| Welcome to Seattle BookPALS! | |
Change the World - Read to Children
Do you love literature and performance? Then you will love BookPALS, Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools. BookPALS are local actors and trained community members who read aloud in classrooms and perform stories in the community to spark children's interest in reading. Performers from all walks of life and experience are welcome. BookPALS use voice, body, imagination and stage presence to bring stories and characters to life.
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Latest News & Updates:
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Monday, November 14 2005 @ 02:55 PM EST
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40 new and veteran BookPALS attended the annual training workshop on Saturday, October 29 in Seattle. The event was held at the Seattle Center's Center House Theatre. BookPALS participated in reading aloud to eachother and acted out the scary story, Four Boys In All, by Gahan Wilson. Master storyteller Nancy Calos-Nakano, actively demonstrated how to keep children engaged in your story, especially those who are distracted, not paying attention or talking.
The workshop created volunteer leadership to build the BookPALS program outside of Seattle.
New Seattle SAG Executive Director Dena Beatty, has enrolled Portland Oregon SAG members in the BookPALS program. A special BookPALS presentation will be offered at December 19, annual membership meeting in Portland.
A board member from the Tacoma Actors Guild, Nan Peele, (an equity theatre company) is taking on recruitment of a BookPALS progam in the Tacoma area, which is 40 miles South of Seattle. She is collaborating with the school district there. A special South Sound BookPALS reading workshop will be offered to that community.
A feisty BookPAL who calls herself the reading grandma - Connie Alderman, is leading an effort to recruit BookPALS in the Bellingham region - 90 miles north of Seattle.
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Thursday, October 13 2005 @ 01:00 PM EDT
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BookPAL Tomas Graham has generously taken the lead in coordinating a monthly gathering of BookPALS at the Seattle SAG office. Mark Your Calendar for the premiere of Jams for Jellies, December 5, 6:30-8:00pm!
Though we all love reading in the classroom and sharing our favorite books with the children, some of us still get a bit nervy performing for a crowd. So we created Jams for Jellies as a way to practice, share and innovate techniques for making our readings the most exciting thing in town (well, class anyway). This meeting is for all active readers, but especially for the recalcitrant, shy or where-angels-fear-to-tread challenged!
So grab your toast and book and come on over to Jams for Jellies.
Every third Monday until the summer moons come, BookPALS will meet for practical work on reading and dramatizing children’s books and do some group problem solving for trip ups and break downs in the classroom.
The evening will look like this:
- Discussion of the Month. How to help your audience identify with the protagonist.
- Round-Robin of what's working and what's not working in individual classes
- Book recommendations - like a book of the month
- A read aloud of the book of the month
- Icy Book Breakers - take turns practicing fun techniques with a sympathetic audience
- Open discussion
- An inspirational Close
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Friday, July 01 2005 @ 03:28 PM EDT
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The second of two BookPALS Family Reading workshops was held October 27, 2005 at Orca Elementary School. 50 families were invited to attend and bring their children. About 200 people participated.
Overall, the grant project was a major success,133 families and 200 children were served.
It enabled BookPALS to bring parents together with their children, to spend some personal, fun time learning ways to make reading fun and enjoyable. Over and over we heard that this should be offered in every school at least once a year.
BookPALS recruited 47 volunteers for the project and recieved media coverage in a full page article in the Seattle PI. Parents received free books and learned new strategies for making reading aloud more engaging and how to foster positive relationships with their child. Children participated in activities such as Bookmaking with volunteers from the University of Washington PIPE program, storytelling with BookPALS, and clown/juggling room where kids got awesome animal balloons and tricks of the juggling trade. The $5000 grant was made possible through the Starbucks Foundation.
Here are parent comments about the October Workshop:
99 percent of evaluations stated that parents thought the workshops offered were informative and they would be able to use what they learned. Here are some direct quotes:
“I had a great night, and I’m looking forward to reading with my son even more.”
“I will better be able to encourage my son’s reading by knowing what phase he is in. This was a fun evening!”
“Thanks for organizing this event. It’s a great way for kids to appreciate reading in a different way.”
“ It made me feel my child is normal.”
Click on this link for a full article that appeared in the Seattle PI.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/226371_ecenter31.html
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Sunday, March 06 2005 @ 02:36 PM EST
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WISH List
• Digital camera for Seattle BookPALS.
• A book for each child our BookPALS read to. Goal is to reach every child in each BookPAL's class.
• Books for a Book Basket . Each BookPALS clasroom would receive.
• Copying services for quarterly newsletter.
• Reams of colored copy paper.
Charitable Donations
• You can make a donation to Seattle BookPALS anytime. Make check payable to SAG Foundation and write Seattle BookPALS in the memo section. Send to BookPALS C/O 3029 NW 62 St, Seattle, WA 98107. BOOKPALS is a program of the SAG Foundation, a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization, and donations are tax-deductible. The Foundation is funded solely by donations, corporate gifts and bequests of its member and others who believe in the work we do.
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Thursday, August 26 2004 @ 11:43 PM EDT
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BookPAL Debbie Tully as the "whale" in "Why I Went Back."
read more (81 words) >>
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