Their interest in books has been sparked by “Kids Write and Create,” a collaboration between two departments within Temple University’s College of Health Professions. The program promotes literacy by teaming graduate students from the Department of Communication Sciences with kindergarten and first graders at the North Philadelphia school. Working together, they write, illustrate and publish books written and illustrated by the kids.

The results of their efforts were shared with teachers and friends at a recent event.

“The published books instill a sense of accomplishment and pride among the young authors and generate an appreciation for communication through

print,” said Rena Krakow, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

It was also a great learning experience for the graduate students. Three days a week, they applied what they learned about literacy in the inner city elementary school. Taking a hands-on approach, the older students became not only teachers, but mentors and friends. They turned the younger students’ hand-written or dictated notes into typed manuscripts, transformed their hand-drawn pictures into digital images, and most importantly, kept them focused on their storytelling.

Program organizers hope the creative nature of the literacy program will help Douglass Elementary School make progress toward meeting No Child Left Behind standards; currently a majority of the students score below proficient levels in reading.

“We hope this early start will provide an important foundation for literacy development and enjoyment throughout their lives,” said Krakow.

But the program has even more critical implications: studies show that there is a direct correlation between literacy levels and the ability to understand and act on health information. Next semester, students in Temple’s Department of Public Health will emphasize that connection by mentoring the children on an array of health issues. Instead of books, the children will focus their creativity on making posters and brochures on preventative health measures.

But it takes more than published manuscripts to gauge the success of this program. The children were pre-tested on their literacy and pre-literacy skills, their self-esteem and reading interest and behaviors at the beginning of the fall term. At the beginning of the spring term, they will be pre-tested on their health knowledge and behaviors. When this year’s program ends in May, post-testing on all of these measures will occur. Krakow believes the results will show a significant change for the better. If that proves true, it will show “Kids Write and Create” is on its way to a happy ending.

The project, which began last December, will continue for two more years, supported by funding from the Barra Foundation and the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation.