+ “Wordstorming” to Anticipate Content

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From Janet Allen’s “More Tools for Teaching Content Literacy,” one tool is called “Wordstorming.”  [For her great flipchart book with this actual chart and many more, visit Stenhouse Publishers at www.stenhouse.com.]

Create a Chart for the Class

Create a chart for the entire class with 12 boxes.  Title each of eleven boxes with two letters, ( A-B; C-D; E-F; G-H; I-J; K-L; M-N; O-P; Q-R; S-T; U-V).  Title the final box WXYZ.

Under the boxes, create two areas to be filled in: “Content Prediction” and “Questions Article Should Answer.”  

Wordstorming can be used to anticipate the content of a chapter or article  prior to beginning study.

One way to assess your students’ understanding is to see what terms they know that relate to the topic.  The more topic-related words they come up with, the deeper their substantive knowledge before they begin.  By creating predictions a questions based on the words, kids are given a purpose for reading.

Allen suggests asking students to work in groups.  They will brainstorm as many words as they can think of that begin with the letters you’ve assigned them: words that pertain to the content of the article/chapter. 

Give them four to five minutes to Wordstorm.

Read the title of the piece and assign them their letters.  The words they choose should be ones they predict will be found in the text.

After you call time, let the students give you their words to be recorded on the class chart.  Discuss whether and how the words are relevant to the topic.  From the words that have been generated, create predictions and questions the class needs to have answered.

At this point, with the chart remaining visible to the class, the teacher/everyone reads the text.   Students will now revisit their predictions to see if they were on target; they’ll determine which of their questions have been answered.

If some students missed important points, use the collection of words to clarify and summarize.

How One Teacher Used the Wordstoming Tool

Janet Allen reports that one group of middle school students was about to begin reading “The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963” [Doubleday]. 

The article selected by the teacher for a read-aloud prior to beginning the novel was from TIME magazine, “The Ghosts of Alabama,” [5/29/2000].

The teacher decided on the letters B, I, K and S  for her students’ Wordstorming activity.   She was then able to take the words, incorporate them into predictions and questions, and give the class a purpose for reading their book.

source: J. Allen,  “More Tools for Teaching Content Literacy,” 2008, ISBN 978-1-57110-771-8.  See also J. Allen 1995.  “It’s Never Too Late: Leading Adolescents to Lifelong Literacy.”  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.  Also J. Allen 2000.  “Yellow Brick Roads: Shared and Guided Paths to Independent Reading 4-12.”  Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021  or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ 60 Years of National Book Awards: You Decide the Best Book

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The National Book Foundation is celebrating its 60 years of book awards by blogging on a book each day  for the next 77 days.  Visit http://www.NBAFictionBlog.org .

To celebrate the 60th year of the National Book awards, they will offer a book-a-day blog posting on each of the Fiction winners from 1950 to 2008.

The blogs will run from July 7th to September 21st, starting with Nelson Algren’s “The Man With the Golden Arm,” and ending with this year’s winner, Peter Matheissen’s “Shadow Country.”

It will include works by Ralph Ellison, Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, and Alice McDermott.  Discover Conrad Richter, Wright Morris, and Robb Forman Dew.

Then on September 21st, you will have a chance to select “The Best of the National Book Award’s Fiction,” and win two tickets to the 2009 National Book Awards, by visitng the Foundation’s web site at http://www.nationalbook.org.  This is the first time the Awards have been open to a public vote.

Their daily blog includes information on each day’s winning book and will include original posts by contemporary authors, bloggers and editors, as well as this year’s judges and the winners of other literary awards. 

Visit every day for the next 77 days.  Order your own copies of these American classics from your local bookstore, online booksellers or library.  Feel free to post comments.

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Creating a Classroom Community

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From Scholastic, visit a page with links to articles and lesson plans to help you plan ways to create your classroom community in the fall.   

Find  articles on these topics:

• Help for “They Won’t Let Me Play With Them!”  by William Kridler — Let  students talk about what behaviors, attitudes and actions they think contribute to a climate of caring in the classroom, and play games that reinforce these values.
• Building Community in the Classroom by Ellen Booth Church   (Early Childhood Today, September 2008) — Church discusses the different elements that help to create a sense of community in the Early Childhood classroom at the beginning of the year.
• Big Friends Little Friends by Andrea Spillett — Younger and older students are paired to work on team projects and play games.
• Be a Good Friend — “Woof Woof!” The focus of this lesson is to encourage awareness of good manners through literature and creative expression.
• 8 Ways to Welcome Students  by Marissa Ochoa — Third grade teacher Ochoa explains how she makes students feel welcome and motivates them for the year ahead.
• Building Bridges of Friendship by Mackie Rhodes (Instructor Magazine, August 2002) — Presents a unit on friendship that involves music, crafts, teamwork activities, and identifying shared values and interests.

Find links to lesson plans on these topics:

• Portrait of a Friend  by Tracy Roudez — Students get to know themselves and their classmates by filling in the blanks to create a mini-biography.
• Aloha, Welcome Back by Renea Shuey — Takes a tropical approach to the start of the school year as students learn about our 50th state, get to know each other, and establish classroom expectations.
• New to School Student Booklets by Marci Ruiz — In this fun getting- to-know-you classroom activity, students make their own books out of supplied paper shapes and strips of pre-typed text.
• Move and Make Friends (Early Childhood Today) – An activity plan for teachers of preschool age children.
• Time to Rhyme (Early Childhood Today) — An activity plan for teachers of four- and five-year-olds to do with their students.
• Do You Want to Be My Friend? Lesson Plan by Jeremy Brunaccioni — Children love Eric Carle’s colorful illustrations and animal characters in “Do You Want to Be My Friend?”  Brunaccioni does an author study with his class; his students love making painted paper in the style of Eric Carle and taking their own book home. 
• Building Relationships in a High School Classroom by Mariana Sesay-St Paul –The diagnostics in this unit will help teachers get to know their students both academically and personally.
• Come Explore Your Neighborhood  by Steven Hicks — Use this lesson to teach your students the value of friendship around them with walks and mapping and modeling projects.

So visit the site at  http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=296

source: I was sent to this site by The Big Fresh, the free weekly e-newsletter for K-12 literacy leaders.  Sign up for it at    http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/400.cfm

tutoring in columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021  or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com  

+ Sites: Great Smoky Mountains 75th Anniversary

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The Great Smokies are best known as the home of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which protects most of the range. 

The park was established in 1934, and with over 6 million visits per year, it is the most visited national park in the United States.

• Great Smokies 75th.org! –  On this site you will find a rich and involving variety of information on the Park’s history, current issues, and future vision.   http://greatsmokies75th.org
• Great Smoky Mountain Park (US National Park Service) – Explore the official site from the NPS for the mountain range straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.  http://www.nps.gov.grsm/
• Maps of Great Smoky Mountains National Park — This collection documents the history, cultural aspects and geological formations of areas that eventually became National Parks.  http://www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/nphtml/gsmhome.html
• Great Smoky Mountains Regional Project — Provides support and information for researchers at all levels who study the Smokies and the surrounding communities.   http://www.lib.utk.edu/refs/smokies/index2.html
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Landforms – Contains information on various landforms (waterfalls, peaks, balds, rock formations) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina.  Information on each landform includes maps, GPS waypoint (latitude/longitude) and the occasional picture.  http://www.cs.utk.edu/~dunigan/gsmnp/

source: EduHound’s Newsletter “Classroom Tools & Tips” is an educational newsletter that provides valuable ed tech resources to incorporate into K-12 classroom curriculums.  You’ll find educational topics, preformatted templates, technology tutorials and practical tips.  To suggest topics, offer your own templates, or make suggestions, email Judi Rajala at JRajala@eduhound.com

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Excellent Site for Reading Families

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Recommended by the 2 Sisters Teachers’ Web site, this looks like a fine place for parents and kids to select books, read together and build a love of reading.  Visit  http://litforkids.wordpress.com/.

Lit for Kids is a Web site dedicated to kids, books, families and a LOVE of reading.

If you’re daunted by the (literally) millions of fantastic books and options out there, check it out.  Parents, grandparents, caregivers, or teachers can find suggestions on how to begin and where to go from there.

The site is for anyone with kids in their lives — or those who just love children’s literature.  And it’s for children themselves.  You will find

• Recommendations for books at all ages, reading levels and interests.
• Ways to use a favorite book as a jumping off place to do other things: knitting projects, cooking, trips, outings, play ideas and much more.
• Ideas for choosing a gift, building a library, or finding the perfect dinosaur book for an obsessed kid!
• Developmental information about how kids learn to read and write.
• Activities to try with kids — you’ll learn more about your child and where they are in their reading and writing lives.
• A place to share your own tips, thoughts and recommendations.  Let your child share too!

Who Are These People?

Ruth Shagoury (formerly Ruth Shagoury Hubbard) teaches new and veteran teachers at Lewis & Clark College in Portland OR, where she is the Mary Stuart Rogers Professor of Education.  She coordinates the Language and Literacy program there.  She has written numerous books and articles, most recently Raising Writers: Understanding and Nurturing Young Children’s Writing Development  (Allyn & Bacon), and Starting with Comprehension: Reading Strategies for the Youngest Learners (with Andie Cunningham; Stenhouse).

She is a regular contributor to www.choiceliteracy.com

Meghan Rose  has worked in the Internet industry for the last ten years, specializing in start-ups (like Rent.com and eToys) where 16-hour work days are the norm.  She began consulting part time and being a Mom full time after her twins were born.

and… You:   it is hoped that you will get engaged and leave your thoughts, tips, comments and recommendations.  They would like to build a community of and for people who love literature and kids.

Send them your own lists and blog entries to post (crediting you, of course).  Tell them what you love and what you don’t like, and help them make their site a more useful, fun, helpful and interactive place. 

source: the 2 Sisters  site for teachers which sent me there:  http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/568.cfm 

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Cyber Bullying Affects One in 10 Students

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A new study by the National Institutes of Health suggests that many children in grades 6 through 10 have either bullied classmates or been bullied by them, sometimes through cell phones, according to Peter West, reporter for Health Day.

The study, released in the Journal of Adolescent Medicine, analyzed data from the World Health Organization’s 2005/2006 survey of human behavior in school-aged children.

They found that 20.8 percent of respondents reported being perpetrators or victims of physical bullying in the past two months; 53.6 percent were victims of verbal bullying; 51.4 percent were victims of relational bullying which involves social exclusion, and 13.6 percent were victims of cyber bullying on a computer, cell phone or other electronic device.

Study author Ronald Iannotti, staff psychologist at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, says “Bullying definitely remains prevalent and seems to peak in middle school.  Middle school years are difficult.”

The study didn’t look for an increase or decrease in school bullying over the years, but some experts believe the rate has stayed stable or even declined over the past decade.

This study is one of the first to examine the recent phenomenon of cyber bullying.

“Physical bullying” was defined as hitting, kicking, pushing, shoving and locking a classmate indoors.   “Verbal bullying” included calling someone mean names, making fun of/ teasing in a hurtful way, and saying mean things about a person’s race or religion.  “Relational bullying” was defined as spreading rumors or socially excluding others.

Trends Revealed by the Study:

• Verbal bullying was the most prevalent of the four major forms of bullying.
• Boys are more likely to be involved in physical and verbal bullying.
• Girls are more likely to spread rumors and ostracise a victim.
• Bullying tends to decline as children get older, with the bullying taking place in middle school, especially seventh and eighth grades.
• Compared with whites, balck adolescents were more likely to be bullies, and less likely to be victims.
• Hispanics were more involved in physical bullying than whites but more likely to suffer cyber bullying.

A big part in determining hostile behavior seems to be how many friends a child has.  For physical, verbal and relational abuse, kids with lots of friends are at higher risk of becoming bullies.

Cyber bullying is bullying through a computer or other communication device.  It is still a small phenomenon.  Researchers found that eight percent had received harassing computer pictures or messages; six percent were bullied by cell phone.  More boys were cyber bullies; more girls were cyber victims.

The size of a child’s social circle didn’t affect their involvement in electronic bullying.  But affluence seems to increase the risk, probably because wealthier families have more computers and cell phones available.

Says Frederick Zimmerman, associate professor at the UCLA School of Public Health, “There’s been a lot of recent emphasis on cyber bullying, but the fact is that there is a lot less of it than in-person bullying.  Parents can certainly help by being aware of what their kids are doing alone in their rooms.”

Good Parental Support Makes a Difference

No foolproof way exists to stop middle-school bullying.  But the researchers concluded that good parental support helps children avoid abusive behavior. 

Parents serve as role models, good and bad, says Iannotti.  Furthermore, kids who come from loving homes and feel good about themselves are less likely to want to harass someone, and are less likely to appear weak to potential bullies.

Zimmerman feels parents should be on the lookout for signs of bullying and victimization — but shouldn’t overreact.

Most kids shrug  it off and bounce back, he says. 

sole source: article by Peter West, HealthDay Reporter at Yahoo.com.  More information, visit National Institutes of Health at  http://www.nih.gov/

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Teacher/Student Game: Competitive Behavior Management

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From TeachHUB! (www.teachhub.com), a classroom behavior strategy offered by Randi Saulter and Don Crawford, called the Teacher/Student Game.

Nearly all human behavior is based on reaction to consequences: touch a flame and jump back;  see a smile and give back a smile and learn to be friendly.

“Magic Ratio”

The authors tell us that psychologists, scientists, and education professionals have determined a “magic ratio” for affecting behavior in others, whether they are adults or children.

 By following a three-to-one (3:1) positive to negative interaction ratio, you ought to be able to ensure better behavior and long-term success in the classoom.

How It Works

Set up the game before start of class.  The teacher draws a “score card” somewhere prominent – on a white board, blackboard, paper — so it is visible to students and easily accessible.   The teacher will be awarding points to the class or himself frequently.

At the beginning of the class, the teacher explains the Teacher/Student Game and reviews rules and expectations.   (It’s a good idea to introduce children to the game at the beginning of the school year.  As the year goes on, review the rules.)

Teacher says

We’re going to play a game, me against you.  I think I can win because I’m really smart and I win this game A LOT!  Here is how it works.  You get points for getting things right, and for following the rules which are everyone responding, everyone keeping their eyes on the lesson, everyone waiting their turn to talk [insert your specific expectations].  But I get points whenever someone forgets the rules or makes a mistake!

I bet I’m going to win.  I’m really good at this game.

Right away, you are naming your expectations; children straighten up and pay careful attention.  Immediately give their team a point, acting disappointed. 

Say something like

You guys have your eyes on me so well, that I have to give you a point.  You’re already ahead!  But I know you’re going to forget the rules and then I’ll win…

Children immediately enjoy their lead in the game.  They feel proud of their accomplishment.

Ham it up a bit; act REALLY disappointed.  The children try harder to beat you.

Immediately give your students points for meeting all of your expectations — before they have a chance to forget.  Give them points for answering correctly, keeping their eyes on the lesson, taking turns.  Tell them what they did to earn their points.

Gosh!  I’m going to have to give you another point because everyone is paying attention.  Darn!  You’re ahead, but I’m going to catch up soon.

Be Obnoxious! 

 Give yourself a point energetically, obnoxiously and gleefully whenever even one child needs a question repeated, doesn’t have her eyes on the book, interrupts you or talks to a neighbor. 

When you give yourself the point (on this VERY public chart) tell everyone

YEA! I get a point because someone talked out of turn!  I KNEW I was going to win…

Be obnoxiously cheerful about getting a point.  Make sure you are so annoying that they really want to beat you.  If you do this right, they will hate letting you have even one point; they’ll be motivated to monitor their own behavior closely.

Many teachers are reluctant to give themselves points.  They ignore minor misbehaviors, afraid to discourage the kids. 

But the teacher should catch EVERY infraction and take every point possible.  That way you enforce high standards and make children adhere to their most excellent behavior.

The way to keep the students encouraged is to be vigilant in catching them being good. 

Keep the ratio of positives up.  Catch them being good at least three times as often as you have to give yourself a point.

It isn’t easy.  Focus hard to catch students answering correctly, demonstrating attention, tracking in their books, looking at the teacher, answering quickly when called on.

Make your positive statements brief and exciting; clearly identify both the behavior and the student.

This is not for young students only.  If you spotlight your competitive side and really appear to be tough, even high school kids will get into it. 

You always lose the game, but you win in the classroom.

source: www.teachhub.com , article by Randi Saulter and Don Crawford.  TeachHUB! is a free daily, one-stop shop for resources, top recommendations + bargains for teachers by teachers.

tutoring in Columbus OH:  Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Helping Children Make Thoughtful Book Selections

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From “Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction” by Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmerman, helpful thoughts about guiding young readers to good, independent book choices.

Text Is Most Readable When Children:

• have schema (background knowledge) for the text content/author
• have schema for the format, print style, layout, density and illustrations/graphs
• can apply a comprehension strategy to leverage more meaning from both the narrative and expository text
• have had prereading experiences (hearing a read aloud from the text and/or discussion about the content or format)
• have a need and/or desire to comprehend
• have a history of or passion for reading

Variety Is Critical

Kids need to develop a wide range of interest and the capacity to move easily from genre to genre.

• they need to read in a variety of genres
• they need to read text that challenges them in different ways in both surface (decoding) and deep structure (comprehension) learning 
• they should keep track of their choices (ensures variety; enables teachers to see if they’re reading high-quality material, genre-crossing and level-crossing)
• teachers need to ensure children gradually assume responsibility for selecting appropriate texts; they should continue to interact with them about their selections through the year
• MODELING — this is critical at repeated intervals; teacher should model ways they select and recommend books
• teachers should ask children to “field test” text — try a page or two or a section; think-aloud; use the “five finger rule:” put a finger down if they come to a word or idea that’s confusing (five fingers and this is not a good text for me)

source: “Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction” by Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmerman, publisher Heinemann.  ISBN 10-0-325-01035-8.

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ One Teacher’s Vocabulary Tips

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From Kevin Feldman, educator and lecturer who shares his valuable newsletter with anyone who asks:

A 4th Grade Teacher in Billings Montana, Ann Brucker, wrote about the ways she has implemented his strategies in her classroom.

First of all, her process for teaching words follows this sequence:

1. Pronounce
2. Explain
3. Provide examples
4. Elaborate
5. Assess (question, complete, yes-no-why, etc.)

Activities

Brucker wanted to “beef up” vocabulary learning.  She created several activities that require students to actively review words on a weekly basis.

• An activity where students sort words by (for example) parts of speech, or number of syllables
• A think-pair-share activity where groups of students “adopt” and present a word
• An outline for them to write a news article using as many previous words as they could (and have it still make sense)
• A bingo game, in which students must identify words meeting various criteria
• A “chalk talk” activity, in which students silently and collaboratively brainstorm any information they can remember, connect, or share about a given set of words
• A sentence session where students would write different types of sentences using any Word of the Day in a select location within the sentence

Use the Word!

Students always cheer (one year it was clapping, another year students shouted “Fantastico!”) every time one of the old target words is uttered. 

This causes a stir when visitors to the classroom are spontaneously cheered when they — unknowingly – utter a target word!  The school librarian feels like a celebrity and has begun trying to use words she thinks might hit the mark.  Brucker notices that this has quickly and drastically elevated the level of vocabulary in daily use.

Journal Page Entries

Brucker developed a journal page template with room for information about  four words on each page.  For every word entry there is a slot for the word itself; for the definition; for an explanation; for the origin; and for the part of speech.  There is also a small block for an “image” of each word.

Technology

To integrate some type of technology in this vocabulary development project, she decided a blog was much easier than a web site.  She got one set up in about five minutes, she writes.

She and the class decided to call it “Philology Blog.”  It has been a dynamic and engaging way to get students to interact with the words.

After going through the first three steps (pronounce, explain, give examples),  she is now able to pull up the blog where the target word is posted.  In it is found all of the information she wants to use for “elaboration.” 

There are descriptions and links to dictionary, thesaurus and etymology sites relevant to the word; there is some type of video, image or activity providing an example of how the word is used; and there’s a writing prompt where students are asked to use the word in context.  

Brucker also provides the words with their part of speech, so they can be sorted.

She uses a document camera and projector to display this page first thing every morning, so students can complete their paper journal entries and start using the words right away.

Sources For  Words 

Brucker selects the words from the context of the entire daily curriculum and instruction.  This obviously offers a vast array of words to choose from.  But she has also been able to integrate and embed some technology terms which naturally come with the tools she is using.

And the intense focus on vocabulary ties the entire schoolday together: from reading and language skills to math to science and art and music and sports — it all revolves around words.

Students are now not just waiting for her to introduce words for them — they are finding words on their own.

They truly love knowing and using grown-up words.  They are constantly bringing in newspaper and magazine clippings in which their target words appear.  The class has designated a “Wall of Fame” on which to hang their words.  As they watched President Obama’s inauguration address, they listened raptly for “their” words.

Vocabulary Strengthens Writing Skills

And a suprise perk: Bucker’s students’ writing has gained strength as they began responding to her writing prompts and posting their responses as comments.

This took a good bit of front-loading on her part, of course.

If the class is studying compound sentences or apostrophes, she instructed students to use such forms in their written responses.

She has noticed that they are much more eager to get on and write with the blog than they ever were with pencil and paper.  They have really taken ownership of their “site.”

Brucker is proud of her “philologists:” learners and lovers of words.  She is happy to share her experiences with all of us.

Source: Ann Brucker shared her strategies with  Kevin Feldman, whose literacy newsletter you can subscribe to at kfeldman@lists.scoe.org

tutoring in Columbus OH:  Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ NYC Kids Can Camp With Your Help

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Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund has been giving inner-city kids in New York the joy of a summer vacation with volunteer host families and at Fund camps, creating unforgettable memories and fresh possibilities.

Every year, nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs.  In 2008, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.

Three thousand children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2300-acre site in Fishkill, New York.

The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

The Fresh Air Fund is an independent, not-for-profit agency.

The Friendly Town Program

Children are selected to participate in the Fresh Air Fund Friendly Town program based on financial need.  Children from low-income communities are registered by more than 90 social-service and community organizations in all five boroughs of New York City. 

Fresh Air children are boys and girls from six- to 18-years-old.  They visit 300 Fresh Air Friendly Towns in the summer.  Children on first-time visits to Friendly Town host families are six to 12 years old and stay for up to six weeks.

The program also has a special one-week option for New York City families who would like to host children on their summer vacations in the country. 

 Over 65 percent of all children are reinvited to stay with host families year after year.  Reinvited children may continue with the Fund through age 18, and many spend the entire summer in the country.  These children and volunteer families often form bonds of friendship that last a lifetime.

Friendly Town Host Families

Host families open their homes to inner-city children for two weeks or more in the summertime.  Each Friendly Town community is supervised by a committee of volunteers.  Committee members select host families after reviewing their applications, visiting them in their homes and checking their personal references.

There are no financial requirements for hosting a Fresh Air child.  Most hosts simply want to share their homes with inner-city youngsters. 

Host families are not paid.  The Fund has a program for placing children who have special physical or emotional needs.

Fresh Air Fund Camping Program

Three thousand New York City youngsters, ages 8 to 15, attend Fresh Air camps on a 23,00-acre site in Fishkill New York. 

• Camp Hidden Valley is for boys and girls with and without special needs who are 8- to 12-years- old. 
• Camp Tommy is for 12- to 15-year-old boys. 
• Camp Anita Bliss Coler is for girls who are 9 to 12. 
• Camp Hayden-Marks Memorial is for 9- to 12-year-old boys. 
• Camp Mariah is a coed camp for 12- to 14-year-old career campers.

Additionally, 2,000 young people participate in year-round weekend camping experiences.

Special features shared by all camps include a planetarium, model farm, wilderness trail and ropes course.  Camp Tommy is named in honor of Board member/designer Tommy Hilfiger for his dedication and support of Fresh Air children.  

Career Awareness Program

The Fresh Air Fund’s innovative Career Awareness Program is designed to help New York City youngsters understand the relationship between school and work, and how to make choices that will determine their futures.  In New York City, 12- to 14-year-olds participate in job shadowings that offer close-up views of business and a career fair.  The year-round program includes weekend camping trips and an intensive three-and-a-half week summer session at the Career Awareness Camp — Camp Mariah.

Ther career camp is named in honor of Board member/singer Mariah Carey for her dedication, support and commitment to Fresh Air Youngsters.

Career Awareness graduates continue to receive support through the PreOccupations Club and benefit from the guidance of volunteer mentors.

Vist http://www.freshair.org to volunteer or contribute to this very important project.

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com