ reading abilities . Teachers reported that their students were reading for longer periods of time and choosing more challenging books after participating in LitCamp . The successes experienced as a result of their LitCamp instruction may have provided teachers with the encouragement and confidence to incorporate best practices into their classroom literacy instruction, including development of social-emotional skills and deepening of students’ understanding and ability to relate to story characters. Witnessing their students become avid, varied, engaged readers and writers, and more active members of their school community can be powerful for teachers, especially after completing a full academic year of instruction. LitCamp offered a way to restore their students’ engagement and enjoyment of texts away from the rapid pace of academic-year instruction. In addition to information provided by students and teachers, a subset of families discussed the impact of LitCamp on their children. Parents reported positive impacts on their children ranging from increased interest in reading to increased politeness . Students interviewed with their families also articulated their LitCamp successes, including an interest in reading different kinds of books and being exposed to new vocabulary . Families found considerable value in LitCamp’s focus on the 7 strengths and capitalized on the social-emotional themes in the various texts to discuss difficult topics with their children. This evaluation aimed to assess how exposure to LitCamp influenced students’ reading behaviors, attitudes toward reading, social-emotional skills, and reading achievement. Examining data from multiple sources, this report highlights and provides context for how LitCamp positively influenced each of these outcomes.
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SCHOLASTIC RESEARCH & VALIDATION
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