Local News
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Books bewitch ElmwoodFEATURES WRITER
Move over, Hogwarts -- Elmwood Elementary Schools has plenty of charms and magic brewing. The pre-kindergarten through fourth grades are discovering the magic of reading as they attempt to read half a million books by the end of the year, receiving a necklace charm for every 10 books read.
"What we're doing is trying to instill a love for reading as well as some additional incentive to read every day," said KoAnn Rutter, the Project MORE (Mentoring in Ohio for Reading Excellence) teacher. Project MORE is coordinating the effort. There are 562 students participating. As of Dec. 14, the total number of books read was at 350,405.
Each book the students read is counted, as well as the books read to them by teachers and parents. An adult has to sign off on each book, which is submitted for totalling and then to receive charms for each level of reading.
For every 10 books a student reads, they receive a charm in the shape of a book. For every 50 books, they get a bookworm charm and when students have read 100 books, they are given a charm of the number 100.
Students also receive charms in music and physical education classes, as well as for being selected as a Royal Citizen. According to Rutter, a number of students have nearly filled their necklace and a few are on their third charm-filled chain.
Krista Miller, a lunch aide and Project MORE volunteer, is known as the "charms lady." She receives the many lists from each class, logs the number of books read and awards the charms.
"She helped out last year and then volunteered to take on the entire charms project this year. It's a sizeable amount of bookkeeping and she keeps it all straight," said Rutter.
The quest to meet half a million is a Miller family affair. Miller's husband, Dave, is a fellow volunteer and the top reader at the moment is Miller's son, Isaac Miller, 8. He's clocked in 10,940 books since starting last year.
"Nine out of 10 times, if I can't find him, he's on the sofa reading. He's constantly asking if I've been to the library to get him new books," said Miller. Her son's reading level has launched from one or two books per week to five books per night.
The school as a whole reads an average of 1,800-2,000 books per week. More than 20 children have read more than 1,000 books each.
The contest was the brainchild of Principal Michelle Tuite. Last year, she proposed the Read a Million project to encourage her students to read, but once under way, the school realized 1 million books could take up to four years. The school hit the quarter million mark at the end of the 2008-09 school year and decided to adjust their expectations.
"Mathematically, we realized it just didn't work (in two years) and we wanted the children to have a sense of achievement and not get burnt out," explained Rutter.
Tuite is still a staunch supporter of the project and she's putting her mouth where their reading skills are. If the students meet their goal by the end of the school year, she promises to kiss a pig in front of the student body.
"There's a 'friendly feud,' there. She knows she's helping the kids, but whenever I see her in the hall, she's a little scared to look at me," kidded Miller. "She asks 'Oh gosh do I have to kiss that stankin' pig soon?'"
As the students hit the home stretch, a few incentives are still ahead. In January, the school plans to have a "Beat the Winter Blahs" theme and the class with the highest number of books read will get a pizza party. They've also set the last week of every month as a "double charms" week and students can get twice the charms for each level of reading.
The school has also partnered with the North Baltimore and Wayne public libraries. Wayne offers a pewter charm for students who reach 50 books. Both libraries have reported an increase in readership from Elmwood students, according to Rutter.
"People are going beyond our school library. They're taking books off the shelf at home, getting to books at public libraries and reading up a storm," said Rutter.
The effort is about more than numbers, though. Both the quantity and the quality of reading has increased, according to Rutter.
"We've found parents are reading a lot more with their children and getting involved more with the reading process. Parents are more aware of what level their children are at," said Rutter. A number of children have also raised their reading level, including Isaac.
"When he started (in first grade), he was reading (at level AA,) two levels away from reading at his grade level. Now he's reading comfortably by himself at level D and in Project MORE in levels E and F," said Miller.
When the school makes it past this milestone, they'll set another, said Rutter.
"Whatever happens, whatever we do, we want to keep them reading," she said.
Project MORE is seeking additional tutors. Volunteers offer 30 minutes or more per day any time Monday through Thursday and follow a pre-planned lesson in reading for grades two through four.
Those interested in volunteering can contact Rutter at 419-655-2583 or via e-mail at ruttk@elmwoodschools.org.
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Ph: (419) 435-6641 • Fax: (419) 435-9073
113 E. Center St. • P.O. Box 947
Fostoria, OH 44830
The Findlay Publishing Company
P.O. Box 609
Findlay, OH 45839-0609
Phone: (419) 422-5151
www.findlaypublishing.com
Please read our privacy guidelines
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