Shreve students are all in for Read Bowl
Amidst the chanting, dancing and pom pom waving, the excitement was electric in the Triway Elementary gym, where the high school cheerleaders, football players and the pep band came together to celebrate a big win — not for a sport, but for reading.
Leading up to the Super Bowl, Shreve Elementary students in third grade, fourth grade and fifth grade went “all in” for reading for four “quarters” (weeks) with the high school cheerleaders and football players. Classes challenged each other to see who could read the most minutes in the Read Bowl.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the work you put in and the enthusiasm you’ve shown,” Triway football coach Cody Kelly said to the elementary students gathered in what will become their gym when they move to the new one-campus school in August.
To celebrate their hard work, he announced the football team was awarding each participating homeroom with a signed football to showcase in their classrooms.
“You are the first classes to start what we hope will be a long-lasting tradition — The Triway Read Bowl,” Kelly said.
Shreve Elementary won the challenge with an average of 1,500 minutes read. The high school team averaged 650 minutes of reading. The winner was determined by the average total minutes a single student read on each team.
During the competition students earned a football on paper for each 20 minutes they read in class or at home. “We encouraged them to read at home,” fourth grade teacher Janeen Shemenski said.
Teachers also made sure to allow time at the end of class. “We’d say, ‘Let’s log some minutes,’” and the students were eager to pull out their books, said Kim Diedrick, who also teaches fourth grade.
One of those students, Huxley Hackett, estimated she is reading 40 more minutes per day.
Third-grader Marlee Freeman said she started reading during her pockets of free time, and now it’s a habit. She reads after finishing homework, while traveling in the car to an activity and while waiting in line in the hallway at school. Books about animals and nature are her favorites.
Third-grader Embri Wigal said the Read Bowl gave her a new perspective on reading. “I used to think about it as a chore, and now I think of it as something to do in my free time.”
Most exciting for Jace Redd was beating third grade. “At first they were all cocky,” he said.
It was all in good fun, though, as classes motivated each other with some good-natured teasing, fourth grade teacher Melissa Radich said. Grade levels paraded through the halls when they were weekly champions.
Hackett said she found the snacks that accompanied a victory an exciting part of the challenge. The top class each week earned tailgate-themed treats such as soda, nachos and popcorn.
Reading minutes accumulated for each grade level over the four quarters were as follows: third grade, 81,199; fourth grade, 75,756; and fifth grade, 78,300. Third grade was victorious in the first quarter, fourth grade won the second and third quarters, and fifth grade captured the fourth-quarter win.
When chants such as “Read a book, Titans! Read a book!” and the Titan Rumble cheer died down, third grade teacher Meredith Alexander praised the students for their reading habits. “We are beyond proud of you for going beyond what we expected.”
Intervention specialist Serina Hosfeld, who presented the idea to teachers, said the success of the Read Bowl already has them thinking about next year. “It will be bigger and better.”