Reading
Reading for the Record

Imagine a community so focused on reading that it might just break a Guinness World Record.

NEA members Kim Ezekiel (left) and Donna Brogden with potential record holders.

More than 5,000 of Tifton, Georgia's 37,000 residents gathered at the town stadium last November, but not for a football game or other sporting event. Students, teachers, business owners, and community leaders met to celebrate a remarkable accomplishment. Proclaiming itself the "Reading Capital of the World," the small town organized the largest silent group read and group read-aloud, a feat they hope will land them in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Over three years, the community earned more than one million points through the Accelerated Reader Program, a computerized learning system that tests people on the books they read, then assigns points based on the difficulty of each book. That's the most points ever accumulated in one town.

"We started having Accelerated Reader nights, where parents would come to school with their children, read books, and then take the tests associated with their books," says Donna Brogden, a second grade teacher at Len Lastinger Primary School. The public library even installed the software on its computers.

And it didn't take long to generate reading excitement throughout the community once school and civic leaders, along with the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence, set a million-point goal.

Business owners gave employees extra pay for books read, and schools began attracting grandparents, parents, and others who wanted to "earn points" for the town. Many businesses even closed the day of the celebration so employees could attend.

Despite the festivities, NEA member Kim Ezekiel, principal at Len Lastinger, admits that keeping kids focused on reading hasn't always been easy.

"Reading has always been a priority, but we haven't always been successful," she says. "Our school serves a large population of minority and high-poverty children. Some don't always get reading encouragement from home."

That's why, as part of the Tift County Schools initiative, Ezekiel and her staff also implemented two other reading programs at the 620-student school: Reading Recovery for children who need extra help and Literacy Collaborative to give staff long-term, site-based professional development opportunities.

Ezekiel and Brogden agree that they've finally found a winning combination of reading strategies for their school.

"The majority of children are now reading because they want to read, not because they have to," says Brogden.

Still waiting for confirmation of their achievement from Guinness, Brodgen says the children have already learned a very powerful lesson from the community about the joy of reading.

"The November celebration is something we'll talk about for a long time to come," she says, "but the real joy lies in knowing that the long-term emphasis on reading is working."

--Dina S. Gómez

How To ...
Use Poetry in the Classroom

"Poetry has a place in the curriculum, from pre-K to college prep," says poet Nikki Grimes, whose award-winning children's books include A Dime a Dozen (Dial). April is National Poetry Month and a perfect time to pocket these valuable tips:

• Choose poetry that you enjoy and are passionate about. Good or bad, your attitude in the classroom is infectious.

• Set out to have fun. Remember, if you present poetry as though it were castor oil, you can be sure no one will like it.

• Focus initially on experiencing poetry rather than dissecting it. Read your favorites, and share poems you've created. If you risk reading your own works, it will encourage your students to risk reading their own.

• Give up the notion of "good or bad," "right or wrong" poetry. If you want students to attempt to write poetry, encourage them when they do. Rather than saying, "that's wrong," say, "that's a good start. Here's what you can do to make it better."

• Poetry reading can be a tremendous bonding experience. Set aside time regularly to allow students to read their work aloud in class. Videotape if possible, and make a big deal about it so they'll realize how important their work is and how much you value and respect their self-expression. You'll be amazed what you learn about your students and what they'll learn about each other.

For more: E-mail NikkiGrimes@yahoo.com, read Pass the Poetry, Please by Lee Bennett Hopkins (Harper), or visit www.poets.org.