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= =      **Title: Building Academic Background and Vocabulary through Literacy Packets ** = =  As a classroom and ESOL teacher for many years, I have found that those students who come to school with strong background knowledge and academic vocabulary are able to participate more fully in discussions and activities. These students also have stronger recall and reading comprehension skills that deepen their understanding of content.

It is important for all students to have access and experience with academic content materials. With this in mind, my sabbatical project with the Ithaca City School District was to create literacy packets of many of the curriculum areas that our students are taught in grades 3-5 in Ithaca, New York. Each topic includes a recommended text, instructional page, vocabulary list, and an activity that can be easily viewed and reproduced. In some instances, there are additional resources listed that include relevant Reading A-Z materials and Brain Pop Jr. topics that can be accessed with an online subscription to those websites.  If you have intermediate level elementary students who could benefit from extra time and instruction to supplement the daily school program, the materials on this wiki are available to you. Ideally they would be used as a tool for pre-teaching the subject area, but they can also be used for reinforcement or review. They could be shared with family members, homework club teachers, afterschool programs, or someone in a mentor role such as a Big Brother or Sister to get students engaged and interested in content area material. Feel free to use the materials as they best meet the needs of your student population and learning environment. Many thanks to the Ithaca City School District and the Ithaca Public Education Initiative for their support with this project.

Kathy Sholtys June 2010   