About 550 adult volunteers showed up to Amelia Earhart
Elementary to read to students one-on-one for a half hour, including Utah State
Superintendent Larry Shumway, Mayor John Curtis (dressed and ready in his Cat in
the Hat pajamas and hat), Provo City Police Chief Rick Gregory and about 10 of
his officers and best of all, hundreds and hundreds of moms, dads, grandmas and
grandpas.
Before we got started, each teacher instructed the adults on
how to properly read with children. Thank you, teachers! While we all know proper punctuation
pronunciation, these insights were really helpful, such as animating your voice,
being good listeners and asking the student what they think about the story and
what they predict will happen next. (I’ve attached the list at the bottom of
this post for anyone interested.)
I got to read Encyclopedia Brown with remarkably
smart 3rdgrader, and we had a great time. He was such a good reader and
I’ll have to ask
him if I can borrow the book when he’s done because I have to know how
it ends.
This was a great opportunity for parents and adults to show
children just how important reading is. Thank you Amelia Earhart for the making
than Read-a-thon and annual tradition. Can’t wait for next year!
