Come visit the USC Readers Plus and the Joint Educational Project at the USC Festival of Books.

See the International Reading Festival in the USC Chronicle!

The International Reading Festival was first held on Saturday, September 23, 2006. It was sponsored by USC ReadersPlus and Project Books and Blankies. USC ReadersPlus is an America Reads/America Counts program that is funded in part by the USC Good Neighbors Campaign through a University Neighborhood Outreach Grant. Each semester, between 80 and 100 USC students are hired to provide reading and math mentoring and tutoring to children from neighborhood schools. Project Books and Blankies, a non-profit organization and USC recognized student group, was started by USC student Robyn Strumpf, who began the program to encourage the love of reading and reading success for children who struggle with it as she did.

The fall Reading Festival was centered on folk tales from five different regions around the world: Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. There was also a unit introducing children to quilting. Each region had a table highlighting folk tales from some of the various countries and lesson plans and activities created by the USC ReadersPlus reading and math mentors. Participating students were given a passport which was stamped as they traveled each region and completed related activities.

Participants included students involved in the USC ReadersPLUS program from the Family of Five schools, as well as students from Escuela Argentina de Los Angeles which holds classes on the USC campus on Saturdays. The first 80 participants received brand new backpacks with school supplies, donated by Office Depot, and every student received a hardback version of “My First Atlas,” courtesy of DK Publishing, as well a second book of their choice from other donations.

Featured books, and links to each of the lesson plans introduced at the festival, can be found here.

The 2011 International Reading Festival became a part of the Los Angeles Festival of Books which was on the USC campus.