2017 Lit Lab Pop Up
Our Mission
Every Child. Every Place. Throughout the Year.
I see myself as a successful reader and writer. I am encouraged to read and write about topics that interest me so I can develop meaningful connections to the world around me. My home, school, and community work together to prioritize literacy opportunities for me.
Guiding Document: Research-Based Practices
Read the full Essential School-Wide and Center-Wide Practices in Literacy (http://literacyessentials.org/schoolwide/)
The MAISA GELN Essential School-Wide and Center-Wide Practices in Literacy document identifies 10 research-based system-level practices that can be implemented at the organizational level in educational and care settings that serve young children. Each of the ten recommended school-level or center-level systems and practices should occur in all Michigan schools and early childhood care settings. Practice 9 specifically addresses summer learning as an important piece: “An Ambitious Summer Reading Initiative Supports Reading growth.”
Summer Learning Initiative Goals
Geographic Information System (GIS) Software
Esri GIS software to provide information that helped to determine the best locations for Lit Lab Pop-Ups and identify transportation needs.
2017 Summer Lit Lab Pop-ups
Lenawee County libraries, centers, and schools offer numerous activities for children to participate in during the summer months, especially those living in rural areas with limited proximity to books. However, students who have less resources available may have the greatest need for summer literacy activities. The Cradle to Career Reading by 3rd Grade Network sought to intentionally place free, weekly "pop-up" literacy activities to engage students in reading and writing throughout the summer over an eight-week period.
Data sets that included student demographic data were utilized to determine the four focus areas in which to host the weekly “Summer Lit Lab Pop-Ups,” which may be considered “book deserts.” Lit Labs in Hudson and Addison were open during each site’s free lunch program in order to coordinate with an already-established summer support focused on basic needs. The LISD Milton C. Porter Education Center and Britton locations were held in partnership with the Lenawee’s CHILD free summer camp for children ages two through five. The partnership between the summer camps offered the opportunity to engage families in strategies to enhance home literacy skills.
The Lit Labs offered opportunities for children to develop literacy outside of the school hours by engaging in free reading, writing, and science activities. The Lit Lab stations were assisted by volunteers from the Lenawee Foster Grandparent Program. A free little book fair, provided by Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Michigan, served as the concluding festivity at each setting. Over 300 children, averaging three to five visits during the summer, benefited from the Lit Labs.
Data sets that included student demographic data were utilized to determine the four focus areas in which to host the weekly “Summer Lit Lab Pop-Ups,” which may be considered “book deserts.” Lit Labs in Hudson and Addison were open during each site’s free lunch program in order to coordinate with an already-established summer support focused on basic needs. The LISD Milton C. Porter Education Center and Britton locations were held in partnership with the Lenawee’s CHILD free summer camp for children ages two through five. The partnership between the summer camps offered the opportunity to engage families in strategies to enhance home literacy skills.
The Lit Labs offered opportunities for children to develop literacy outside of the school hours by engaging in free reading, writing, and science activities. The Lit Lab stations were assisted by volunteers from the Lenawee Foster Grandparent Program. A free little book fair, provided by Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Michigan, served as the concluding festivity at each setting. Over 300 children, averaging three to five visits during the summer, benefited from the Lit Labs.
2017 Embedded Summer Lit Lab Sites inside the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club

ymca_parent_sign_info.pdf |
The embedded literacy plan focused upon working collaboratively with the BGC and YMCA to build capacity within the organization to support students’ literacy development. The initiative included 45 minutes of literacy activities four to five days per week for the students and weekly instructional coaching for the camp instructor. The literacy time included a science literacy read aloud, science labs, and opportunities to create student-made books.
The Foster Grandparent program, through the Department on Aging, joined the embedded Lit Lab sites to support the hour-long literacy time with grades 1-3 and provide some basic "additional time" support. Additionally, the Foster Grandparents assist in helping students to select a book from the weekly FREE Little Book Fair, made possible through the generosity of Goodwill Industries of Southeast Michigan.
In addition, each participating student was given one free book each week to promote home literacy. A sample set of students from the BGC were assessed to measure potential impact of the embedded summer literacy initiative. The data collected included assessment on basic reading foundational skills: spelling, alphabetic, and word identification. Of the students assessed, the following data was reported:
The Foster Grandparent program, through the Department on Aging, joined the embedded Lit Lab sites to support the hour-long literacy time with grades 1-3 and provide some basic "additional time" support. Additionally, the Foster Grandparents assist in helping students to select a book from the weekly FREE Little Book Fair, made possible through the generosity of Goodwill Industries of Southeast Michigan.
In addition, each participating student was given one free book each week to promote home literacy. A sample set of students from the BGC were assessed to measure potential impact of the embedded summer literacy initiative. The data collected included assessment on basic reading foundational skills: spelling, alphabetic, and word identification. Of the students assessed, the following data was reported:
- 29% DECREASED SCORE
- 14% MAINTAINED
- 57% INCREASED SCORE