Introduction
An in-depth evaluation of each student’s literacy abilities and reading levels is the first step in creating a successful summer literacy program. Various assessment techniques will be used to learn more about the student’s strengths and limitations, including running records, fluency tests, phonics evaluations, and comprehension tests. Based on similar literacy needs, small groups will be created using this data, ensuring that each student receives specialized teaching. The given program should consider both blended and online education methods and techniques that will include all necessary skills for student literacy.
Skills to Develop
Different skills are vital for elementary school-level literacy. Graham et al. (2018) note that literacy programs for kindergarten or elementary school students should focus on balancing writing and reading instructions. At the same time, reading and writing should be 60% of the program (Graham et al., 280). Another field, mathematics, was studied by Dietrichson et al. (2021), in which they revealed that peer-assisted instruction and small-group instruction by adults were more effective in teaching mathematics than computer-assisted instruction, coaching of personnel, incentives, and progress monitoring (2).
Activities to Use
It is possible to see how crucial entertaining and interesting literacy activities are to keeping students interested and motivated throughout the curriculum. These activities will encourage a love of reading and education while also being entertaining and educational. We will incorporate technology tools and educational software to give tailored practice opportunities, allowing students to practice their newly learned abilities outside the classroom, thus enhancing the learning experience.
Parsons et al. (2019) state several vital factors for constructing literacy programs. The paper notes that educators should be able to assess “phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension (450). Further, there should be small-group instructions that are different from each other depending on student needs, along with techniques that will be prompting for students.
Structure to Apply
The structure vastly depends on the method of teaching provided in its different forms. Villena-Taranilla (2022) claims that one of the possible implementations of techniques can be using virtual reality during classes for elementary school students. According to their research, virtual reality has a large positive impact on children’s learning abilities. They also compared the given virtual reality with low immersion or no immersion methods, where VR proved to be more effective.
Another possibility was discussed by Liao et al. (2021), where educators proposed using online education instead of traditional in-person teaching. At this stage, the paper revealed three main factors of keeping online education effective: to be “organized, engaging and interactive” (Liao et al., 939). This enables us to provide a better understanding of the method of teaching to implement in the given summer school program. Overall, there are several common opinions on the efficiency of blended learning (Hensley, 2020). They are – technology-enabled assessment, understanding the effective instructional practice, and other methods that should be implemented into blended learning for elementary school students and other levels as well.
Conclusion
The summer intensive program should include several factors when building an efficient structure and curriculum. First of all, it is important to decide on the method of teaching that will suit students’ needs, whether it be online, in-person, or blended learning. The use of new technologies, such as virtual reality, should also be considered.
Secondly, the educator should consider the share of each literacy skill, such as reading and writing, and their impact on students’ learning abilities. Writing and reading, as shown in the literature review, should be balanced. Thirdly, the techniques used for the learning should be engaging enough for the given group and satisfy modern needs. In conclusion, the choice of suitable strategy should also consider the method of instruction and assistance during the educational process.
References
Dietrichson, J., Filges, T., Seerup, J. K., Klokker, R. H., Viinholt, B. C., Bøg, M., & Eiberg, M. (2021). Targeted school‐based interventions for improving reading and mathematics for students with or at risk of academic difficulties in Grades K‐6: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 17(2). Web.
Graham, S., Liu, X., Aitken, A., Ng, C., Bartlett, B., Harris, K. R., & Holzapfel, J. (2018). Effectiveness of literacy programs balancing reading and writing instruction: A meta‐analysis. Reading Research Quarterly, 53(3), 279-304. Web.
Liao, Y. C., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A., Zhu, M., Jantaraweragul, K., Christie, L., Krothe, K., & Sparks, K. (2021). How can we support online learning for elementary students? Perceptions and experiences of award-winning K-6 teachers. TechTrends, 65(6), 939-951. Web.
Hensley, N. (2020). Teacher perceptions of blended learning to support 21st-century learners (Doctoral dissertation, East Tennessee State University).
Ward Parsons, A., Parsons, S. A., Dodman, S. L., Nuland, L. R., Pierczynski, M., & Ramirez, E. M. (2019). Longitudinal literacy professional development in an urban elementary charter school. The Journal of Educational Research, 112(4), 447-462. Web.
Villena-Taranilla, R., Tirado-Olivares, S., Cozar-Gutierrez, R., & González-Calero, J. A. (2022). Effects of virtual reality on learning outcomes in K-6 education: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 35. Web.