{"id":8749,"date":"2021-08-09T14:36:25","date_gmt":"2021-08-09T18:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?p=8749"},"modified":"2021-08-10T16:28:16","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T20:28:16","slug":"true-blue-spotlight-building-community-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/2021\/08\/09\/true-blue-spotlight-building-community-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"True Blue Spotlight: Building Community Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Connecting pre-service educators to the local community is important to Georgia Southern University College of Education Associate Professor Anne Katz, Ph.D. The Department of Curriculum, Foundations and Reading professor not only inspires her students to learn, but also inspires them to help others. In her fall 2020 READ 3231: Early Language and Literacy Development class, Katz asked students to create original family literacy kits for Savannah area households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe research-based activities corresponded with diverse children\u2019s books to benefit family literacy initiatives at a local community center,\u201d she explained. \u201cIn each project, students included a detailed letter to the parents\/caregivers, materials and instructions for the activity, including step-by-step procedures. The idea was to nurture critical thinking through prompts and discussion questions, encourage vocabulary and writing connections, and provide ideas for extensions of
the activity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Early childhood education major Alexandria Sledge is one of the students who assembled a kit. Her project was based on a book focused on a young girl\u2019s recollections of her beloved grandpa. Sledge included a range of discussion and writing activities, some including poetry and visual literacy connections, inspired by the book\u2019s writing and illustration style. The junior stated the activity motivated her to step into her creative side to help families in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy activity called for families to think of family members who may have recently passed and create a memory journal to mark those good times they shared with them,\u201d she noted. \u201cI decided to handmake the journal because a store-bought journal doesn\u2019t bring the same feeling as one made from the heart. I used different stencils, colored paper and ribbon, all provided by the teacher resource center here on the
Armstrong Campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Justin Hanson is an interdisciplinary studies education major. He appreciated Katz\u2019s enthusiasm for teaching, and for creating learning experiences that allow students to serve others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI worked hard in developing my kit because I knew that they would actually be used by kids and parents in our community,\u201d he stated. \u201cI researched ways to reach a diverse learning group. In the class, we were able to interact with students (in the community) virtually, and I planned based upon those interactions. I wanted to provide a product that most anyone would find useful and that could be used again and again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hanson, who is from St. Paul, Minnesota, is planning for a career as a high school history teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDr. Katz applies real-world assignments to her curriculum,\u201d he noted. \u201cYou are not just going to make a project for a grade in her class; you are going to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katz said the University-community center partnership aims to bridge theory with practice for Georgia Southern students in the College of Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt simultaneously provides parents and caregivers with tools that will enable them to create high-quality early learning environments for their children,\u201d she said. \u201cProviding parents with strategies and resources to design meaningful early learning experiences at home will prepare students to be active participants in language and literacy learning when they enter formal schooling, optimizing children\u2019s academic and
personal success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katz has been implementing this partnership for several years and will continue with the initiative in future semesters. \u2013 Sandra Bennett<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Connecting pre-service educators to the local community is important to Georgia Southern University College of Education Associate Professor Anne Katz, Ph.D. The Department of Curriculum, Foundations and Reading professor not only inspires her students to learn, but also inspires them to help others. In her fall 2020 READ 3231: Early Language and Literacy Development class, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8773,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[66],"class_list":["post-8749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-up-front","tag-summer-2021"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t