The reason we are offering this program: Improving literacy and learning to speak publicly is important. Students have become immersed in digital media as a source of entertainment, information, and communication. Students watch more television, get their information from news feeds, and use emojis and abbreviated symbols to communicate with their friends. This has reduced the ability of children to read, write, and critically evaluate the information to which they are exposed. Critical thinking skills is crucial in helping students to achieve more than a cursory understanding of any topic and helps them form their own opinions. According to the literature, children who are avid readers will often find school more appealing, and therefore, get better grades. Developing good writing skills can help students strengthen their ability to make reasoned arguments on a variety of subjects, which is useful in school and in the jobs they will hold in the future. A National Educational Association (NEA) study found that nearly two-thirds of employers ranked reading skills as “very important” for high school graduates, and more than a third found that their applicants were deficient in their reading ability. How the program operates: We collaborated with a professor at Purdue Northwest Indiana who holds a PHD in Rhetoric and Composition and teaches rhetoric, writing, and English literature. We designed an intensive, hands on program that would be piloted with 40 students—20 elementary and 20 middle school students. The professor will conduct 6 biweekly sessions (every two weeks) with each grade level from September to December and another 6 biweekly sessions starting in January to May. She will rotate to each school on a specified day and time allowing at least one hour per school. The sessions will engage the students in a range of reading, writing, and thinking exercises to develop 21st century skills. The modules will be based on a book assigned for their respective grade level. The students will journal weekly based on various aspects of the book and relate the content to their own experiences and/or reflections. The journals will be turned in every Friday. The journal entries will be reviewed to assess the writing, and provide each student with written feedback on Monday. Through this process we will be able to evaluate the students’ comprehension and understanding of the content. The biweekly in person meetings will be supplemented with alternating remote sessions so that the students can ask questions and report any problems or concerns they may have such as difficulty in generating ideas, determining how to start the writing process, or other issues that might impede their writing. The remote session will also be valuable if the students need additional assistance or tutoring. At the mid-point of the program we will continue to build on what the students have learned and introduce speech opportunities and competitions to help them develop leadership through practical experience. This will gradually help them become comfortable speaking in front of people and will offer constructive feedback as to their delivery, hand gestures, eye contact, and other matters that promote or distract from their speeches. During this time period, students will give impromptu speeches that start are 1-2 minutes on topics such as “Tell us about yourself” or What did you do during your holiday break ?“. Prepared speeches will be 5-7 minutes on subjects of their choice but must meet certain criteria or objectives such as the speech must have a beginning, middle, and end, or their speech must use a prop or hand gestures. The goals/objectives of the program are: • To improve oral and written communication skills through exposing students to a range of genres including, but not limited to, storytelling, letter writing, essay writing, and digital media; • To teach students critical thinking skills through oral and written communication; • To emphasize the importance of reflection by connecting their writing to scenarios that support self-efficacy and social-emotional learning; • To help students develop cultural awareness and sensitivity through reading and responding to texts; • To use writing to support students as they learn to identify, articulate, and make meaning around issues impacting their communities (i.e., health, well-being, climate or environment, etc.); • To provide guided instruction to improve confidence in public speaking; • Help the students explore career and college opportunities; and, • To use oral presentation to communicate ideas and positions.