Students celebrate books with 'Read Across America'

Last week, students across America were reading more than usual.

“Read Across America” is the result of a task force within the National Education Association, which wanted to create a day to get kids excited about reading. Thus, “Read Across America” was established in 1998, celebrated on Dr. Seuss’ birthday.

Dropping by Parkview Elementary to talk to Principal Shelly Flygare about something else entirely, the first indicator something was afoot was the sight of a fully decked-out “Cat in the Hat,” enthusiastically greeting all who entered the school.

Locating Flygare in the cafeteria, the room was packed with parents and students of all ages. Flygare explained, “We wanted to have something to kick off ‘Read Across America Day,’ together with parents and students. In the past we had the Parkview Pancake Breakfast, but this year we wanted to do something different, directly involving parents.”

With a Southwest flare, “Burritos and Books” was born. Parents who arrived to drop off their children came through to the cafeteria where burritos and books were handed out. Parents then settled in to read with their kids as a unique beginning to their school day.

One thing was obvious: The reading that took place in that room was amidst lots of smiles and laughter.

Heading over to Zia Elementary, “ReadQuest” was under way. Staff and students were dressed as favorite book characters. Kindergarten classes dressed up as crayons; first-graders dressed as dalmatians; second-graders selected Dr. Seuss characters.

Third- through fifth-grade chose their own books to celebrate.

Zia Principal Shalei Bennett was a mouse (“If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”) and visited classrooms throughout the day reading aloud. Over a hundred parents also came by throughout the day to read with students.

Classrooms maintained individual rotating schedules throughout the day, such as: read with a stuffed animal; read under your desk with a flashlight; read with a buddy, indoors and outdoors; read with no shoes on; read with a funny hat on, and so forth.

It was a day of fun reading, but students also did quizzes on books they read, always loving a contest. Near the end of the day Bennett shared the results: “Zia students collectively read and quizzed on 1,854 books, maintaining a 91.6 percent average.”

In Dr. Seuss’ own words, “The more you read, the more you’ll know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy is the instructional technology coordinator for the Clovis Municipal Schools. She can be reached at [email protected]