The truth about illiteracy
- 65% of U.S. 4th graders read below grade level, according to their results on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational progress reading test. (U.S Department of Education)
- ⅔ of students who cannot read proficient by the end of the 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare. (DoSomething.org)
- Over 70% of american inmates cannot read above a 4th grade level. (DoSomething.org)
- Illiteracy has reached a crisis level in the United States. For 16 million children living in poverty, only 1 in 3 has a book in their home. (Education and Career News)
There must be proactive reading initiatives that are available and accessible across all socioeconomic demographics. Effective literary incentives that are going to reshape the reading landscape, must address the issues in the early childhood developmental stages. Children must be engaged with evidence-based reading strategies and grade level reading materials that are genuinely interesting and readily available to all students. Joshua’s Friends has created Ice Cream Reading Cafe to provide elementary students a dynamically engaging reading experience that’s proven to reinforce basic reading skills.
Our model has a proven track record and is aligned with the reading excellence act, California and Texas Reading Initiatives, the national reading panel 2000 report and has increased test scores in over 13 years of use. Our reading cafe is based on the Orton-Gillingham methods of instruction that have been successfully used with struggling readers for over 50 years. This model is multisensory structured and language-based. Using interactive approaches to help students meaningfully decode reading content. The reading cafe curriculum we use has been designed and implemented by a seasoned reading teacher and professional in the field.
The materials used in our reading initiative have been proven in the classroom and are currently being used in thousands of classrooms and homes throughout the United States and Canada. In fact, many Orton-Gillingham trained teachers and tutors use these materials because they’re effective and engaging to all readers. Dr. Kimble and Liz have completed comprehensive training with the leading professional and instructor in this adaptive reading methodology. The Kimble’s are now offering this reading initiative for 1st-5th grade students in Hardin Co. from the Joshua’s Java House and Community Life Dream Center. Families and students can expect to be engaged with a cafe model of care and ice cream reading experience, intuitively designed to inspire students to excel at reading, intriguing them with books and the power of story.
Welcome to “Ice Cream Reading Cafe,” now there is a place where every student can come and discover the skills to decode the English language and learn to love reading. We also serve a cup of ice cream to every student at the end of each lesson, “because every kid knows ice cream makes learning to read, really fun!”
