Read for LIFElong Learning provides learning for all.
GRE E NS BU RG SAL E M SC H OOL DI ST RIC T NE WS
reensburg Salem
T
he Read for LIFElong Learning is a win-win situation where
everybody learns. Pre-service education major students
from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg (UPG)
deliver the Read for LIFElong Learning program at Hutchinson
and Nicely Elementaries. The program started at Hutchinson 17
years ago and has grown from a reading club to a standardsbased learning experience that combines fun and learning for
district students while allowing the college students to practices
their teaching skills.
The LIFE in LIFElong is an acronym for why we read. We read
to, L – Learn new things; I – Identify with others; F – Frequent
new places (visit new places); and E -- Entertain oneself. All
this happens for one hour a week, during UPG’s fall and spring
semesters.
The small group setting, 6-8 students per teacher, enables
college students to develop and deliver lesson plans, conduct
student diagnostics, and complete weekly progress reports. The
GS students read and discuss a high-interest novel, taking time
to compare and contrast, analyze elements, describe characters
and events in detail, and engage in in-depth discussions.
In addition to using iPads to aid instruction, this year the UPG
students introduced e-books and supplied several Nooks to the
students through a grant they received from The Community
Foundation of Westmoreland County. Over the years, the
university’s student government has also provided financial
support enabling the education department to establish a
substantial library of elementary-level books for use in the Read
for LIFElong Learning program.
Now working toward her education degree at UPG, Greensburg Salem
graduate Kelsey Campbell remembers when she participated in Read for
LIFElong Learning as an elementary student.
Dr. Vickilyn Barnot, an associate professor at UPG, has been
involved in Reading for LIFElong Learning since its inception.
She explained, “This is an excellent way for our students to get
real-world experience. We run the fall program at Hutchinson for
grades 4 and 5 with experienced UPG students, who participated
the previous spring. In the spring we expand to include grades
2-5 at both Nicely and Hutchinson, the experienced pre-service
teachers take on leadership roles and coordinate the program.”
Volunteering offers unique learning opportunities.
T
eacher Sherilyn Dallas smiled as she watched her students
dash and dart around the Westmoreland County Food Bank
workroom, sorting cans of donated food. She observed, “This
is so good for them, to be out in the community, helping people in
need, while getting a chance to practice the kind of skills they are
going to be using once they leave our school environment.”
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