Planting Seeds of Literacy with the Texas Bluebonnet Award Books - Chapter 4 - Using Literacy-Based Service-Learning to Inspire Reading Motivation and Build Teaching Capacity

Oct 15, 2026

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A yearlong collaboration links a literacy professor, pre-service teachers in an undergraduate Children’s Literature course, and community partners at a nearby K-12 school. The program uses the Texas Bluebonnet Award booklist to deliver a motivational reading intervention for elementary students. Pre-service teachers engage in service-learning as a high-impact, practice-based pedagogy, applying course concepts in authentic classroom contexts. The chapter traces the experience from initial conception to implementation and concludes with key learnings, benefits, and challenges.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Service-Learning: A High-Impact Practice

Definitions and scholarly grounding

~ Chapter 4 Planting Seeds of Literacy with the Texas Bluebonnet Award Books: Using Literacy-Based Service-Learning to Inspire Reading Motivation and Build Teaching Capacity Shelly J. Landreth, Ed.D. Sul Ross State University Eliza Diaz, Student University of Texas Permian Basin Isabella Fuentez, Student University of Texas Permian Basin Aranza Ramirez, Student University of Texas Permian Basin Abstract This paper describes a yearlong collaboration between a literacy professor, pre-service teachers enrolled in an undergraduate Children’s Literature course, and community partners in a neighboring K-12 school. The partners collaborated to implement a motivational reading program for elementary students based on the Texas Bluebonnet Award booklist. Pre-service teachers participated in service-learning—a pedagogy that is also a high-impact practice used in higher education settings—as they applied course content in a practical and meaningful way. The authors describe the chronology of the experience from the initial idea to its culmination, including key learnings, benefits, and challenges. Keywords: literacy teacher education, service-learning, practice-based pedagogy, universityschool partnerships, reading motivation Texas Association for Literacy Education Yearbook, Volume 12: Tall City TALE: Inspiring Literacy Everywhere ©2025 Texas Association for Literacy Education ISSN: 2374-0590 online Early in the spring 2024 semester, a hallway conversation on a university campus sparked the inspiration for a unique service-learning project. A literacy professor and an adjunct instructor, who also worked as a reading specialist at a nearby K-12 school (referred to in this paper as Hilltop Academy), shared ideas related to the Children’s Literature course they both taught and began to discuss how they might collaborate. Hilltop Academy, which is located near the university campus, would be the perfect place to get pre-service teachers involved ina project connected to children’s literature. The two agreed to stay in touch and continue planning. The professor knew that Hilltop Academy did not have a school librarian and only avery small school library, mostly run by the reading specialist and volunteers. As a former school librarian herself, she began to think about how she might use her knowledge and experience to help support the literacy needs of the campus. Furthermore, she wanted the pre-service teachers in her fall 2024 Children’s Literature course to be a part of providing service in a way that would further their learning of the course content. As the professor considered the outcomes for the course and the needs of Hilltop Academy, she thought about having the preservice teachers in her course select picture books and plan read-alouds to implement in elementary classrooms. She and the adjunct instructor met again to make further plans; however, at the meeting, the adjunct instructor shared that she would be retiring from Hilltop Academy. She suggested that the professor reach out to campus leadership to determine if they would be interested in moving forward with the project. Campus leaders immediately responded with excitement, and a partnership was born. Throughout the remainder of the spring and summer of 2024, the partners met to collaboratively plan the project, which would focus on a motivational reading program for students in third through fifth grades. They would use the books on the Texas Bluebonnet Award List, a prestigious list selected annually by a committee of librarians with these goals: “to introduce children to a variety of quality books, develop critical reading skills, and honor and encourage authors”(Texas Library Association, 2024) . One problem remained: funds were needed to purchase multiple sets of books and supplies for the program. The professor applied for a small literacy grant in April, but grant winners would not be announced until mid to late August. Meanwhile, the fa

FAQs

What collaboration does the yearlong project involve?

It involves a literacy professor, pre-service teachers enrolled in an undergraduate Children’s Literature course, and community partners at a neighboring K-12 school.

How does the program motivate elementary students to read?

It implements a motivational reading program using books from the Texas Bluebonnet Award booklist for students in third through fifth grades.

Why is service-learning considered a high-impact practice in higher education?

Research cited in the chapter links service-learning to increased retention, student engagement, real-world application of course learning, and gains in self-efficacy, with downstream effects on motivation, achievement, and behavior.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Ophelia