Monday, September 13, 2010

The University of North Carolina Wilmington invites children ages 4–7 to participate in the Literacy Live program "In the Belly of a Whale," from 1-2:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 25 in the Education Building Atrium. Children will learn about whales from the inside out while exploring a 60-foot life-sized inflatable Right Whale model, custom built by UNCW MarineQuest. They will also follow the whales' fall migration patterns and learn about the negative effects of marine debris. The program is free and open to the public.

Literacy Live is a UNCW program sponsored by Randall Library, the Watson School of Education and Division for Public Service and Continuing Studies. It encourages children to use their imaginations, personal experiences and creativity to help interpret critically reviewed literature focusing on environmental themes. Using dramatic interpretation/play as a strategy to improve reading comprehension, Literacy Live develops children's literacy skills. In helping children comprehend environmentally-themed literature, Literacy Live also encourages a sense of environmental stewardship in participants. At each Literacy Live program, volunteers read aloud a selection of children's books on an environmental or scientific theme. Children then participate in activities, such as dramatic interpretation using costumes, puppets or other props, games and crafts, and simple scientific experiments that are based on themes in the books.

Literacy Live is sponsored by UNCW's Randall Library, the Watson School of Education and the Division for Public Service and Continuing Studies.

For more information, contact Kathryn Batten at 910.962.7291 or batten@uncw.edu