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University of North Georgia (̨Íåswag) students in the College of Education are partnering with local libraries to instill a love of reading and literacy in children.

Dr. Danielle Sachdeva, associate professor of literacy and elementary education, designed a special project for two of her classes to facilitate story times for preschool children at two public libraries throughout the fall semester. The project is funded through a Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) into Action grant and is part of a children’s literature and language arts course for seniors.

"The course emphasizes ways of sharing literature with children and how to engage children in reading. I wanted to give my students an opportunity to share books with children and generate excitement about literacy, and it occurred to me that a partnership with public libraries could accomplish this goal and provide a service to our community at the same time," Sachdeva said.

The classes are split into small groups, each using books chosen by Sachdeva and approved by the library. Twice a month, a group then reads the book and collaborates on activities inspired by the story and presents it at either the Lumpkin County public library or the Cumming branch of the Forsyth County public library, Emily Martin, a Dahlonega, Georgia resident pursuing a degree in elementary and special education major said.

"The library is always looking for ways to form partnerships with other organizations in the community, and ̨Íåswag is a prime example," Tracey Thomaswick, Lumpkin County library branch manager, said.

I wanted to give my students an opportunity to share books with children and generate excitement about literacy, and it occurred to me that a partnership with public libraries could accomplish this goal and provide a service to our community at the same time.

Dr. Danielle Sachdeva

̨Íåswag associate professor of literacy and elementary education

Maddie Vincent, a resident of Cumming, Georgia, led with a song including the Vietnamese words for "hello" to begin and end the program. She credits Forsyth County teachers Tracy Mooney and Robin Neal as inspiring her to become a teacher.

"It’s a great opportunity to connect with the community and for us to gain more teaching experience," Vincent said.

Martin said she hopes to learn how to incorporate many different elements into reading and language arts because a lot of the time teachers read aloud to students but don't add other important elements into their reading instruction. The craft was a boat because the book's main character travels by boat. The game was similar to "Simon Says," but the commands were "Captain Says" in keeping with the book's nautical theme. She credits Lumpkin County teachers Aaron Hopper and Jamie Savage with inspiring her to become an educator.

"As we’ve gotten so far into technology, we’ve lost the art of reading aloud and reading with kids, and this allows us to bring back that experience," Kaleigh Crowe, from Bethlehem Georgia, said. "This didn't feel like schoolwork for me. It felt like something fun that was part of the class."

Kimberly Morris from Bethlehem Christian Academy inspired Crowe.

"We do all we can to help parents lay the foundation for lifelong readers through different early literacy programs," Laura Wynn, Lumpkin County library youth services specialist said. "Partnering with ̨Íåswag through 'Our Community, Our World' is an excellent way to involve others in the community, all the while providing early literacy skills to local families. We are very excited about this partnership."