Co-Operation Read
It makes sense that those of us who write for a living also enjoy reading. I suppose you could say that I also read for a living, since I read the radio news. We joined hundreds of volunteers across the Janesville school district Friday reading in classrooms.
Kayla: I read a few chapters from "The Wizard of Oz" to a class of fourth- and fifth-grade special education students at Wilson Elementary School.
I started from the part of the story when Dorothy arrives in the land of the Munchkins, meets the good witch of the North and decides to head toward the Emerald City. I chose that part because it's full of lovely description that I thought would help the children visualize the story. (The copy of the book I picked up from the library had only a few drawings.)
Beth: I read to Mr. Brikowski's sixth grade class at Franklin Middle School. There was a bit of confusion, because the student finding the readers in the lobby thought I wasn't there and brought two Parker students up instead. I was a bonus reader.
The Parker girls read "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and related it to peer pressure, gossip and drugs. Whoa.
I read the part of "The Princess Bride" where we learn about Fezzik. The kids were fairly entertained to hear Fezzik was shaving while he was in kindergarten, and that milkmen took care of broken bones because everyone knows milk is good for your bones!
Kayla: When we were finished, I asked them what their favorite part was. One boy said he enjoyed hearing about Scarecrow. The boy liked how the author described what clothes the scarecrow was wearing because it helped him to picture the scarecrow in his mind as I was reading.
The children also said it was nice to have someone come in and read to them for a while, and that made me feel good. After all, that's why I did it -- to share my love of reading with others.
Beth: I also answered some questions about the radio stations, and how I report on things that affect students when I cover school board meetings.
Kayla: I hope if you got out to the schools to read this morning that you had fun. I sure did.
Beth: I’m curious to learn what other volunteers read.
WCLO's Stan Milam had a marvelous time reading over the air. Click here to hear the podcast.
Apr 24, 2009 at 7:04 a.m.
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Many of my students read for middle school classes, which was a rather daunting experience for some of them. Even though the audience was younger, it was intimidating for them to be in front of a group. However, after the reading, the students told me they had a great time and have ideas of what we could do next year if this becomes an annual event.
Apr 20, 2009 at 11:01 p.m.
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I was actually a part of this...i was to be a back up in case there weren't enough kids at the school I was at. I didn't end up reading, but I did get to witness a reading of a children's book to an 8th grade class. I won't go into any more detail, because I don't want to embarass the reader, but it was definitely on of the worst education experiences I have ever witnessed. A complete waste of class time. The net result was that the third hour class learned less than the rest of the classes and had less time to do thier quizzes.
Apr 20, 2009 at 9:19 p.m.
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I read the Riot Act to my neighbor for making a lot of noise!
Apr 20, 2009 at 1:16 p.m.
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That's funny Jim, I also considered reading "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs." I used to teach a summer rec class where I read that to the kids and had them create their own skits based on other fairy tales.
Apr 20, 2009 at 12:45 p.m.
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Kudos to everyone who joined the effort. Volunteering in schools can be deeply rewarding, and there are plenty of opportunities to get more deeply involved than just one afternoon.
Apr 20, 2009 at 12:29 p.m.
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I read "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" to Mrs. Gustafson's fifth-grade class at Kennedy. If you're familiar with the book, it's a hilarious re-telling of the story from the wolf's point of view, insisting he was framed by muckraking reporters. I read the book "in character," wearing sunglasses and acting kind of like the slimy Dan Aykroyd character that defended dangerous Christmas toys on "Saturday Night Live." I don't think the kids really knew what to make of it. I was kind of disappointed that I really didn't get any feedback or any questions. Maybe I freaked them out. At least their teacher was entertained! So I'm sure mine was the shortest visit of all of the readers.
Apr 20, 2009 at 8:13 a.m.
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I read to Ms. Newlin's 2nd grade class at Lincoln Elementary and I had GREAT time. I read "The Fourth Little Pig" by Teresa Celsi (4th pig is the Sister, who coaxes her brothers out of the house to enjoy life and stop being afraid!)and "Pirates Don't Change Diapers" by Melinda Long. I was worried that the age group might have been to old for these "picture books" but I talked about how important it is to read what you love, no matter the material, no matter how short or long the story. "The Fourth Little Pig" is my all time favorite and I think my love for both books came through. The kids were GREAT and you could really tell they appreciated someone in their classroom. I even got HUGS as I left. I could have read all day long. KUDOS to everyone that went out and read to these kids.
Apr 17, 2009 at 2:08 p.m.
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I read to Kathy Richards' fifth grade class at Van Buren Elementary School. I read poems from "Where the Sidewalk Ends," by Shel Silverstein, and we had a good discussion about favorite books and why you should volunteer for events like this.
I hope they do this every year; I would definitely do it again!
Apr 17, 2009 at 1:46 p.m.
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I didn't know Stan read over the air. That's hilarious -- and delightful!
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