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Tag Archives: Literacy
Make Way For Books- Altrusa’s LAPS FOR LITERACY
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Filed under Guest Blogger
2013 The Tucson Festival of Books- Festival launches Literary Awards and Masters Workshop & Other News
2013 The Tucson Festival of Books- Festival launches Literary Awards and Masters Workshop & Other News
TucsonFestivalofBooks.org
Festival launches Literary Awards and Masters Workshop
Authors Cobb, Hood, Roorbach and Watson will judge awards and serve on workshop faculty
Dec. 1 deadline for writing competition that offers cash prizes and scholarships to March 2013 workshop on university campus
Fiction, nonfiction and poetry entries are now being accepted online for the 2013 Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards writing competition and Masters Workshop. The new programs will mark the festival’s five-year anniversary.
First-place winners in each category of the writing competition will receive $1,000, second-place winners $500 and third-place winners $250. All winners will receive scholarships to the 2-day workshop, which will follow the March 9-10, 2013, Festival of Books. The top 50 entrants will be invited to the workshop, which, like the festival, will be held on the University of Arizona campus.
Literary Awards judges and workshop faculty include:
Larry Watson (“Montana 1948″)
Ann Hood (“The Red Thread”)
Bill Roorbach (“Life Among Giants”)
Thomas Cobb (“Crazy Heart”)
“The Tucson Festival of Books has always championed great writing,” said festival founder and chairman Bill Viner. “The Literary Awards and Masters Workshop are a natural extension of that commitment.”
In just four years, the Tucson Festival of Books has grown to become the 4th largest event of its kind in the United States. The 2012 festival drew 120,000 attendees and featured more than 450 authors, illustrators, agents and other presenters. Proceeds from the festival benefit Southern Arizona literacy efforts. Since its launch in 2009, those funds have totaled $700,000.
For more information on the Literary Awards and the Masters Workshop contact: Meg Files – masters@tucsonfestivalofbooks.org
Thanks for a record-setting show of support for literacy at the 2012 Tucson Festival of Books!
Scroll at 2012 Festival
On October 11, 2012, Literacy Connects’ Executive Director, Betty Stauffer, accepted an award on behalf of Literacy Connects and the Greater Tucson Area for the most signatures collected on the National Right to Literacy Scroll.
The award was presented by the Literacy Powerline at the Literacy Funders Network 2012 Symposium and National Leadership Forum.
Literacy Funders Network Connects collected over 1,400 signatures on the National Right to Literacy Scroll at the 2012 Tucson Festival of Books, surpassing hundreds of cities, including Washington D.C and Los Angeles, and setting a new national record! There was no official competition for how many signatures were collected in a city, but it is certainly exciting to be recognized as the “Beat the Record National Winner.”
The National Right to Literacy Scroll was created at the 2009 National Community Literacy Conference to support legislation and policy changes aimed at increasing literacy levels in the United States. Since then it has been signed by more than 50,000 people across the country at grassroots rallies, library events, city halls, literacy conferences, and town hall meetings.
This year marks the end of the UNESCO Decade of Literacy and UNESCO representatives attended last week’s event to receive the scroll and take it back to the United Nations.
Festival links at a glance
Would you like to support the Tucson Festival of Books without missing one minute of fun during the March 9-10, 2013, Festival itself? Then please consider becoming a Pre-Festival volunteer.
Your help is needed to distribute marketing materials throughout the community in the weeks leading up to the Festival and to represent the Festival at information tables in Tucson-area bookstores and libraries. By volunteering just two hours of your time before the 2013 Tucson Festival of Books, you’ll play an important role in promoting this exciting literary event.
Plenty of other volunteer positions before and during the Festival will also be available.
Volunteer registration will open in early January. To be notified by e-mail when online registration is available, please add your name and e-mail address to the list.
Request a speaker
The Tucson Festival of Books Speakers Bureau is ready to let your organization know all about the Festival. To schedule your organization’s free informational presentation, fill out the Request Form.
We look forward to helping you spread the word about this celebration of literacy in our community.
THE SEQUEL TO A LITERARY BEST-SELLER
Filed under Workshops & Conferences
Make Way For Books- Developing Early Literacy Skills
Make Way For Books- Developing Early Literacy Skills
Special Events And they’re off! LAPS FOR LITERACY
On Saturday, February 18, 2012, MWFB partnered with the Altrusa International, Inc. of Tucson to host a 5K walk at Reid Park. The Laps for Literacy event raised $4,138 which will help fund Story Town, a MWFB/Pima County Public Library community literacy event held each November. Last year over a thousand Tucsonans attended Story Town.
Catch Executive Director, Mary Jan Bancroft, and First Things First South Pima Regional Director, Eleanor Droegemeier, on “Teachers’ Voices” on KUAZ Friday, June 8, 2012 @ 8:30 am!
We are winding down from a very busy school year. Thanks to the hard work of our amazing staff, the dedication of our volunteers, and the generosity of our donors, we estimate that we have impacted the lives of nearly 20,000 children this last year.
On the evening of May 23, 2012, we were honored to host 85 people at our annual open house. Our special guest was Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. He spoke about the new law that will go into effect in 2013 that will retain students if they are not reading at grade level by the end of third grade. He pointed out that one essential solution to support children’s success in school is for parents to talk, read, and sing to their baby as soon as he or she is born – or even sooner! He stated that it will take one whole generation, but that our community can greatly reduce the rate of illiteracy by focusing on early childhood language and literacy development.
This summer the MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS staff will delve into many behind-the-scenes projects such as developing new professional development workshops and curriculum. We will also be preparing for some new partnerships with other family service agencies in the community.
Please stop by for a visit if you are ever in the neighborhood!
Many thanks to all of our supporters. If you have not had a chance to make a donation yet this fiscal year, it’s never too late!
STORYTIME VOLUNTEERS
This spring our wonderful volunteer coordinator, Diane Altieri, had the pleasure of visiting the vast majority of our Storytime Volunteers at their assigned centers. She was inspired to see the creativity and enthusiasm exhibited by everyone. Diane also observed certain common challenges our volunteers face periodically. In reflecting on her visits, Diane prepared a volunteer workshop with assistance from Julie Friberg, one or our amazing Early Literacy Consultants. The main focus of the workshop was on transitions – settling children down and getting them ready for storytime. Diane and Julie prepared an extensive collection of ideas, book suggestions, poems & finger rhymes, and even some American Sign Language! The volunteers who were able to attend found the workshop to be very helpful and rejuvenating. If you are a volunteer who was unable to participate in the session, please let us know if you would like a copy of the booklet. MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS is dedicated to providing the support and resources necessary to insure positive experiences for our volunteers. Kudos to Diane and Julie!
Interested in Storytime volunteering? Visit the volunteer page on our website.
Family Literacy at a Glance
MWFB RAISING A READER
MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS became a Raising A Reader (RAR) affiliate this past October. We are currently implementing RAR with families in apartment complexes in low-resource areas and have reached more than 30 families so far. This program is impressive – we have seen how it truly empowers children and their parents to start on a path to literacy. Parents gain the confidence to be their child’s first best teacher and children are exposed to great books on a weekly basis. A father in the MWFB program said, “I now know that reading to Sam is key. It’s also our favorite time of the day.”
The RAR program is evidenced based – with more than twenty independent studies confirming its overwhelming success. Implemented in more than 30 states, RAR is a parent education and book-bag rotation system. In the MWFB model of RAR, parents attend weekly sessions with their young children. They receive fun and easy tips on how to help their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers develop early literacy skills. Through training and ongoing support, parents and caregivers, even those with limited English or low literacy skills themselves, learn how to engage their child by sharing books.
Each week children receive a red bag with four books inside. The books are age appropriate, high-quality, multi-cultural, and bilingual as needed. Children get a different red bag each week or at the next session that parents attend.
Snuggled on mom or dad’s lap, children begin to associate reading with a positive bonding experience with their parent or caregiver. Parents who were intimidated by reading are excited and confident sharing books with their children. Families develop a joyful habit of reading together. As a result, children’s cognitive and language skills then develop naturally through these interactions.
The program also helps connect families to the public library in their community. When children complete the program they are given a blue bag. This blue bag is for children to take to the library to get their own books. Families get to know and use their public library. Connecting families to a community resource that provides them free access to books is another important success of the RAR program.
If you want to learn more about RAR call our Family Literacy Coordinator, Natalia Phillips-Portillo, at 520-721-2334.
Preschool Program at a Glance
MWFB enjoys co-hosting Family Literacy Nights with childcare centers and preschools thanks to the funding from Central and South Pima’s First Things First Council. After deciding on specific literacy goals with a center, MWFB and childcare staff collaborate to design an evening of fun, food, fabulous stories, and songs.
Teachers from Little Castle, in collaboration with MWFB, hosted a Family Literacy Night. Their staff helped families sign-up for public library cards, sing songs, read books, and act out stories. Little Castle’s staff chose to act out one of their favorites, A Splendid Friend Indeed by Suzanne Bloom. One of their goals was to highlight their lending library made possible through First Things First South Pima Council funding.
MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS | 3955 E. Fort Lowell Road | Tucson | AZ | 85712
http://www.makewayforbooks.org
Filed under Workshops & Conferences
MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS Early Literacy/Reading Program- Open House May 23, 2012
MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS Open House – May 23rd, 2012 Save the Date!
Early Literacy/Reading Program
We wanted to catch you early instead of late … please be sure to save the date!
MWFB Open House 3955 E. Fort Lowell Suite 114 Tucson, Arizona
May 23rd, 2012 5:00 to 7:00 pm
Join us for drinks, food, and fun!
Make Way for Books | 3955 E. Fort Lowell Suite 114 | Tucson | AZ | 85712
maryjan@makewayforbooks.org
Filed under Guest Blogger
Randy Ford Author- Will be attending 2012 Tucson Festival of Books this Weekend
This author will be attending the 2012 Tucson Festival Books on the campus of the University of Arizona this weekend March 10-11 9 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. It’s a really big deal.
Randy Ford
Filed under Randy, Workshops & Conferences
4TH ANNUAL TUCSON FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
4TH ANNUAL TUCSON FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
When: 9 a.m- 5:30 p.m. March 10 & 11, 2012
Where: University of Arizona campus. Attendance and parking are free.
What: About 450 authors, book discussions, workshops, literary activities for the entire family and food.
Sponsors: The UA and the Arizona Daily Star. University of Arizona Medical Cener is the presenting sponsor. Net proceeds will promote literacy in Southern Arizona through the Tucson Festival of Books Foundation, a nonprofit organization.
Information: tucsonfestivalofbooks.org Follow the festival on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tucsonfestivalofbooks and go to http://www.twitter.com/tfob to follow on Twitter. Apps are also available on the website for iPhones and Android devices.
Filed under Workshops & Conferences
