GET YOUR POCKETS READY

I finally completed my first grant for funding. Some of you can expect packages in the mail of a copy of my grant if it is accepted and approved.

The backstory of the grant is that another volunteer that had taught English at the high school in Coculi, S.Antao, had ordered class sets of 12 award winning young adult books. She had chosen one to read with her eighth grade class and had created a study guide to accompany the book. The project was a success and her students were really enthusiastic about reading the book and completing the various assignments. In Cape Verde books are extremely expensive and many students hadn't had access to books before this project(most students don't even have textbooks - many rely on photocopying everything). She was really happy with the project and had been looking forward to creating study guides for the rest of the books when she extended and stayed for an additional year. Unfortunately, a minor medical problem resulted in her not being medically cleared to continue service.

That's where I come in. We were talking about her project and I asked if I could borrow a copy of each book. This semester I am teaching a teaching methodologies class and figured it would be a great project for my students to take on. My class was divided into groups and each group received a book. The students will create study guides for the book over the course of the semester.

In addition to the study guides, I'm hoping to get funding to order a copy of each book for all of the secondary schools located in CV. The books can eventually be incorporated into the national curriculum to promote literacy and EFL skills.

I'm really excited about the prospect of the project, especially in that I think it's something that will be sustainable and offer future volunteers an opportunity to expand the project even further.

I was especially touched when I heard how careful her students were with the books when the were reading Bridge to Terabitha, and seeing my students take the same care. I've also heard from co-workers that they are often working on the project between classes.