W. Babylon Students Participate in the Great Read-Aloud

Parents and students of Santapogue Elementary School in the West Babylon School District celebrated Read Across America Day with the Great Read-Aloud, an annual event organized by school library media specialist/librarian Gwendalyn McHugh.  

In preparation of the event, one student from each classroom, chosen by his or her teacher, invited a parent to celebrate the joys of books and reading by having him or her select a special book to read aloud to the entire grade.

“I stress that they should choose a book that represents them and what they want to share,” said Ms. McHugh. “For example, I had one parent choose the first book her son read all by himself to share with the fourth grade. Another read the first chapter of a novel to whet the fifth graders’ appetite for the rest of the story. Others choose their child's favorite book to read at night.”

There were six separate sessions in which the classes of each grade level came together to listen to books from approximately three parents (one from each class). Each child sat next to their parent while they read aloud, and both received special bookmarks and a certificate of appreciation for participating in the Great Read-Aloud.

Following the event, a display was arranged in the library containing the books read aloud, as well as other books by the same authors for students to check out.