“I LOVE TO READ” - The reality for many kids after participating in Memphis Teacher Residency’s MTR Camp
On January 27th, 2019 the Memphis men’s basketball team hosted a #Fight4Literacy Game presented by International Paper.
The coaching staff wore green to promote childhood reading and fans were invited to make donations to help local students become better readers.
With over $16,000 raised, hundreds of kids across the state received critical literacy support.
“Two months later, she’s still excited about MTR Camp.”
Lesly, a rising 2nd grader who attended MTR Camp this summer, hasn’t stopped sharing her experiences with her new 3rd-grade teacher. She asks her teacher almost daily if she could share one of the many things she learned while at MTR Camp. Mrs. J. recorded Lesly and two of her camp friends singing the, “I LOVE TO READ” song sung daily at MTR Camp.
Lesly and her friends demonstrate the “P” in the MTR Camp goals on a daily basis. The “P” stands for promote a love of learning.
At MTR Camp, learning is encouraged through play. For example, to build familiarity with letter sounds, campers play silly games like “headband” - holding a letter up to their forehead and having other campers say words beginning with that letter. Campers also played headband with pictures, and their friends had to use descriptive language to help them guess the object. In addition to text exposure, sight word practice, and targeted literacy instruction, campers enjoy playing games to reinforce the skills of letter sounds and vivid language that are pivotal to becoming strong readers and writers.
This year, campers also participated in several field trips, including a cooking class! They didn't just make a tasty treat, they experienced literacy and real-world measurement concepts too!
Through the balance of instruction, independent time with texts and resources, and play across the summer, campers grew an average of 2.1 months of reading growth.
Mrs. J’s class is a testament of how children can truly love to read, love to learn, and love MTR Camp when they attend on a regular basis.
Memphis Teacher Residency wants you to take advantage of a summer learning adventure with MTR Camp and grow in your love of learning.
Coaching for Literacy’s #Fight4Literacy Initiative Benefits MTR Camp
Thanks to not only the sponsorship of International Paper of the #Fight4Literacy Game with Coach Penny Hardaway and Memphis Men’s Basketball team, but also local businesses joining together in the first-ever #Fight4Literacy Week, Coaching for Literacy was able to grant $16,000 to Memphis Teacher Residency’s MTR Camp for the Summer 2019 program.
These funds were used to help buy iPads for the kids attending the camp to utilize as they worked to fight the “summer slide”, the tendency for students, especially those from low-income families, to lose some of the achievement gains they made during the previous school year.
To learn more about Memphis Teacher Residency’s MTR Camp visit memphistr.org.
To learn more about Coaching for Literacy visit coachingforliteracy.org
