Alpha Alpha Psi
Camden County College

Storybook Land
Thirty-five 3rd-5th graders from Winslow School #5 participated in a whirlwind of reading in various venues: Jungle Travel; Wild, Wild West; Space Travel; Renaissance Fantasy; Dino Days; and Underwater Adventure. Each room included reading, crafts, and snacks, with all students gathering at the end of the event for the evening news and group story time. Each student left with crafts each had made, a tummy filled with snacks, and a new book. It was an out-of-their-usual-world adventure.

Alpha Alpha Tau
Marian College

Connecting Literature and Science Skills: A Class Act!
Alpha Alpha Tau chapter members made great connections with students in three elementary schools. On multiple visits to 5th-grade classrooms, they read books and integrated hands-on science experiments. The chapter also offered Family Science and Literacy Nights at four schools, and involved all members of the families attending—from preschool through adult. These groups of students now have a better understanding of the scientific method, the metric system and rocks and minerals!

Alpha Beta Gamma
St. John’s University–Staten Island

The First Thirty
At-risk students from Port Richmond High School came to St. John’s University and worked in small groups with the Alpha Beta Gamma members. Each group read a chapter in the book, The First Thirty, by Jillip Naysinthe Paxine, and conducted a presentation for the entire group. This inspirational story highlights one man’s journey through his first 30 years. Each student received a copy of the book at the completion of the sessions.

Alpha Beta Omega
University of Arkansas at Fort Smith

BABE, You’re Special!
With the assistance of both Northside and Southside High Schools’ Teachers of Tomorrow, KDP members shed some light on the important topic of character education. Before viewing the film Babe, the Alpha Beta Omega chapter members talked about the basis of good character. During intermission, the KDP members and high school students discussed the movie with the Pike Elementary students. After the movie, the elementary students de-briefed about the movie. The school received five copies of the Babe book to use in future literature circles.

Alpha Beta Tau
Bethany College

Rocking Read-Alouds!
It was a rocking good time April 21st for preschoolers visiting the Grace Ryland and William Henry Robinson Children’s Library. The Rocking Read-Aloud event increased awareness for children with special needs through reading and hands-on activities. As a result of the great reception, the chapter is working to create and provide an after-school opportunity staffed by KDP members.

Alpha Delta Zeta
Miami Dade College

Alpha Delta Zeta members dressed up as their favorite storybook characters and read to children at the Miami Dade North Preschool Lab. The chapter also donated more than 300 books to the preschool. The Read-a-thon highlighted the importance of literacy for all age groups by bringing together the School of Education’s youngest and oldest students, benefiting both groups.

Epsilon Kappa
Michigan State University

Growing through Giving
In a four-day program, members of Epsilon Kappa worked with 6th graders from Lansing’s Gardner Middle School to increase their awareness about the plight of refugees. Through a panel presentation, a simulation exercise, short stories, class discussions, writing activities, and a service project that included assembling backpacks and making cards for graduating seniors, the 6th-graders came to understand the trials and tribulations of refugees.

Epsilon Tau
SUNY-Geneseo

Paperbacks and Pajamas
Paperbacks and Pajamas is a program that invites elementary school children and their families to read with KDP volunteers. Forty elementary students were grouped with 28 KDP members for an evening of reading at the Geneseo Central Media Center. Students chose a book, and chapter members read with the students for an hour. Twenty parents also participated in the literacy event, which they loved. Many of them expressed gratefulness to the members for the time they shared with the children. Additionally the chapter supplied milk, juice and cookies, along with the books.

Eta Theta
CUNY-Brooklyn College

Literacy Connects Cultures
Throughout the year, the Eta Theta KDP members came up with creative ways to share their love of reading. On Halloween, they gave away 45 books to trick-or-treaters. The chapter donated 11 Spanish books to a bilingual middle school classroom, and an additional 180 books were distributed at two read-aloud events. Chapter members say that their favorite feedback is watching the children’s faces as they listen to a story, discuss the text, and then watch them delve into their new books.

Lambda Gamma
University of Memphis

A Study of Anne Frank
This middle school project integrated ongoing Freedom Writers lesson plans, literacy, history, and journaling. Using literature circles, the students engaged in an intensive study of the story of Anne Frank, and through reader reflection activities, dialogued about hate and its many forms. The students created journals, podcasts, and essays on the subject.

Lambda Zeta
West Virginia State University

The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs
Students at two professional development schools associated with West Virginia State University now know the rest of the story of the three little pigs. Working with five kindergarten classes at one school, the Lambda Zeta members read the story, The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs, by John Scieszka. They retold the story using the finger puppets they made and donated books to each class they visited. All the classroom students received a treat bag with a pencil, eraser, and pencil sharpener.

Mu Gamma
San Angelo State University

Wild About Reading
Forty-five students from both public and private schools in San Angelo went wild with reading at the Tom Green Public Library, when the Mu Gamma KDP members set up 10-minute reading rotations. At the end of Wild about Reading, the children went home with a free book. This was the largest literacy event for the chapter in the past six years.

Pi Lambda
University of St. Thomas–Houston

Hurricane Ike Book Drive
In collaboration with the university’s Council of Clubs and Student Activities Board, the members of the Pi Lambda chapter collected 1,700 books for Our Lady of Fatima. This PreK–3 school in Texas City opened its arms to embrace the students from Galveston Catholic and Trinity Episcopal School, though its own building was devastated terribly by Hurricane Ike.  Ike blew out the windows of the library, as well as several classroom windows, resulting in internal damage. Through its donation of books, Pi Lambda gave the gift of knowledge.

Sigma Tau
Mount Saint Mary College

Be A Reader Anytime, Anyplace, Anyhow
For one day, Mount Saint Mary College partnered with local schools and Big Brothers/Big Sisters for a free reading day of fun. Along with story hour, the students played reading games, participated in activities using the SMART Board™ and computers, had their faces painted, and shared poetry. Every child left with a book and wonderful reading memories.

Tau Alpha
Grove City College

Awarding Awesome Authors
At this year’s Awarding Awesome Authors, Kindergarten through third-grade students from 15 school districts demonstrated their writing expertise through poetry and short stories. Tau Alpha members judged all of the submissions, which gave them the opportunity to become familiar with elementary writing at each grade level and obtain grading experience. The event also gave students the opportunity to strive for writing excellence outside the classroom and for a personal reward. Each winner received a book of the winning stories, a certificate, a piece of literature, a pencil, and a bookmark. The overall winner received an additional book, with an additional book donated in the winner’s honor to the school library. At the ceremony, authors received their awards, then split into reading groups and share their stories.

Xi Psi
Fitchburg State College

Bringing Literacy into the Homes of Children
This four-part event brought the joy and excitement of books to various age groups in very creative ways. In the first event, Xi Psi members gave books to newborn babies and their at-risk parents. For the mitten tree giveaway, the chapter also donated The Mitten by Jan Brett. Gently used and new books were given to local school children in need. The final event for Bringing Literacy into the Homes of Children provided copies of Corduroy, by Don Freeman, to each student in a local elementary school, thanks to a partnership with Pearson Publishing. During the event, KDP members facilitated an activity with students that encouraged text-to self connections.

Zeta Tau
Stetson University

Hats Off to Reading!
Zeta Tau KDP members wore many different hats for the chapter’s Literacy Alive! event. Together with the first and second graders at George Marks Elementary School, the members made paper hats and read stories about hats. Parents received hats booklets with tips to help their children become better readers, and a local bookstore donated books to all of the families.

Zeta Zeta
SUNY-New Paltz

Reading Rocks Day!
This multi-centered event both promoted and celebrated family literacy at Kerhonkson Elementary School. Zeta Zeta members set up various centers where children and parents could listen to or read a book, participate in a shared reader’s theater, take part in a book exchange, hear storytellers, and create origami art. To further demonstrate how much reading rocks, members made sure that each child left the event with a new book, a customized drawstring bag filled with a Reading Rocks Day bookmark, pencils, and erasers. Rock on.