Freedom Scholars Learning Center (FSLC) provides after school and summer enrichment programs including an integrated reading curriculum to improve early grade literacy for Rochester youth.
Their literacy intervention program is called Word RICH (Reading Intervention through Cultural Heritage). It incorporates linguistic, rhythmic, kinesthetic (learning through a physical activity), multimedia, and cultural knowledge-based approaches to help keep students highly engaged in developing their reading abilities.
“Our integrated reading curriculum allows instructors to design lesson plans that are activity oriented instead of the traditional and outdated ways of teaching literacy,” said Freedom Scholars Learning Center Executive Director Jeremy Smith. “A lot of kids are kinesthetic learners and our integrated reading curriculum caters to this by providing physical activities, allowing them to move around. To improve reading comprehension, we use drums to beat out syllables and play board games with diverse characters that look like our students. The kids are having so much fun, they don’t even know they’re reading.”