Who is Shelf Scout?
Shelf Scout was created by a college student who has extensive experience both as a voracious reader and as a passionate supplemental aid for basic English classes at the college level. The first leg of the Shelf Scout project was to share reading recommendations via social media. The second leg of this project is to combine the joys of reading with the joys of learning.
Who should use this site?
This website is designed to be most effective for those who work with college students in any kind of instructional or supplemental capacity.
What is Shelf Scout Literacy Project?
Shelf Scout Literacy Project firmly believes in the idea that better readers make better writers. This website is meant to provide resources that support critical reading engagement, grammar skills, and writing proficiency. Each suggested activity is linked to a book that was chosen for its enjoyability and ability to support developmental reading and writing skills. The goal is for students to build their foundational skills with the aid of books that will make them forget they're doing serious work.
FAQ
Absolutely! While most of these activities have content geared specifically for the corresponding book, the ideas themselves are very flexible. Feel free to replace content to match the book(s) you're working with or make the activities your own in some other capacity. We want these activities to be enjoyable and beneficial for your students, so please develop or modify them as you see fit.
Do new activities or books ever get added to this site?
We alternate between adding new activities and new books during every winter and summer break to correspond with the traditional semester calendar for colleges. So, a new book and a new activity for each book in each content area will be added every academic year. We try to match our site updates to your schedule so that you have plenty of time to look over the new additions and make plans to implement them in your classes/study sessions.
Can I still use these activities if I won't be using either of these books?
Do these activities only apply to district-specific Student Learning Outcomes?
Part of the flexibility with these activities is that they are broad enough to correspond with most SLOs, regardless of district. Since most developmental English programs incorporate reading, grammar, and writing skills, the support that these resources offer are not beholden to any district-specific SLOs.