Risa Berg

Berg's "Great Stories Make Great Families" literacy project involves teen parents, along with other interested high school students, in a program designed to strengthen families and improve the reading skills of all participants. The project engages students and empowers them to read to the young people in their lives while also demonstrating the importance of early literacy. Students meet monthly during the school year and take part in informal, small-group discussions on children's reading. At each session students select a free children's book to take home where they explore the stories with the young people in their lives, whether it be their own child, younger siblings, or cousins. At the meetings, students share their thoughts on ways to make reading fun for the younger children and discuss various techniques to improve reading skills. Students also learn simple home craft activities related to the books they read, which enables them to expand the activity into a valuable family bonding experience.