While many schools opened their doors as early as August, Read to Them is sending students, families, and teachers a warm back-to-school welcome! Many schools across the country are also launching their One School, One Book programs in tandem with the start of school. We cracked open our “vault” of old newsletters and wanted to share a wealth of fantastic tips from the field, straight from the mouths of educators who are well-versed in launching successful school-wide reading programs. Enjoy!
Lori Eckert, Literacy Coordinator – St. Cloud Area School District 742, Minnesota
Our media sneak peek begins two weeks before we reveal the title of the book. Of course, students know that February is the big month, so they are already excited. Other things change each year. Morning Muffins, teachers in costume, all-school assemblies. There is no one perfect way to begin the month, but the big reveal day creates the momentum. Involve principals, academic leads, media specialists, and teachers in the video read aloud to build anticipation in discovering the mystery reader of the nightly chapter. Of course, coming to school the next day knowing there will be a chance for your class to win the trivia contest is another way to hook the students. Our district communications team sets up our read aloud website so that all families know exactly where to go to find the chapter read for the night. They design posters for the buildings and blast social media to create buzz. We have also partnered with local businesses: a sporting goods store sponsors the purchase of the book, a craft store has Saturday “Make and Take” to match the book, and an ice cream store creates flavor mix-ins to pair with the book! The more excitement you create, the more engagement you will get out of students and staff!
Amy Belew, Intervention Specialist at Gurney Elementary School – Chagrin Falls, Ohio
We always ask ourselves how can we immerse the children in the book? How can they be absorbed into the book everywhere they go in the building? We start examining the book looking for hooks which we could build upon to connect to all areas of the school and the community. Then, we research what resources we have available to us and then expand out. These hooks evolve into activities which expose the children to more than just great literature. We have had our high school drama club perform. Opera singers have performed, community members have shared their professions. When we read Lunch Money by Andrew Clements, we paired our younger and older students to create a comic book because the characters in the book created comic books. A local artist, author and illustrator, Pam Spremulli, taught our students about her artwork and then helped them paint a tiger on our cafeteria wall.
Tammy Riggers, Principal at Colonial Elementary – Blue Ridge, Virginia
Daily announcements on the intercom are essential. Daily Facebook posts were a huge part of why our [One School, One Book program] was such a big hit. We invited parents to post pictures of them reading with their children and many of them did and loved it! We also posted pictures of teachers and staff members reading the book. In addition, we posted a daily trivia question from the reading from the night before and gave students all day to put their answer in and drew one name out the following day. If their name was drawn out, they received a gift certificate from our upcoming book fair.
Jennifer Stacey Biggers, Literacy Specialist at Walnut Ridge Elementary School – Walnut Ridge, Arkansas
One of the most important elements in implementing One School, One Book is creating an exciting environment from start to finish. We really work hard to not only build the anticipation before the big reveal, but to maintain that level of enthusiasm throughout the reading. From our big reveal of the decorated stage, One School, One Book t-shirt, and title of the book to our daily drawing of prizes, we try to keep students excited about the book and nightly reading. Students look forward to wearing their One School, One Book t-shirt on the designated day each week and going to the stage during recess to pick a prize when their name is drawn. As we near the conclusion, they cannot wait to see what we have planned for the culminating activity.
Rosey Thompson, Reading Specialist at Roebling Elementary School – Roebling, New Jersey
I have found that in addition to getting the website for your book up and running, as well as having the video read-alouds of each chapter, having a little mascot that goes along with your selection really gets the whole school talking. This year our book selection lent itself easily to a mini-Fenway mascot that I hide everyday throughout the school, and the students have to try and find him. It is most exciting when they spot Fenway in their classroom for the day, or when he appears in the gym during lunchtime. You can literally hear the screams of delight. Every morning I am asked by at least ten students, “Where is Fenway [of Fenway and Hattie] today?” I introduced him to the school at our kickoff assembly, and needless to say he is a big hit. I post his travels on our school’s social media pages to keep families in the loop. Last year, our school selected The Lemonade War and we had a mom crochet a mini stuffed lemon that we named “Harriet.” Also a big hit! Just have fun with this. It’s a rare time to go off-script in our day, and the students as well as the staff enjoy a different spin on the largest school-wide book club we’ve ever had.
Terri Gaussoin, Teacher Librarian at Janet Kahan School of Integrated Arts – Albuquerque, New Mexico
There are so many wonderful titles to chose from through Read to Them. There’s sure to be a book that’s right for your school community. As you plan for your One School, One Book reading celebration, think about timing, look for uninterrupted times in the calendar where reading together can be the real focus. Think of ways you can support teachers and the reading journey. Before each book I always gather activities, videos, author information, and resources that I can share in addition to the daily book trivia. Share your excitement about the books and give students time to share their reading connections and experiences as well.
Yalonda Ivers, Principal at Bells Elementary School – Bells, Texas
Building excitement with your kickoff definitely helps buy-in. We have also added a service-learning component with our Read to Them event. Our families really enjoy this, and it teaches our students to help others. This year, to go with The Mouse and the Motorcycle, we had a “Scurry and Scrounge” challenge where students brought items needed by our local homeless shelter. By reaching their goal, the grade level who earned the most points turned me into a giant bowl of nachos – dumping nacho cheese sauce and chips on me while the entire student body watched. (Mice love cheese, right? Plus, our closing celebration was the day prior to Cinco de Mayo this year!)
Students were also excited from the beginning about the bicycle parade we had to wrap up our reading. This was announced at our kick off celebration. This year, we began the day with quick quizzes over the chapter from the previous night, complete with small prizes for perfect scores. We also added a vocabulary component. I went through the book and found a word of the day. Students earned smiley face stickers from any adult in the building who heard them use the word correctly. Don’t be afraid to be creative – teachers and even student leadership, such as our student council – had great ideas!
Laura Godshall, Librarian and LeAnn Farley, Library Paraeducator at R. E. Lee Elementary School in Spotsylvania, Virginia
One idea that creates tremendous excitement at our school each year is keeping the title a secret from students and families. Clues about the book are posted eight to ten days before our school-wide kickoff assembly, and students are encouraged to guess the title and author, placing their guesses in an orange contest box. Interest is keen as students use the clues and our library computer catalog to search for possibilities!
On the day before the kickoff, brown paper grocery bags are delivered to classrooms, containing a copy of the mystery book for each family. At 9 a.m. on kickoff day, our principal makes the eagerly anticipated announcement, “The book we’ll read together this year is…” At that moment, classroom teachers open the brown bags and hand out the shiny new books. The oldest member in each household is charged with bringing the book home for their family to read together. Students with younger siblings at our school immediately make their way to their siblings’ classrooms to show them the book and escort them to the kickoff assembly where sibling groups sit together.
At the assembly, names are drawn from all the correct title entries. Lucky winners are invited to choose a prize for their excellent detective skills. But the best moment in the assembly comes when members of the OSOB team read the first chapter of our book aloud and everyone in the school follows along. That’s pure magic!
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Have you ever participated in one of our school-wide reading programs? Let us know any tips or tricks you’d like to share for a successful program in the comments below. Happy reading!
