The Carlyle Elementary School (CES) recently introduced a new reading program: One School, One Book. The program, supported by the School Community Council (SCC), includes the gift of one book to each of the 144 families within the school to be read at home each evening. The next day there are questions and kids fill out their answers and at the end of the month a name will be drawn who will win their pick of a free Scholastics book from the book order.
“It’s a great way to promote reading in the school and reading at home,” Principal Tyler Fehrenbach explained. “The SCC purchased a book for each family with the idea that the kids will read at home with an adult. So, tonight [Jan. 4] I’ll be reading chapter one with my kids.”
“The SCC is very supportive of different initiatives we have and we’re very appreciative of that from purchasing these books for the families to purchasing seats in Mathletics, we have a very supportive SCC.”
The idea was brought to the school by Joan Bue, previously a teacher at CES, who loves reading and promotes the benefits of reading.
“I first wanted to do this when I was a teacher here, the idea came to me two years ago, but there were administrative changes and then I took on a different role, so it took a little while to organize it and make it a reality,” Bue explained and she is very excited for the school.
“It’s so important to read aloud,” Bue stated. “When you read you can go anywhere and do anything, you can learn about how others live and transport yourself to a different time and place.”
“We wanted to encourage families to read together, we want families to experience the joy of reading a book together.”
Since the program is focused on grades Kindergarten through to grade six, a book was chosen which is relatable and enjoyable for all ages, “Because of Winn Dixie.”
“We picked a book with short chapters that could engage all different ages,” Bue said. “It’s about a girl and her dog, and all the interesting people in a town. Everyone can relate to the story and it’s set in Florida, so we get to visit another place and time.”
A reading schedule was sent home with the book, which requires families to read one or two chapters a night, and at the end of the month to promote Family Literacy Day, families are invited to the school for a movie night with free popcorn and a showing of the movie based on the book.
When the program was unveiled to students, Bue asked, “Why do you like reading altogether with your family?”
Youth shouted out a variety of answers including “Because it’s fun!” “Because it’s great!” and “Reading makes you very happy!”
According to the pamphlet the school sent home parents and guardians reading with their children is imperative because research has proven that literacy skills and developing a solid foundation at a young age improves listening comprehension, increases vocabulary skills, provides fluency models, promotes conceptual understanding, lengthens attention spans, and creates a positive attitude towards books and reading.
Additionally reading aloud together sharpens the imagination, creates healthy conversation, and builds a love of reading, while developing a positive emotional bond between a parent/guardian and the child.
“I think it’s going to go over really well,” Fehrenbach stated. “I think it will be a success and if it does go over as well as I think it will we’ll do it again next year, and hopefully other schools will pick it up as well.”
“It’s a shared reading experience for the school community so we can all talk about it together, teachers can incorporate it into their classes, and it will keep kids engaged because everyone is experiencing the fun of reading together.”
