Literacy labs help students’ skills

Teachers at Queens College literacy labs are using creative educational techniques, intensive tutoring and even Broadway shows to improve teenagers’ reading and writing skills.
The labs are led by students in Queens College’s Secondary Literacy Education Graduate Program who are also public school teachers. They tutor the children by using different methods like direct instruction, reader response theory and word attack skills.
The students, depending on their needs, are tutored individually or in small groups of no more than five students to a teacher. Usually there are 20 to 50 kids at each school.
The 15-week program launched two years ago has since been featured at Flushing’s Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) middle school and high school as well as the Queens School of Inquiry. For a school to be selected for the program, it must have a diverse population and a supportive administration.
Once a school is chosen, the staff from the literacy labs consults the classroom teachers to see what students need help in English. The lab is given for one hour once a week.
“Through the literacy project, we hope to open doors to a whole new world of books and help students become thoughtful, creative and insightful individuals,” said Carole Rhodes, Secondary Literacy Education Program Director at Queens College.
This past semester, the students at RFK Community High School in Flushing learned about “Hamlet.” As part of the curriculum, the students went to see “The Lion King,” which is based on “Hamlet,” on Broadway. This was a high point of the program.
Rhodes said that as long as the program can get enough funding, the trip to a Broadway play would be offered.
The program is currently funded by Queens College President James Muyskens.
Rhodes wants to emphasize the importance of all teachers, not just English teachers and parents in the growth of a child’s literacy skills.
“If a student can’t read a mathematical problem, they can’t solve it,” said Rhodes. “It affects every area in the curriculum.”