Speech-language pathology graduate students in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department at Northeastern also work in the program as part of their clinical training. She decided to bring it to Northeastern, and hired licensed classroom teachers and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to run the sessions. Young-Hong started the program in 2018, when a similar program at Tufts University was discontinued. “That’s what sets our program apart,” says Rebecca Brand, co-director of the program along with Sarah Young-Hong and Elyssa Brand. The program is unique in that, rather than earning rewards like gold stars or good grades, students are prompted to find their own motivation to learn-like, for example, the prospect of one day discovering a new dinosaur species. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University Students participate in Word Detectives, a summer reading program hosted by the Speech-Language and Hearing Center, at the Behrakis Health Sciences Center on Monday, July 18, 2022.

The program, called Word Detectives, helps students who are reading below grade level to maintain their skills over the summer and boost their confidence going into the next school year. The children, all students entering grades 2-6, are attending a four-week summer reading program on Northeastern’s Boston campus this July. Cam wrote that they wanted “to win capture the flag.” Emma wrote “to be a better reader.” She drew a picture of herself surrounded by puppies. “To diskover a new Dinosar spesis,” wrote Leo, who drew a picture of a dinosaur skeleton in pencil. At Northeastern’s Speech-Language and Hearing Center, 32 children wrote down their hopes and dreams, and posted them on the classroom walls.

Word build by dynamic literacy