Buffalo State's Global Literacy Initiative promotes family literacy and global understanding by bringing together individuals and communities through community-based literacy activities including the Global Book Hour, providing neighborhood children and families with interactive read aloud, reading strategies and activities, multi-cultural books and healthy snacks; Club HoLA, helping students and faculty to learn Spanish and study Latino/a culture in an informal and fun setting using children's literature; and the Global Literacy Channel, sharing creative techniques that parents, caregivers, teachers and teacher candidates can use with the young readers and writers in their lives.



If you live in the Buffalo area, we welcome you to join us at the Global Book Hour (GBH). GBH integrates geography, vocabulary, music, visual arts, and healthy eating into a weekly, one-hour, session held at local Buffalo businesses. Each week focuses on a different part of the world, and all activities center on "travel" to this location. Children and their families participate in the weekly activities and continue learning with the book received through suggested activities made available at the session and online. SUNY Buffalo State undergraduate and graduate students facilitate the GBH program. A clinically-rich field experience, the GBH allows teacher candidates from a variety of disciplines to work together to lead this university-business-community partnership. The GBH began in spring 2010 as a partnership between Buffalo State and Wegmans Stores and later expanded to include the WASH Project at a local laundromat.

Learn More about GBH >>>
Are you a parent or caregiver looking for some things to do to encourage reading and writing at home? Are you a teacher hoping to find new ways to liven up your lessons? Are you an aspiring teacher searching for ideas to help you write your first lesson plans? Are you a teacher educator attempting to provide your students with the resources needed to teach the next generation of children?

If so, you've come to the right place!

The Global Literacy Channel is a SUNY Buffalo State YouTube channel designed to share fun, engaging and effective literacy techniques to help children become proficient readers and writers. The video clips, featuring teacher candidates in the School of Education, spotlight brief and informative ways to help children achieve this goal. There are a variety of topics addressed in the clips, such as comprehension, fluency, phonics and phonemic awareness, vocabulary and writing. Many of the videos feature global children's literature, with the hope of increasing children's awareness of the world in which they live. However, feel free to use any favorite book with these techniques. Upcoming blog posts will provide detailed information about the strategies in each video and how they can be adapted to meet the needs of all learners.
We hope you like what you see. With your help, we can teach readers and writers around the globe!

Visit the Global Literacy Channel >>>

Global Literacy Engagement Co-Directors

Pixita del Prado Hill

Patricia George
Pixita del Prado Hill is a professor in the SUNY Buffalo State Elementary Education, Literacy, and Educational Leadership Department who also serves as the Professional Development Schools Consortium co-director. Pixita loves to read and travel which is why she enjoys global books.
Patty George began her career teaching second, third and fourth grade. This is where she developed her love for children’s literature. Patty is a certified literacy specialist. In addition to teaching at Buffalo State, she is involved in several global literacy initiatives in the School of Education.