PALS at Blackshear.
February 2001
PALs at Blackshear Elementary
When an outsider walks into the library at the start of PALs, it might seem a little chaotic. But to the people who work with Pre-K everyday, it is orderly. Welcome to PALs!
Parent Advocates for Literacy (PALs) is an early-intervention collaboration between AmeriCorps and the host schools, Allison, Sanchez, and Blackshear Elementary. PALs began in 1995 at Sanchez Elementary. Pre-K children spent 45 minutes each day in the cafeteria, with monitors, in order for Pre-K teachers to have a planning time. Sanchez staff and AmeriCorps teamed up with the parent monitors to create a better learning environment for those 45 minutes each day. Children were placed in small groups (5–8 children), and an AmeriCorps member and a Sanchez parent worked together to provide high-quality early literacy experiences for the children. Thus, PALs was born.
The PALs program at Allison began in 1998, through the efforts of the school and the ACEE VISTA. The program has been in full swing for two years. The Blackshear PALs program began this year, 2000–2001, with support from ACEE staff and Patti Bridwell, Blackshear Curriculum Specialist. This is a program that is a lot of fun and something that schools, teachers, and ACEE members believe in wholeheartedly.
The PALs instructors work very hard to create interesting, age-appropriate literacy experiences for the children. Each day the students listen to two or more stories, usually in big book format. The children love to talk about what they read and sometimes the stories are even acted out. Songs are sung from a song chart and the children joyfully point to the words as they go along.
In the process of singing and reading, the children learn that we read from left to right and top to bottom, that we can write down what we say and sing, and that we can point to words as we read. These early print concepts are critical for building a strong foundation in literacy. After singing and reading, the children might do a group project like creating their own books or some kind of extension on the book that was read. If time permits, centers can be set up and the students chose where they want to go. Some centers include blocks, books, writing, memory games, magnetic letters, or coloring. The children are always very enthusiastic!