Undergrad Leaves a Legacy of Literacy

Abstract

You have accessThe ASHA LeaderStudent's Say1 Nov 2019Undergrad Leaves a Legacy of LiteracyA program founded by a NSSLHA member brings enrichment to kindergartners in a city school. Kacey RigaBA Kacey Riga Google Scholar More articles by this author , BA https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.SSAY.24112019.38 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favorites ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In During my final undergrad year at The Ohio State University (OSU), I wanted to leave an impression—not only within the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, but on the surrounding community. As our National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) chapter vice president, I also wanted to strengthen the relationship between our chapter and the community. I joined forces with a speech-language pathologist for the Columbus City Schools who had graduated from OSU several years earlier and was looking to boost her elementary school students’ literacy skills. Together, we created the Columbus Literacy Committee to provide additional literacy stimulation to kindergartners who need it, while introducing undergraduates to a population they may work with in the future. As part of our program, we visit schools once a month to read aloud to the students and work in small groups to promote conversation and language. Literacy for little ones Committee members are all undergraduate NSSLHA members selected through an application process. Two co-chairs help create our monthly activities and choose books for students at all reading levels. One of our biggest challenges has been creating activities that are simple enough for beginners, but engaging for our most advanced readers. We decided to use basic activities or games that are fun but that require participation from everyone, regardless of reading level. Once we found that balance, we created games focused on different aspects of language, such as verb charades that focus on snowy day activities, noun and adjective Venn diagrams, and fill-in-the-blank Mad Libs. The next task was to schedule classroom visits. I worked closely with my collaborating SLP and the kindergarten teachers at a city school to work out a schedule, and then committee members signed up for time slots. Coordinating schedules among the teachers and our 17 members was probably the most difficult part to plan. It took a lot of communication and trial-and-error, but after the first month we got the hang of it. Everyone benefits During the first year we’ve been working with the Columbus City Schools, we’ve received considerable positive feedback from teachers, NSSLHA members, and the kindergartners. The teachers report that the students are engaged during our small-group activities and love the extra stimulation they receive from outside sources. They look forward to the reading activities and games their “special visitors” bring when they come by. Teachers appreciate our program, too, with some saying they’d like weekly, rather than monthly, visits. In addition, our own NSSLHA members report receiving benefits from the program. The undergrads get firsthand experience with elementary school kids, gaining foundational knowledge before entering grad school. They report that this has been their first hands-on experience in treatment-like situations—outside of observing—and say they are more confident in their decision to pursue a career in this field. Some how-tos If you’re interested in starting your own community outreach program, here are a few tips to get you started. Contact organizations and schools in your community that you think might benefit from your NSSLHA members’ passion and expertise. Reach out to faculty you interact with every day. One of them may know of an organization that could use some help. Contact local SLPs, audiologists, or local alumni of your program to form a partnership. NSSLHA chapters and their members are a valuable community resource—market yourself that way! Watching the excitement on the kindergartners’ faces and the relationships they have forged with NSSLHA members has been the best part of this experience. It’s sparked a passion in literacy for me. I graduated in May and no longer head the program, but I can’t wait to come back and see how the committee has grown. Author Notes Kacey Riga, BA, received her undergraduate degree in speech and hearing science from The Ohio State University in May. She is a first-year master’s student in speech-language pathology at Cleveland State University. [email protected] Additional Resources FiguresSourcesRelatedDetails Volume 24Issue 11November 2019 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library History Published in print: Oct 31, 2019 Metrics Downloaded 873 times Topicsleader_do_tagleader-topicsasha-article-typesCopyright & Permissions© 2019 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationLoading ...