Students in Dr. Heather Olson Beal’s “Sociocultural and Historic Perspectives in American Education” course created literacy activity kits for kids visiting the Stephen F. Austin State University campus that are available on the first floor of Steen Library.
Intended for children in pre-K through sixth grade, the kits can be found on a book cart on the first floor of SFA’s Steen Library. Currently, there are 15 books to choose from that have adjoining activity kits with instructions.
The books can be checked out from the library services desk and enjoyed anywhere in the library then returned to the same desk. Children are welcome to keep the kits, which include things like coloring sheets, word games and scissors for cutouts, as well as extension activities that they can do at home and information about the author and illustrator.
Students in education studies professor Dr. Heather Olson Beal’s “Sociocultural and Historic Perspectives in American Education” course selected books from the Steen Library curriculum collection to create the literacy activity kits. Created with assistance from research librarian Tina Oswald, Olson Beal hopes the activity kits will make the campus more family friendly.
“It’s beneficial to my students in an introductory course because it’s a real, hands-on project wherein they are developing fun activities to do that are loosely associated with a book in the library’s curriculum collection,” Olson Beal said. “I hope it’s beneficial to faculty, staff, students and even community members with young children who visit the library. Seems like a win-win!”
Sarah Cook, a junior theatre education major from Brownsboro, Texas, and Mac Burns, a junior theatre education major from Belton, Texas, selected the book “Pink is for Blobfish” by Jess Keating. Their activity for this book was a matching game for kids to sort pictures of different animals into their respective colors.
“I think the kids will enjoy the activity portion of the kit most because it grabs their attention and helps them relate things from the book to the activity,” Cook said. “Projects like these bring us together to strive toward a common goal: bettering the education of students. To be a part of something like this has been a wonderful experience.”
Olson Beal said 45 kits were made last semester and are only available while supplies last.
For more information about the activity kits, contact Oswald at toswald@sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-1861.
ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.
By Parastoo Nikravesh, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University
