FOUNDATION

EDUCATIONAL GRANT APPLICATION

Organization/School Name: Nizhoni Elementary School

Address P.O. Box 1968
Street: Hwy 666
City: Shiprock
State: NM
Zip Code: 87420
Contact Person’s Name and Telephone: Kristy Wilkinson and Ann Kluth-Clark 505-368-4565
Contact Person’s Title: Kristy Wilkinson Kindergarten Teacher
Ann Kluth-Clark DD-preschool
Project Title and Brief Description:
Passport to Reading: A learning Adventure
Geographic Area to Be Served: Shiprock
Client Group to Be Served and Size of Group: Group to served will be one kindergarten class with approximately 20 students and one DD preschool class with approximately 20 students.

Anticipated Project Period: September 2003 to May 2004

Total Educational Project Costs: $ 9,162.00

Amount Requested from the Burlington Resources Foundation: $ 6,662.00

Amount and sources of pledges/commitments to date: $ 2,500.00 from PNM Foundation

Other funding sources (and amounts) applied to for this project:
Signature:
Date:
Please answer all questions completely on the following pages.
Purpose (What will this project specifically accomplish?)
The purpose of our grant is to:
*Increase spoken and written language through community experiences
*Develop higher order thinking skills through more dynamic classroom dramatic play
*Make literature more engaging and meaningful to students and parents through take home
as well as classroom books.
Need (What are the problems that this project will try to solve?)
When students in our area enter school, they are on average, developmentally one to two years behind in language skills and reading skills. Students lack the vocabulary necessary to communicate with their peers, which inhibits their higher order thinking needed for creative play and for beginning reading skills. Families lack the resources to provide home libraries for their children which is vital for enhancing beginning reading skills.
Relevance (Why should the Burlington Resources Foundation support this project?)
Without outside resources, we would be unable to provide students with these innovative language experiences first hand. We have found this project to be extremely beneficial in providing language experiences that build knowledge and higher order thinking, which carry over into all classroom subjects and increased post test results.
Community experiences will help to make the literature more engaging and meaningful to students. Students will be able to use the literature and vocabulary simultaneously as they describe their experience to their family. Families can build off of their child’s excitement by engaging in the take home book, together, as well as the additional resources that the library has to offer. Book lists of related topics will be provided to families monthly.
In the official position statement of the International Reading Association and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (1998), the following Preschool/Kindergarten teaching practices are recommended:
*positive, nurturing relationships with adults who engage in responsive conversations with individual children, model reading and writing behavior, and foster children’s interest in and enjoyment of reading and writing;
*Print-rich environments that provide opportunities and tools for children to see and use written language for a variety of purposes;
*adults’ daily reading of high-quality books to individual children or small groups;
*opportunities for children to talk about what is read and to focus on the sounds and parts of language as well as the meaning;
*opportunities to engage in play that incorporates literacy tools, such as writing grocery lists in dramatic play, making signs in block building, and using icons and words in exploring a computer game; and
*firsthand experiences that expand children’s vocabulary, such as trips in the community and exposure to various tools, objects and materials.
Approach (How do you plan to implement this project?)
This grant will combine a Kindergarten and a DD preschool classroom. Students will be given passports, which will include their picture. Each month, we will take our classes into the community, for a first hand view of language in our community. Not only will students get to see places in the community that affect their everyday lives, but they will also have the opportunity to develop the language skills that are needed to begin the reading process. Each month, our classrooms will create a word wall that will involve our location. Students will tell us what they know about that particular site, (for example, firefighters). The knowledge that students have will be used to create a word wall. If, for example, students know that firefighters wear boots, then boots will be placed on the word wall. We will then take our field trip. While there, students will get the opportunity to ask questions, to learn new vocabulary, and will experience the process of life in the community. Students will receive a sticker or stamp in their passport, which will be representative of each place they visit.
Once we have returned from our field trip, students will then create a class book about their experience. These books will be taken from the Four Blocks model, in which students will dictate a sentence, put it together, and then illustrate their page. These are then put together into a book, which is placed in the classroom library for students to read. Pictures will be taken of all field trips and will be used to create a classroom scrapbook. Using these pictures, students will progressively create an end of the year keepsake that will document their reading and writing abilities from the beginning to the end of the year. After each field trip, each student will be given a photo to include into their keepsake. They will be asked to write or dictate a sentence that explains their experience. At the end of the year, these will be combined into their own book, which they can take home and add to their library.
In each classroom, we will then discuss each experience and what was learned. We will add any new vocabulary to our word wall. After each field trip, students will be given two pieces of children’s literature related to our community experience. Students will take them home to develop a home library and one copy will be kept in the classroom library. Costumes and props will be provided to encourage children to develop complex themes in dramatic play. Students would be able, for example, to set up a dentist’s office to use their newly acquired vocabulary, and to develop higher order thinking skills. Students will be given daily opportunities to use their environmental experience, by writing and reading within the classroom setting, (word walls, classroom books, take home books, morning messages, writing books, etc.).
Support (What kind of local support is there for the project?)
When visiting businesses in the community, we found them to be welcoming of our students and eager to provide experiences that engage the interest of students and help in the process of developing language.
Coordination (Who else in your community is working on this problem? How will you coordinate with them?)
Local libraries are trying to combat the reading problem by providing reading programs and by inviting local schools to participate in these programs. As part of our learning adventure, we will visit the local library, see how a library works, and students will obtain their own library card. Parents will be given book lists with theme related topics each month and are encouraged to visit the library and check out book to share with their children. Pizza Hut also has a Book It program which rewards students with individual pizzas when their monthly reading goal is reached.
Evaluation (How will you determine that the project is working and that it accomplished its purpose?)
We will know that this grant has positively impacted students achievement to improve reading, by increased post language test scores (EPSF, State reading assessment), through observations of children interacting with peers using more complex themes and enriched vocabulary, by the number of words children provide before and after each learning adventure, and by the length and quality of sentences students provide for their end of the year take home books. The daily reading of high quality books at home and at school will foster language development and the curiosity to explore new and different books.
Our Funds (Specifically, how will our grant be used?)
Indoor green house $ 50.00
Color printer $ 200.00
Printer ink, photo paper $ 737.00
Theme related books $ 5,000.00
Admittance fees $ 675.00
Future Support (How will this project be financed in the future?)
We would love to have permanent funding for this project, but due to the cost, it may be difficult to obtain. We will continue to look for outside resources which may include, grants, donations, or other funding.
Competence (What evidence can you give of the ability of your organization and personnel to implement this project successfully?)
We received a Title-8 mini grant from Central Consolidated School District for the 2002-2003 school year. This project was proven to be extremely beneficial in providing language and reading skills for our students. The vocabulary of students greatly increased from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. Sentences went from three words to an average of seven words and are more dynamic and complex. Students would give an average of ten words for our word wall before our field trips and gave an average of thirty words after our field trips. Students were able to incorporate their new language into creative play, by role playing their visits. Several students were able to read 130 plus words off the word wall when tested, which shows that students are retaining what they are learning.
Outside Consultant (Is the campaign for this request under either the direct or indirect supervision or influence of a non-staff contracted fund-raising organization?
o Yes XXXo No
If yes, please provide the organization’s name, contact person’s name, mailing address and telephone number:
Describe the amount and conditions for payment to the fund-raising organization names above for all services rendered.
Anything Else (What else would you like us to know about this project or alternative projects?)
We believe that this grant would enhance the reading and writing skills necessary for a successful journey into reading. As Napolean Bonaparte once said, “Ability is of little account without opportunity.” If we give them the opportunity to create an environment rich with text, then we are giving them “an investment in knowledge that always pays the best interest,” (Benjamin Franklin)