rosedale readers progress

branding process

rosedale readers branding part one

Micah and I went separate ways for the first round branding. I came up with these fun, colorful owls that could work as a system.

help us!

3rd graders from johnna pasch on Vimeo.

This is Micah and I's attempt to distract the kids from being too rowdy. The teacher completely left us alone with these kids! As you can see, they are very creative and have imaginations ;)

user testing: 3rd, 4th, 5th graders...

So today Micah and I went to Frank Rushton Elementary and tested our prototypes. We had a group of about 15 students to work with. They were a Mix between 3,4, and 5th grade. When I first walked into the school I was by myself bc I had no clue where Micah was and so I thought I was going in alone... I was terrified! There was this cute little girl that seemed to be wandering along by herself. I noticed she was holding a book. She stopped, looked at me, and then asked "Would you come read with me?" I was emotionally moved by this because she had no clue who I was, she just wanted someone like me to read with her. I said " Well, I am unsure where I am supposed to be right now or I would love to." She responded " Its okay you can just come read with me." In the end I had to turn her down and said maybe next time. She said "Ok I will be here." This inspired me even more to focus on and interact with the kids of Rosedale.

We asked several questions about reading and had some interesting discoveries. Here is a list of what stuck out in my mind the most:

1. When asked if they had a problem getting books or getting to a library they said No. This whole time Micah and I assumed that we were going to have to just get books in their hands to inspire them. Turns out, they are very familiar with books and love to read.

2. When asked What reading does for them: Most responded about imagination. One girl said that she likes to pretend that she is the character in the stories that she reads. Another said he likes to read and then write about what he has read and kind of create his own story. So obviously these kids do have imagination.

3. When we asked what was the coolest thing we presented them with (from the prototypes) They all loved the activity book, and loved how the bag had organization for new books, and books to return. They said this would really help with remembering to return books.

4: When asked if there was anything else they would add to the bag: An older girl (5th) grade said she would also like just a plain notebook to write down any thoughts. Another girl said she would like some sort of book to log the dates and books that she read to keep track.

So taking all of this in, I got to wondering If all the stuff we thought was the problem really isnt the problem... Then what is the problem here?

Through talking to these students we discovered they love to share their thoughts, feelings, creativity. Even if it is just getting it out in our little activity books or notebooks. They get a sense of pride knowing what they have read, and how much they have read. So I think we need t start thinking more about the creative writing, or expression that comes out of these kids with reading. And the goal is to keep them interested in reading and help them gain more access to putting their thoughts down. Because I honestly believe these kids DO DREAM... It is just that no one ever asks them to express what they do dream. They sometimes get lost in a crowd of kids when trying to express themselves at school maybe something as simple as a paper journal is just what they need to express their thoughts. BC we did ask for the activity books back for documentation, but no one wanted to part with them. :)

I am so glad that we went to test this and had the opportunity to be around these kids. They definitely opened our eyes to seeing what the real problem is and that it wasn't what we originally though.

Addis Creson

Presentation Addis Creson

prototypes

1: Bag reading pack: A canvas messenger bag filled with tools to help kids get involved with reading. There would be a divider in the middle to separate "books to return" and "new books". There would also be a map actually printed on the back of the bag (so it will never get lost) of available places to check out books. There would be a journal to encourage creative writing and reflection on what they have read. We would also like to contact an author of an inspirational book and see if they would donate some copies to put in these bags.

Pockets: This is the idea that a pocket would be placed in the back of books in school libraries and church libraries. The pocket is where kids could leave a reflection of what they read and a note for the next person who reads it. The idea is that this would encourage kids to write creatively, and read through the book to discover the note.

Essay Contest: Hold an essay contest that asks the question "Why is reading important"? The winning 3 essays would get interviewed and possibly turned into a video. All the essays would be published in a book with the 3 winning essays highlighted with kids profiles and interviews. The books could be passed out to the kids, teachers, or parents to spread the word of why reading is important to these kids.

3 final solutions

1. Bag with Map: A canvas messenger bag filled with tools to help kids get involved with reading. There would be a divider in the middle to separate "books to return" and "new books". There would also be a map actually printed on the back of the bag (so it will never get lost) of available places to check out books. There would be a journal to encourage creative writing and reflection on what they have read. We would also like to contact an author of an inspirational book and see if they would donate some copies to put in these bags.

2. Pockets: This is the idea that a pocket would be placed in the back of books in school libraries and church libraries. The pocket is where kids could leave a reflection of what they read and a note for the next person who reads it. The idea is that this would encourage kids to write creatively, and read through the book to discover the note.

3. Essay Contest: Hold an essay contest that asks the question "Why is reading important"? The winning 3 essays would get interviewed and possibly turned into a video. All the essays would be published in a book with the 3 winning essays highlighted with kids profiles and interviews. The books could be passed out to the kids, teachers, or parents to spread the word of why reading is important to these kids.

Some initial thoughts on reading solutions

* An activity book to hand out to kids that lets them color in things, draw photos, finish sentences, ect.

*Reading exchange plan. Kids will be given a book with a pocket attached to the back of the book that has a paper of some sort in it. The paper can be a place for the kid to leve a note, message, picture in the book for the next kid who reads it to find and perhaps create a bond.

*Traveling book club/ afterschool program. This would be where once a week a different location will hold the program. Will be a place for kids to go and read or interact with other kids. Perhaps a school bus will offer travel to the location each week.

*Kids can create their own book, story all together, these will then be exchanged to each other to let kids read each others story

New Area of interest

Ok, so after the class discussions today I found myself being interested in different areas than before. I realized that reading as a kid was something that was very important to me and something that I hold close to the heart. Reading goes way beyond education and the act of learning to read. It can spark creativity, create imagination, and be an outlet from the real world. A book can always take you into another world and take you away from anything that seems to be bothering you at that time. Also, with books people have a way to pick and choose what they read. They can read things that interest them. For example if someone wants to learn about eating healthy, or exercising they can get a book and learn from it. Books can also create community and bonding. People can compare, and share what they have read and grow a friendship or bond just by reading the same book as someone. Even a parent reading a book with their children helps to grow a connection with their parents. Books and reading to me is one of the most important things in a child's life.

So the fact that the community of Rosedale do not have a library to me is the problem. I feel that my target audience would be elementary school children. It is important to start the habit or passion for reading early in life. So this is where I would want to do research and learn what I could do to help out with this issue.

VA: Rosedale community

So thinking about what areas are interesting to me this is some things I came up with:

65% of community are renters:

Ok so at first this may not really seem like a problem. Well for example, Mo and I moved into this community and did not even have the slightest clue that we were members of it until we saw the map they handed out to us when we met with them in person. This I feel can be a big problem with people not being active to help the community. If you are unaware of your community what makes you want to help it? Although this is not directly involving Children, it is targeting a larger picture that would help benefit the children in the community. If more parents were involved and more people were working together to help on these things great things could be achieved.

Kids do not dream:

Just something about this statement made me really upset. When the teachers at the schools say that their kids do not dream, something is obviously wrong. If one kid could be effected and have a goal, it would be making a change. Kids need to have goals and dreams to strive for, or there will be no future.

Communication barriers:

This is obviously the largest problem with the community. Not everyone can get through to one another. If there was a way to get more people on the same page, more people may be involved. This area has such a wide range of people that there needs to be one basic form of communication.