The LitClub Girl Who Leads Her School with Courage

LitClub member Abubakari Raihana has become a leader in her school and her community.

Hikmat Baba Dua, Partnership Coordinator at the League of Young Female Leaders

In Ghana, the League LitClubs commenced in 2014 with just a community of 25 girls. Fast forward into 2016, the numbers have grown and over one hundred girls and boys have benefited from the LitClubs and its associated programs like Stand Up for Girls on the International Day of the Girl. Many of these girls, having been groomed in safe learning spaces with guided mentors, developed among other things great self-esteem, public speaking skills, and other leadership skills to serve as leaders in their schools. These skills that they gain encourage them to participate in their school’s democratic processes to emerge as leaders. One of such girls is Abubakari Raihana; the senior prefect who is a girl. 

Abubakari Raihana was selected into the League of Young Female Leaders LitClub at the E.P Junior High School in Tamale, Ghana in 2015. Little did she know that her life would soon evolve around one of the LitClub strengths; COURAGE (the strength to do something that you know is right, even though it may be difficult; as defined by LitWorld). She has demonstrated great commitment and enthusiasm within her LitClub space and she has proven to us that the four expected outcomes of the LitClub program are practical. Raihana is in her second year of the LitClub curriculum.

The senior prefect role is synonymous to the students’ president. It is usually rare to come across a senior prefect who is a girl, unless it is purely a single sex school of only girls, especially in the northern region of Ghana. Raihana knew perfectly of the challenges that a girl leader could be confronted with, but she was determined to run and to win.
 
“I believe that just as boys, girls too have the potential and capacity to lead if they are empowered to do so. As a LitClub member, I have learned a lot through our mentors. Before joining the LitClub, I didn’t like drawing, but now I am able to paint the world I wish to see because they made me realize that creative art is important for my growth and development. I am particularly a proud LitClub girl because it made me realize I have a voice and I can use it for the good of my community. I became very confident in myself and always remembered the constant reminder our mentors shared about girls being leaders and so when the time was due to change the leadership of my school, I wanted to be number 1 and courage led me on,” says Raihana.

Leaders have emerged from all five LitClubs we ran. Therefore, with an unflinching commitment to raise a generation of female leaders who dare to dream and to become, Raihana’s story is one of the many stories that motivates our LitClub leaders and mentors, as well as our LitClub girls, to make transformational literacy with positive mentorship the defining theme of the world we envision.

Get Connected for World Read Aloud Day

World Read Aloud Day on February 16th is a time to celebrate the extraordinary power of reading and sharing stories aloud to create community between readers.

A read aloud over video chat with an author or illustrator can add magic and delight to World Read Aloud Day. We have created more easy ways for educators and community leaders to schedule video chat read alouds with one another and with published authors.

We are excited to share that the Skype in the Classroom community is rallying authors and classrooms for World Read Aloud Day. To schedule a read aloud connection visit the Skype in the Classroom site, where you will have access to 1.5 million educators and classrooms worldwide. After creating an account, you will be able to add your availability for video chat connections during the week of World Read Aloud Day and educators from around the world can contact you to request virtual read aloud sessions.

Author Kate Messner has put out an open call for traditionally published authors to volunteer as guest readers for World Read Aloud Day and has posted author availability on her blog.

Wherever and however you will celebrate World Read Aloud Day, reach out to the ones you love to schedule time for a special read aloud on February 16, 2017!

Tips from Pam Allyn to Raise a Super Reader

Super Readers approach books, words and learning with confidence and independence. They are able to connect with other readers and their communities. Pam Allyn and Scholastic teamed up to write a series of five articles to foster Super Readers and develop lifelong readers.

From the questions to ask, to celebrating mini-milestones, to the power of the read aloud, these tips will help build your child's love of reading and turn them into Super Readers and super writers!

Bring Your Family Together with Books

4 Ways to Make a Home Library

4 Ways to Help Your Kids Become Super Readers

4 Ways to Support Your Kids' Interest in Books

Easy Tips to Make Reading Fun

Join the conversation! Use #SuperReader on your social channels to add to the conversation. And check out Scholastic's Super Reader page for blog posts, videos, and more.

Top 5 Reasons for the Right to Read

We believe literacy is a human right that belongs to all people. 122 million children across the globe cannot read. LitWorld is changing this. 

Here are our Top 5 Reasons to support the right to read and in this way impact millions of people in the world who are hungry for it. The right to read is an information-empowering, communication-delivering, people-connecting, comfort-inducing, opportunity-ensuring tool for sustainable change.

Top 5 Reasons for the Right to Read

1. Because zip codes shouldn’t stop kids from having the same chance to become super readers. LitWorld works across communities in the United States and around the world in 25 countries to bring afterschool and summer solutions to closing the reading gap.
    
2. Because helping kids read is a powerful, sustainable investment that gives young people the power to change their own lives. Did you know that without literacy skills individuals are less likely to participate in democratic processes and have fewer chances to fully exercise their civil rights? Through year-round participation in LitWorld LitClubs, kids gain the skills they need to be school, career and civic ready. 
    
3. Because kids who read are happier. Through our dynamic LitCamp program (reaching 60,000 kids and counting!) kids get a whole new kind of summer school, one that teaches them to read and also brings them joy. When kids don't get to read what they care about during the summer, they very often fall up to two grade levels behind! LitWorld is solving for this.
    
4. Because when girls get to read, they are far more likely to get to go to college and be economically independent. So, LitWorld focuses 2/3 of our programming on women and girls. The HerStory Campaign helps us achieve this goal.
    
5. Because a kid who reads is going to grow up to be a citizen who cares about his or her community. LitClub members report more active engagement and leadership in their communities after just one year in a LitClub. We seek to expand our programs not only for the benefit of one child’s right to read, but also for what that ripple effect does for everyone else.

We invite you to honor someone who has inspired YOUR reading life. Could it be your first grade teacher, your mom, your grandfather, or a best friend? You can give kids who are most hungry for the right to read the chance to fulfill their biggest potential.

Make a donation of any amount in honor of the person in your life who inspired you to read, write and follow your dreams. 

Global G.L.O.W. and LitWorld Co-Host Second #HerStoryCampaign Twitter Chat on October 6th

The HerStory Campaign, created and led by nonprofits LitWorld and Global G.L.O.W, invites you to our second twitter chat in collaboration with UN Women. Join us on October 6th, at 9am EST on Twitter to discuss how we can act on the stories that women and girls to ensure #Planet5050 as we lead up to the International Day of the Girl and Stand Up for Girls.

Come together with the #HerStoryCampaign to continue our powerful conversation on how to create sustainable and impactful change.

Stand Up for HerStory - Twitter Chat
Date: October 6, 2016
Time: 9 am EST

Handles: 
@litworldsays
@globalgirlsglow

Hashtags: 
#herstorycampaign
#planet5050

Questions

We will be asking the following questions throughout the hour to engage in thoughtful conversation around Standing Up for HerStory. We encourage you to have your answers ready!

1. What inspires you to stand up for girls?
2. What does positive change look like for the women and girls in your community?
3. What will you do this week to show a woman or girl her story matters?
4. How can we create more inclusive environments for women and girls to become leaders in the world?
5. Who is a woman or girl in your life who inspires you and why?

Sample Q&A

@litworldsays: Q3. What will you do this week to show a woman or girl her story matters?

@litworldsays: A3. Join us on Oct 11 to #StandUp4Girls--use our free activity packets to share your story: ow.ly/eQVg304L77S #herstorycampaign

21st Century Literacy: Technology for All

Monica Nimmagadda, Research & Development Intern

I opt for print books instead of a Kindle or an iPad. I take notes on a Five Star notebook. My calendar and to-do lists are in a small planner. As a computer science major, a lot of my thinking, planning, and coding is even done on paper. There are many instances in which I use the “old way” over new technology, and while technology permeates all areas of my life from my daily agenda to my future career, I have the privilege of choosing how I get to use it.

The fact is, we live in a digital world. Today’s times are supposed to be better, more innovative, faster and easier than before. That may be true. Technology opens doors and allows all of us to become more efficient and effective in our daily lives. And for those who pursue careers in the tech industry, the socioeconomic benefits hopefully multiply. But while anyone can become skilled in using technology regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status, the opportunities we have to gain these skills aren’t available to everyone.

A masterful use of technology begins with exposure and comfort at a young age. A BBC study found that kids who play educational games on tablets are able to grasp theoretical concepts much quicker than their counterparts. Early exposure to technology is extremely beneficial, but limited access creates an unfair playing field for the schools and districts that cannot afford the technology and don’t have the resources to integrate it into their curriculum.

Which brings me to the question: Is digital literacy, or the ability of an individual to responsibly, appropriately and effectively use technology, a right or privilege? Digital literacy is so much more fundamental than programming or data analysis--it allows us to gain independence, collaborate with others, and includes the skills we use to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create and communicate information.

Despite its importance, we move technology to the back burner in our efforts to teach literacy to children around the country and the world, focusing most immediately on traditional reading and writing. Meanwhile, the technology learning and achievement gap between those with a range of literacy tools and those without, widens.

It’s time to recognize the importance of technology in our efforts to get every child fully ready for the 21st century.

Using technology isn’t just an opportunity to open doors for potential jobs, it’s also a powerful way to communicate and share stories. LitWorld recognizes this and is one of few education nonprofits to have a program, Story21, which focuses on storytelling through technology across generations.

Story21 is a family program that combines reading, writing, storytelling, technology, and community. It’s important for kids to be comfortable to read and write using technology just as it is using pen and paper. As an intern, I went through the surveys we give the kids and parents after the program. The results are extremely positive. With the introduction and mastery of iPads and apps, kids and parents are able to use technology to enhance their learning together. Teaching the parents new skills creates a better environment for their kids to embrace technology and move forward with it.  

It’s time to start allowing technology into education, for every child. More kids learning to grow with technology means more opportunities for those kids in the future, and greater innovations for our whole world as we benefit from the ideas and minds of every person, everywhere. We need to give all kids the chance to not only understand the digital world happening around them, but to participate, contribute and change that world with the power of their own stories.

News for You: LitCamps Make Transformational Change to Build a World of Super Readers

LitCamps From Oakland to Atlanta

Let’s start with the numbers: 55,000 kids, 3,000 classrooms, 118 cities in 32 states across the U.S. Add it all up, and you have LitCamp--the summer program developed by LitWorld in partnership with Scholastic. The message we've received from parents and teachers around the country is clear: LitCamp is truly revolutionary. It is an exciting and dynamic solution to the catastrophic "summer slide" which can seriously interfere with a child's growth as a reader.

We have created LitCamp with a combination of exceptional lessons in reading, writing and storytelling combined with superb children's books, carefully selected by LitWorld to reflect the wide and diverse world of childhood. LitCamp serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade.

LitCamps were adopted by the New York City Department of Education as a key part of the “Summer in the City” Initiative, and by many other districts and cities across the country including Oakland, Austin, and Richmond.

LitCamp Across the Globe

LitCamps spread across the world this summer. From Colombia to Haiti to Rwanda, LitKids wrote stories, read books, formed new friendships, and grew their academic skills through storytelling. From Nepal:

"What happens when you bring nearly a hundred girls together for LitCamp? Empowerment and Magic. They learned to share, to be brave, to be open, to be helpful, and to be committed to improve themselves and their communities. These little girls found that they have big personalities and big dreams, and that they can work together to make those dreams a reality."

While the cost per child is low, the benefits are profound. Summer has ended, but we can keep summer dreams alive by getting ready for next summer and by helping many more children attend a LitCamp. Please consider making a donation to LitWorld to turn every child into a Super Reader!