Providing Summer Literacy Enrichment During a Pandemic

BY RAVEN N. CROMWELL

After a four-year hiatus, Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio brought back their summer reading camp in June of 2019. Summer Reading Camp was a three-week, half-day program, sponsored by Marietta College Education Department, designed to assist students in the development of improved reading abilities, oral and written communication skills, and positive attitudes toward reading. Children’s literature and hands-on experiences were the primary instructional tools and camp activities were based around the book The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. Camp was held on campus where students worked in small groups with undergraduate students and local teachers. Priority for camp was given to students who had been recommended for additional literacy instruction by their school.

Following our successful return, we decided to revamp our camp to make it even more appealing and helpful to our local families for 2020. We redesigned camp to be full-day in order to provide more reading instruction time and to make the schedule easier to manage for working families. We also expanded our focus to other content areas, renaming the program STREAM camp, which stands for Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Math. This new vision still included high interest books, activities, and reading instruction. However, students would also practice their reading skills and strategies in content-rich texts. Before we could implement STREAM camp, however, we were faced with the global pandemic.

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After much research and discussion, we made the difficult decision to cancel 2020 STREAM Camp. We were not confident we could deliver safe and effective programming given the constraints of the health crisis.  Much of what we had planned to do during the camp involved interactive, hands-on learning with literacy, mathematics, the sciences, and art and movement. We felt that it would be impossible to accomplish our goals while maintaining social distancing guidelines between children and staff members. 

In lieu of the STREAM Camp experience, we decided to provide literacy support for area elementary students through the Summer Reading Adventure Packs program. The packs included high interest fiction and nonfiction books organized around a specific theme. We included literacy and outdoor activities based on the theme, and students also received supplies for completing the activities. We created three types of packs: K-1st, 2nd-3rd, and 4th-5th. For 2020, we provided these packs to students who had signed up for camp, and we also donated a set amount of packs to local schools. The schools distributed packs to students who relied on the school for meals during summer break. We delivered a total of 160 packs.

Post author delivering reading packs

This summer we once again had to place our in-person camp on hold due to the pandemic, and again provide Summer Reading Adventure Packs. Generous contributions from the local community have allowed us to provide 320 packs to local schools for 2021. Additionally, we are listing the selected books and accompanying activities on our website (mcstreamcamp.com) for parents and caregivers who did not receive a pack, but would like to provide this as an enrichment activity for their children. We also created a YouTube channel that features community members reading the books featured in the packs. It is our hope that the reading packs will inspire children to continue to read, explore, and create during the summer in order to be better prepared for their eventual return to the classroom.

“The thought of putting these activities together for students is amazing. This is allowing us as a college the opportunity to grow and reach out to the community. It is also helping students continue to grow and learn in a fun way over summer!”
​                  —Hannah, a 2021 graduate, who is working on a pet-themed pack for grades K-1

“Did you know that there are robots all around and that you are using aspects of coding to complete everyday tasks? The fourth and fifth-grade students will build their own robot, practice simple coding through giving directions, and even develop their own code with Legos. Through the books and activities the students will get a behind-the-scenes look at the technology that makes up so much of our lives while they develop problem solving skills.”
​              —Elissa, a future graduate, who is working on a STEM-themed pack for grades 4-5

If you are interested in creating your own literacy packs, you should check out the wonderful resources provided by Reading Rockets. They have articles that include why these packs are important and how to create your own. They provide free, downloadable activities and list the companion books you can purchase on your own or check out from your local library. They even have a program called Start with a Book that allows you to explore titles and activities based around several high-interest, content-rich topics. This website also contains helpful hints and instructional videos for caregivers to nurture reading skills and reading motivation in children. We hope that in 2022 STREAM Camp will return to Marietta, improved by the lessons we learned during the pandemic.

Resources from Reading Rockets

• Reading Adventure Packs for Families
• Reading Adventure Packs: A School-to-Home Project 
• Start with a Book 

Raven N. Cromwell works in the Education Department at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. Her research interests include diverse children’s literature and pre-service education. Raven is a member of CLA’s Ways and Means Committee.