07/31/2007

Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
Meaghan Gauthier of Alpena listens as Oscar Moran, 7, reads a story aloud.

What did they do on their summer vacation? READ

CMU program helps children improve skills

BY KEVIN WRIGHT
kwright@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
Molly Hohman, 6, and Abby Trudeau, 6, talk about what's on the cover of a book they’re reading with Bobbi Ross of Traverse City during the CMU Summer Reading Clinic at Lakeland Elementary in Elk Rapids. Certified teachers in Central Michigan University’s Master of Arts degree in Reading and Literacy Program K-12 are helping 28 students from kindergarten through high school with their reading skills this summer.

ELK RAPIDS — Her parents made her do it.

Quite frankly, Kristen White wasn't too keen on the idea of going to school during her summer vacation, especially more than 1,500 miles from home.

White's family, from North River Shores, Fla., has vacationed in Traverse City since she was 5. This year, her parents decided the 11-year-old could use some brushing up on her reading skills at Central Michigan University's reading clinic hosted by Lakeland Elementary School.

"At first I didn't want to come because I have to get up really early,” said White, who wakes up at 8 a.m. "... (Now) it's fun. You know you're going to have a fun day at camp.”

White, who's going into fifth grade at Jensen Beach Elementary School, is just one of 29 kids enrolled in Central Michigan's summer reading clinic, in its second year in northern Michigan.

CMU has hosted a reading clinic in Mount Pleasant for roughly 20 years and branched out when Grand Traverse Academy held the summer classes last year. The five-week clinic is open for students entering kindergarden through 12th grade.

CMU graduate students teach all of the classes, which emphasize a smaller, more personal learning environment for the kids.

"It's individualized,” said Lisa Szajner, a teacher and associate director of the program. "There are small groups. The teachers assess students and find out what their needs are. This program's all about meeting the needs of each student.”

Michelle Ewald, the director of the program and a literary coach at Mio Elementary School, said she likes to cap the reading clinic so that the ratio of students to teachers is never above three to one. This year, 15 graduate students work with the 29 students enrolled.

And the benefits of a smaller classroom aren't lost on the students.

"I thought it was cool,” said Stuart Miller, 14, recalling his first impression of the clinic. "The teachers were actually nice. ... It's easier because they spend more time with you.”

Ewald and Szajner meet with the graduate students for 45 minutes at the beginning of each day and an hour following the clinic's sessions to discuss different reading strategies. For the graduate students, most of whom are already experienced teachers, the reading clinic is one of the final steps to obtaining a master's degree and receiving reading specialist endorsements.

Tina McDuffie, one of the graduate students and a fourth-grade teacher at East Jordan Elementary School, had to make the biggest adjustment in her assessments of students. She said in her East Jordan classroom, she makes student assessments quicker, but has learned how to take more time with the slower pace of the reduced class size.

"I've been able to learn how to use a more technical approach,” McDuffie said. "The more information I have, the better I'll be able to help the student.”

McDuffie teaches a group of three kids going into fifth grade to employ strategies to help them remember what they read. Before they dive into a book, McDuffie explains the difference between a narrative and informational text and tells her students to look at the book's structure for better comprehension.

And that's the most interesting aspect for Jackie Fry, another graduate instructor.

"I'm not used to working with middle-school and high-school students,” said Fry, who teaches second grade at AuSable Primary School. "It's been fun to focus on comprehension strategies and teaching them to read and understand the texts.”

Reading during a summer vacation wasn't what Cameron Evans, who's headed into eighth grade at Elk Rapids' Cherryland Middle School, had in mind. But he's starting to come around to the whole idea.

"I wasn't too happy,” Evans, 13, said. "I had three months off, and I wanted to do nothing ... but reading-wise, it's helping. I'm understanding what I'm reading.”