Making reading fun is probably one of the major goals for every elementary and middle school teacher across the U.S. For the staff and parents of St. Michael School in Pawcatuck, there was clearly no better way to do so than to bring in the works of a most beloved children’s author, Dr. Seuss.
Joining in a special program called Read Across America during the week of March 3 to 7—kicked off by Dr. Seuss’ birthday on March 2—St. Michael School saw students at all grade levels involved in a variety of reading activities and events, many of which highlighted the works of Dr. Seuss.
Lisa Remmert, St. Michael PTO president, explained how the program was first introduced into St. Michael School last year.
“It’s a nation-wide program that takes place every year; it is a literacy campaign that takes place in schools and libraries across the country,” Remmert said. “I brought the idea to St. Michael’s last year, my son was in kindergarten, and we just did something for the kindergarten class…They were thrilled with it—the kids loved it and the parents loved it…now this year I decided to take on the whole school as my pet project.”
Remmert said she first learned of the program during her career as a sales agent in the book-publishing industry.
Founded in 1997, and now in its 11th year, Read Across America is a nation-wide literacy program, sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA) and takes place every year on or near March 2. The NEA felt Dr. Seuss was the ideal centerpiece for the program, or “literacy celebration,” because his use of rhyme and colorful storytelling capture the minds of most young readers.
Admiring the concept and effectiveness of the program, Remmert knew that once her son was old enough for school, she would try to introduce the program to his class. What she didn’t necessarily plan on was the tremendous reaction from the faculty. This year, and with a much larger program to organize, involving the entire school meant that Remmert, who was the primary planner of the week-long program, needed to find volunteers, come up with a plethora of event and activity ideas, and collaborate with other local organizations for the outreach aspect of the program.
“The goal is to bring literacy to the forefront and have fun with reading and an author like Dr. Seuss, that’s one piece,” Remmert explained. “The other piece, and we are a Catholic school, is the giving piece of it, whether it’s reading to the seniors or to the young children…we really want to stress the community outreach.”
This spirit of giving back to the community was a unique aspect to the St. Michael School version of the Read Across America program, which typically focuses on having fun with reading. And with those two concepts in mind, students began their week with a book drive, the goal of which was for every student to bring in at least one book to be donated to a charitable organization. The rest of the week played out differently for the various age groups at the school.
The younger classes were treated to guest readers every day, with two or three parents making surprise appearances.
“[The students] were really excited every day to see whose mom or dad was coming in,” kindergarten teacher Kathy Clancy said. “Usually that child would start chirping a little, so word would get out…so it definitely made for some excitement for them.”
Clancy added that she was very impressed with the care that the parents took in picking out the books they read to the students, saying that the majority of them were both fun and challenging.
Some other activities that the younger students took part in were word games, such as word searches and word mazes, and, of course, reading numerous Dr. Seuss books. The Cat in the Hat himself also visited each class.
“Several of the teachers dressed up in the Cat in the Hat costume that Lisa [Remmert] brought in,” Clancy said, “and it was a really big game for all of the kids to try and guess who was in the costume that day.”
“They were trying to crack us to tell them who it was,” school librarian Marguerite Rauch said, laughing. “But we wouldn’t give in.”
For the older students, Remmert planned an extensive schedule of community outreach programs with the fourth-grade class visiting Pendleton Rehab; fifth grade visiting Central Baptist Preschool; sixth grade visiting Westerly Adult Day Center; and seventh- and eighth-grade students visiting either Precious Memories or the Clipper Home.
During these field trips students were typically paired up with a partner and took turns reading. For sixth-grader Harrison Gatch, it was a very familiar experience.
“I was paired with someone I knew already,” Gatch explained, “and we both have a common interest in birds, so we read a little and talked about our favorite birds; it was fun.”
Eighth-grade student Bridget Maynard also enjoyed her visit to the Clipper Home.
“We read One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey,” Maynard said. “It was fun to go because they were so nice there, and they were very appreciative.”
Remmert, who went on two of the field trips to observe, said she was very happy with the success of the visits.
Remmert said, “In the Clipper Home, especially, they did a good job of matching the students up with seniors who really interacted with them. I was amazed at how our kids showed such maturity being in an environment that they might not be used to… They really enjoyed themselves and all seemed very happy as they left.”
With the field trips and special visits over, the week ended with a birthday party for the Cat in the Hat, and everyone enjoyed some cake. And due to the success of this year’s program, there will be more cake and many more books read next year.
“It went very well,” St. Michael Principal Doris Messina said. “The components it had, I thought, were very nice…anytime you can connect reading with fun you’re going to be successful.”