March Was a Busy Month for Elementary School Libraries

March was a busy and exciting month at all four of the elementary school libraries. March kicked off with two events, Read Across America (which is also Dr. Seuss’s birthday) and World Read Aloud Day. Both occurred the first week in March.

Avery celebrated Read Across America and Dr. Seuss’s birthday by dressing up as characters from their favorite books. The rest of the week was spent celebrating World Read Aloud Day. This day of advocacy is intended to show the world’s children that we support their future: that they have the right to read, to write, and to share their words to change the world. Many classes shared books with students around the country via Skype. In most cases, books with two voices were chosen so the reading would be participatory in nature. Other classes read with buddies, phones (hearing themselves read), and stuffed animals. One class had a special live visitor, Officer Cronin, who read with students.

In honor of Dr. Seuss and Read Across America, Riverdale students wore crazy socks and shoes to school. They also had a “reading train” after recess. All students and staff sat in the hallway together and read for 10 minutes. Every class at the Riverdale School Skyped with schools near and far in honor of World Read Aloud which celebrates the spoken word and helps to create a community of readers. Students from over 80 countries participated. Riverdale Skyped with classes in Georgia, Missouri, Vermont, and Maryland, as well as a class at Avery. During each Skype session, a picture book was shared and students also shared information about their state and their favorite picture books.

Oakdale celebrated Read Across America and Dr. Seuss’s Birthday with a Seuss Week. Each day was a spirit day for one of Dr. Seuss’s books. Monday was Cat in the Hat Day (students wore crazy hats), Tuesday was Green Eggs and Ham Day (students wore green), Wednesday was Wacky Wednesday (students came to school with wacky hair), Thursday was Fox in Sox Day (students wore silly socks), and Friday was There’s a Wocket in my Pocket Day (students came to school with mixed up clothes). In a joint celebration of Read Across America and World Read Aloud Day, all classrooms had a celebrity guest reader. The guest readers included superintendent, Mike Welch and other Dedham administrators, as well as members from the fire and police departments.

For Read Across America, students at Greenlodge participated in Dr. Seuss buddy reading across all grade levels. Greenlodge celebrated World Read Aloud Day with a whole school read aloud assembly on March 2. Grade 3 students acted out the first chapter of The World According to Humphrey in reader’s theatre form with scenery made by the school’s fifth graders. The production is airing on Dedham TV local education stations this month.

The district Mock Caldecott unit was also completed at all elementary schools. As part of the unit, students in all four elementary schools read five picture books: Quest, My Teacher is a Monster, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, The Promise, and Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla. Students then voted for the book that they felt had the best illustrations. At Avery, Riverdale, and Oakdale, the students selected Quest as the winner of the Mock Caldecott. Greenlodge students selected Sam and Dave Dig a Hole as the winner. The elementary school libraries are able to purchase the books for the Mock Caldecott with a grant from the Dedham Education Foundation (DEF). DEF also provide funds for the libraries to purchase other award winning books such as the Sibert, Geisel, and Newbery award winners. The DEF has been very generous in awarding this grant for several years and the books that are purchased always prove to be very popular with students.

Other March events included a book fair at Avery, as well as a unit about digital citizenship. Through stories, activities, and games, students are learning what it means to be a responsible Internet user. Oakdale also hosted a Read-a-Thon to raise funds for the school library, and the 4th and 5th Grade Book Club participated in a Skype author visit with Chris Grabenstein. Greenlodge fourth graders utilized their Internet research and writing skills to prepare for the MCAS exams with extra visits to the library and instruction from the reading specialists.