Millersburg students enjoy carnival life for Right to Read Week
Millersburg Elementary kindergartners Mazlee Morris, left, and Avery Rawson share a fun moment reading together in front of the carnival animal train during Right to Read Week.
Millersburg Elementary took on a carnival-like atmosphere for its Right to Read Week March 17-21.
Millersburg Elementary intervention teacher Miranda Miller spearheaded the work that went into the atmosphere that swallowed up the entire school during the week.
The aptly named “Carnival” theme saw teachers decking out the school hallways, doorways and classrooms with plenty of carnival items like big tops, animals and anything else carnival related.
The committee then hashed out a different dress-up day for each day of the week, giving kids a chance to express their zany side while undertaking the important activity of reading.
And when they did finally reach their reading goal, the ultimate carnival prize at the end of the week was a confectionery treat that was highly anticipated.
“Reach their goal and they all get cotton candy,” Miller said, noting the cotton candy would be made by Principal Renee Woods.
The goal for the week was to have students from kindergarten through second grade to read 20 minutes each night and third grade through fifth grade for 30 minutes.
Students were asked to record their reading times and turn in their sheets to receive the cotton candy reward.
While Right to Read created a fervor at school that was filled with plenty of reading and fun, the work they put into promoting reading didn’t stop there.
According to Miller, they utilized Facebook Live to promote even more reading opportunities, having teachers read.
“We had different teachers reading a different story every night on Facebook Live,” Miller said.
She said they have four groups of teachers who read every night at 7 p.m., each teacher picking a circus-themed book, reading it, and allowing parents and kids to settle in at home and listen to a good book together.
“It’s kind of fun because families can join the PTO page and listen together,” Miller said.
Woods said she checked the most recent numbers on the Facebook page with teachers Melissa Bluck and Kisha Stutzman providing the reading, and there were more than 1,000 views.
Woods said they have been promoting the activity on Facebook and encouraging kids to get together with their parents to listen in to the live readings since COVID several years ago.
“It’s just another tool to get kids interested in reading, and it’s great because it’s something they can do with their parents,” Miller said.
In addition, the school had a special room designated as the Carnival Room, which was elaborately decked out in carnival fashion that allowed teachers to sign up their class for a 30-minute session, and it encouraged students to further dig into reading a good book of their choice.
They added five games the committee created for even more carnival activities.
One other activity that served as a break from the everyday school routine was a school-wide scavenger hunt that contained hidden clues that took them from animal to animal throughout the school.
Mystery readers would provide each clue, and students were given the opportunity to right down their answers with each correct answer giving them a chance to win a new book via a drawing.
Each grade level included circus-themed coloring pictures for a coloring contest with the Title teachers serving as the judges who picked the top four from each class.
Then there was Drop Everything and Read Time, or DEAR Time as Woods called it, where students were spontaneously invited to read at any given moment for several minutes before returning to the class time.
It was a big investment from the staff but one that was well worth the effort.
“We worked hard to make it very interactive and fun for the kids,” Woods said. “It’s a good way to emphasize reading as we move into spring break because we are gearing up for testing following break, and it’s good to entice them to continue to work on their reading skills to stay sharp.”