Literacy Workshop & Puzzle Party
“Building literacy a puzzle at a time.”

Overview                                                                     view workshop pictures

In a continuing effort to increase literacy among African American and Hispanic youth,  Puzzles For Us™ will conduct a literacy workshop or puzzle party at your school, organization, community center, cultural institution, church or event.

Each workshop is a hands-on, interactive session consisting of fun word games and activities revolving around the history and culture of African American, Hispanic, Native American and indigenous communities of color from around the world.

Workshop participants get to play word games that help strengthen their vocabulary and ELA skills, solve puzzles that fine-tunes their ability to problem solve and think critically, and engage in lively discussions that explore subjects and topics related to the life experiences of people of color. A few of these topics are listed below.

·    African Burial Ground (that which is hidden eventually comes to light, etc)
·  Computer inventor Mark Dean (more than one way to do something, etc)
·  Madam C. J. Walker (hair care industry and the spirit of entrepreneurship, etc)
·    Science fiction writer Octavia Butler (use of imagination, creativity, etc)
·    Avatar – the movie (relation to Africa, Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, etc)
·   Jada Pinkett Smith (multi-talented, didn’t let the opinions of others stop her, etc)
·   Double Dutch (how David Walker helped make it a national school sport, etc)
·   Freddy Adu (international soccer star at age 14; talent is not limited by your age, etc)
·   Black Wall Street (thriving Black community that once existed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, etc)
·   Oprah Winfrey (her struggles as a youngster trying to find her way, philanthropy, etc)
·   Door of No Return (location, historical background, use as a figure of speech, etc)
·   Universoul Circus (first circus to showcase primarily Black acts, etc)
·   Tic Tac Toe (historical origins of games, magic squares, sudoku, etc,)
·   And much, much more . . . !

Benefits                                                                        view workshop pictures

·   Instills pride and builds self-esteem
·   Reinforces the value of teamwork and working together
·   Strengthens the ability of youngsters to think critically and problem solve
·   Improves reading, vocabulary and ELA skills
·   Provides a safe forum in which youngsters can freely express themselves
·   Teaches youngsters about their culture and history in a fun way
·   Fosters respect for ethnic groups other than one's own
·   Encourages youngsters to read
·   Helps students to perform better in their schoolwork and on standardized tests

Reservations 

·  To schedule a literacy workshop or puzzle party for your school, organization,
    cultural institution, church or event, please call 718-538-6102.
·  Reservations can also be made by fax. Please fax your request to 718-681-8317.
·  For assistance and inquiries, please call 718-538-6102.
·  Ask about our puzzle parties for adults and senior citizens, and about our parent
    workshops that can be used for Title I initiatives.
·  We are an authorized New York City Department of Education vendor and sole source
    provider of puzzle books and services that promotes academic excellence across all
    grade levels.