Published: Thursday, April 8, 2010

Reading gets citywide focus

Gregg L. Parker
Madison Magazine

They’ve been turning pages all around Madison … on Balch, County Line, Hughes and Nance roads, College and Sullivan streets and Old Madison Pike.

For the past few weeks, students have been the page-turners in the “Read Across Madison” campaign, observed by all seven elementary schools in the Madison City Schools district.

The “Read Across Madison” campaign is an extension of “Read Across America” that begins each March. The National Education Association describes its annual program as a time for motivation and awareness that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading (www.nea.org).

At Heritage Elementary School, guest readers visited on Fridays with first-grade classes.

On April 2, first-graders Gavin Johnson and Ethan Kohler welcomed their mothers, dressed in fairy tale costumes. Jessica Johnson portrayed Snow White and Shannon Kohler played the Wicked Queen, as they read “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

Chaos, mascot for the Huntsville Havoc hockey team, will come to read on April 9. A Madison police officer also read to classes of first-graders.

“All schools in Madison have different activities and guest readers to come throughout the month and read to the students,” Wendy Pharo said. She is a parent volunteer and substitute teacher at Heritage.

“In first grade, students are starting to read and will hopefully develop a love for reading that will follow them throughout their lives,” Pharo said.

Sessions with special guest readers who come by to share their love for reading help teachers and parents develop more successful readers, Pharo said.

Pharo believes that one way that students learn to read is through demonstration. “Anytime that anyone reads to a child, they benefit from it.”

The Heritage students were encouraged to read 30 books. After reading 10 books, they received a free book. After reading 30 books, students received three free books.

A reading campaign indirectly benefits the elementary teacher. “Teachers see a growth in the reading levels of their students along with more self confidence,” Heritage first-grade teacher Janeen Foote said.

Most emphasis for Read Across America is placed on March 2, the birthday of author Dr. Seuss. During special days to observe the campaign, students wore Seuss-inspired hairdos, brought their favorite Seuss book to school and dressed in red and black.

“On pajama day, everyone watched a short film celebrating Dr. Seuss’ life,” Pharo said.

For the remainder of the “Read Across Madison” campaign, the children were allowed to select books of their choice to read or to have their parents read to them.

Favorite book genres for younger students in elementary school are any of the Dr. Seuss books, the Junie B. Jones series, Magic Tree House series, Flat Stanley and Jerry Pallotta. “In the older grades, the Harry Potter series and the Percy Jackson series are very popular,” Pharo said.