The Haddonfield elementary schools took students, families and staff on a fantastical journey these past two months, creating a love of reading and a community.
Elizabeth Haddon Elementary School, Central Elementary School and Tatem Elementary School students in grades pre-K through fifth grade, as well as families and staff, came together with the initiative One School, One Book, all reading the same book together, “Kenny and the Dragon” by Tony DiTerlizzi. The school principals felt it was a success and are excited to celebrate all that has been accomplished with One School, One Book Celebration Nights at the Haddon Fortnightly Nov. 15, 16 and 17.
“The goal is to bring together students from all of the elementary schools to celebrate the reading that they have done and celebrate our elementary school community… It will be a culmination of reading, learning, fun, family and community,” Central Principal Shannon Simkus said.
One School, One Book, from the nonprofit Read to Them, is a program that encourages reading together at home and bringing together children of all grade levels by reading the same book. According to Read to Them, a growing body of research describes the complex and permanent effects of reading aloud. Children who are read to learn to read more easily and become better readers. Literacy skills provide the basis for a lifetime of learning and productivity.
“Reading aloud at home helps students to be effective readers, and not only builds a community within our schools, but in the home,” Elizabeth Haddon Principal Gerry Bissinger said.
The Haddonfield elementary schools wanted to use the program to bring the children, as well as families, together to build a community of leaders for literacy and a bigger community in general.
“This was a way to build community throughout the elementary schools and to also have a focus on literacy and the importance of literacy,” Tatem Principal Karen Schultz said.
The initiative started after a Sept. 27 community meeting where One School, One Book was introduced at each school and a guest reader came in costume to read the beginning of “Kenny and the Dragon” to students. Then the students were sent off with a book and a reading schedule for each family with a goal to read three or four chapters a week aloud and complete the book by Oct. 25. Every member of the school staffs — from teachers to maintenance workers to secretaries — received a copy as well. For families who could not read aloud, for whatever reason, a Vimeo channel was made for students to listen to different staff read a chapter of the book. The Vimeo channel can be found at vimeo.com/channels/osob.
In “Kenny and the Dragon,” the main character Kenny Rabbit is a bookish, somewhat lonely bunny who lives in the village of Roundbrook. Kenny is thrilled to learn that a dragon, Grahame, has come to live on the hill behind his mom and dad’s farm. Kenny and his parents soon learn that Grahame is that rarity among dragons, a gentle and cultured fellow.
At school one day, Kenny accidentally lets slip the fact that he has seen a dragon. As the villagers learn of the dragon’s presence, their panic and fear spreads, putting Kenny’s new friend in grave danger. Kenny’s other best friend, George, a retired knight and dragonslayer, has been ordered by the king to exterminate Grahame. Kenny is desperate to keep his two friends from fighting and perhaps killing each other, but no one will listen to him in the frenzy leading up to the battle. Kenny must find a way to persuade Grahame and George to be friends and not fight.
During morning meeting or literacy time, the chapters read that week were discussed. Classes learned a new vocabulary word from each chapter, answered a comprehension question and did a suggested activity. However, there was no homework, test or report required by the initiative. It is just to get students reading, learning and talking.
“Our kids really liked the book, and we feel like every family really embraced this venture… I think that really helped our classrooms come together. Students in each classroom were all following up in the mornings from the chapter they read and getting this common experience,” Simkus said. “As we have kids ages 3 to 12, (this initiative) helped to bridge the gap between our youngest and oldest students.”
As a celebration for completing the book, as well as to help foster a larger community, the schools are hosting One School, One Book Celebration Nights. The nights are split based on last names alphabetically, so that all grade levels and all schools will come together. The night will feature fun activities with a classical theme, such as a taste of Grahame the dragon’s favorite dessert and demonstrations of lively action from the book.
As One School, One Book was such a success, the elementary schools plan to take it up again next year and hopefully for many years to come.
