activities include:
- Daily dramatic reading of central classic text
- Dictionary definitions of the concepts and vocabulary in the classic text
- Socratic method of teaching to engage students in discussion about literary themes, cultural concepts and issues raised by books
- "Passports to Reading" that encourage children to visit other countries and imaginative worlds through books
- Exposure
to artists and experts whose work can be related to the classic text
- Art-making projects that build connections to literature
- Music listening and singing activities related to our classic book
- Theater and drama projects
- "Book-and-Movie Days," in which students compare the classic text to its film adaptation
- Borrowing privileges from the Cool Classics! Lending Library, which has close to 850 volumes that participants can check out and read at home
- Field trips to Chicago Public Library branches, Spertus Museum Children's Center, Powell's Bookstore, the Judy A. Saslow Gallery, Lifeline Theatre, Chicago Children's Theatre, and the Harris Theater
- Parent and student-helper involvement
- Final public dramatic performance of a classic book for participant families, friends and school students, staff and faculty
- Assistance with recruiting students
Cool Classics! benefits:
- Shows children that books open up worlds
- Mixes pedagogy and play, mental and physical activities
- Teaches children literary and analytic skills
- Increases student interest in and comprehension of literacy as a domain of experience, in school and beyond
- Utilizes social science research findings that the study of the arts promotes learning and improves mental abilities
- Pilot-tested program
- Connects to Illinois Standards for English and Language Arts, especially State Goals 1, 4 & 5
