Imagine your entire elementary school - every family! - reading the same chapter book - out loud, at home at the same time! That’s One School, One Book. Join 300 schools across the US and Canada in this shared community-building reading experience. Our program package includes:
- introductory documents to explain OSOB to your community
- handy ten-step How To guide to implement OSOB
- Sponsor's Letter to help you secure funds
- sample documents from our individual book packets
- including reading schedules, assembly scripts, Trivia Questions, and Principal's talking points
- podcast mp3 files of our reading aloud audio-tips
2011 Model School
Dr. Gerald B. Probe School has spread One School, One Book to 12 schools in Lethbridge, Alberta!
Read more here.
Why read aloud?
Children are happier and better adjusted when you read to them just 15 minutes a day.
Where are we now? See who’s doing OSOB »
Wilson Elementary School in Imperial, PA just finished reading Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie. Here on this wall children have posted their lists of "Ten Things" they admire about someone they each love.
Highlights
Celebrate A Cricket in Times Square with Sauk Rapids-Rice School District!
Four schools in Sauk-Rapids Rice, Minnesota - all reading George Selden's 1960 classic together, at home, aloud - across the district. Check out their incredible array of links and activities: a welcome page, a family nights calendar, a blog, a reading schedule, a podcast page featuring each chapter read aloud by a different guest reader, an incredible updated photo slideshow, the daily trivia question (updated daily), a page of links relevant to the book, a tip of the hat to donors, and even a nod to Read to Them (explaining the purpose and premise of One District, One Book). Explore the links - and then become the next district to create a complete community of readers across your district.
Skype Night at Gurney Elementary School!
Gurney Elementary School in Chagrin Falls, Ohio has been reading Elizabeth Enright's The Saturdays. Recently, they held a Skype Night to share their experience and enthusiasm and extend their community of readers. Students at Gurney used Skype on their phones and computers to share and read The Saturdays with everyone from grandparents across the country to older siblings in college - here, there, and everywhere. Check out the pictures here.
Stepney Elementary loads up on A Cricket in Times Square
Stepney Elementary School in Monroe, Connecticut has been reading George Selden's A Cricket in Times Square. Their excellent OSOB website includes highlights from their Opening Assembly (as well as the complete assembly), a school-wide blog, podcasts of various faculty reading chapters from the book, an excellent slideshow, and two pages of links featuring videos of Chinatown, Times Square, Grand Central Station - and more! Check out their OSOB Cricket home page and explore.
The RTT Winter Newsletter is here!
You can download and read the new Read to Them Winter Newsletter, created by Jan Bates, here. The Winter Newsletter features updates from the burgeoning districts creating a Community of Readers as a district - extensions of our One District, One Book program. If you want to offer your own submission to the RTT Newsletter, you can contact Jan Bates here. Share your own anecdotes from your school and your community's One School, One Book experience. Share photos, videos, and quotes from students, parent, and teachers.
New Books for 2012 Added to One School, One Book Recommended Book List
Check out our recently added books: The Lemonade War (by Jacqueline Davies) - a great math read!; and The Enormous Egg (by Oliver Butterworth). Look for Mr. Popper's Penguins (by Richard and Florence Atwater) and Hate That Cat (by Sharon Creech) later in 2012...
Interactive OSOB Presentation on Prezi.com
Trying to explain One School, One Book to someone else? Check out the excellent interactive, web-accessible presentation designed by Kenny Moles, Title I Schools Improvement Co-ordinator in West Virginia. Moles has been busy recruiting districts in West Virginia - and this is his principal explanatory tool. Check it out here.
Learn more about OSOB
Here are two introductory videos to explain One School, One Book. Check 'em out - then use them to explain OSOB to the rest of your community - teachers, parents, sponsors.