1 Name Georgia Gounari & Ekaterini Stegka (jointly)Which of the four face-to-face institute or Elluminate session topics did you select to report on and why? Literacy: engaging Children in Collaborative Literacy Learning We chose this topic because we both are humanities teachers, specialized in Literature. Our purpose was to familiarize our students with the “Odyssey” involving the parents in the process. This way we would be able to prepare the 6th graders for the transition to middle school, as the Odyssey is part of the Middle School Curriculum while increasing the interest of our middle school students.With whom did you pilot this new practice and at what grade level did you undertake your pilot? We tried this new practice in collaboration with the 6th grade & middle school literature teacher respectively. Introduction to Project

2 Connections with Colleagues Describe in a few brief phrases what connections you made with colleagues in experimenting with this new practice. A good connection was established between the two collaborating teachers, as regular meetings were required in order to plan the lessons, student presentations, parent visits, scheduling, goals, and challenges.

3Successes Name two or three 'successes' you experienced with this pilot. What changes did you notice? -We were able to engage students with various learning styles, as we included the multiple intelligence theory in our project. -Students and their parents collaborated, as they were encouraged to read selected passages together at home & then discuss them. - We increased school-home collaboration and trust-building, as the parents were involved in the process.

4Challenges Name two or three challenges you experienced with the pilot. What got in the way of your success? -Scheduling: It was difficult to make the necessary schedule changes in order to have the 6th graders and middle-schoolers work together. -Curriculum Obstacles: We found some difficulty in adding a new “activity” to an already crammed Curriculum. - Information Dissemination: We contemplated a lot on the best way to disseminate information to parents on how to get involved in the project.

5 Next Steps Name two or three next steps with this material. What will you try next? How will you build on your experiences with the institute? -A Field Trip was planned for all the students, parents and teachers in order to watch the “Odyssey” Theatre play on a week-end. After the play we will all meet (students, parents, teachers) and reflect on it. -On our last sessions, we will include student presentations to the parents. The students will present projects they have been working on during the year. -Two parents (an actor and a librarian) will come to our school to recite selected passages to the students.