Coshocton Elementary students read with flashlights
Abigail Trent-McCluney curls up with a good book and a flashlight in Mrs. Kimberly’s sixth grade class. The students ended Right to Read Week with Flashlight Friday.
COSHOCTON – Remember when you’re parents told you it was time for bed and you stayed up under the blankets and read your favorite Hardy Boys mysteries or Nancy Drew books with a flashlight? The sixth grade students in Mrs. Kimberly’s class at Coshocton Elementary brought that tradition back, at least for a day, on Friday, March 23. After everyone found their favorite spot in the classroom, Mrs. Kimberly turned off the lights and the flashlights clicked on as students settled in for a morning of reading.
“If they’re reading during the week and achieving their goals, I’ll let them do a flashlight Friday,” said Kimberly. “It gives them something to look forward to.”
The students used the entire 80-minute period to enjoy a book of their choice in the dark with their flashlights lit.
Flashlight Friday was an extension of Right to Read Week. The school also has an accelerated reading program where students are encouraged to read books they enjoy of all genres on their level.
“Reading is the foundation of everything they do,” said Kimberly. “If they don’t have a good foundation in reading, they’ll struggle in every subject. Reading helps their vocabulary and an awareness of everything around them.”
The students love it when Mrs. Kimberly reads to them aloud in class. She recently read the classic novel, “Where the Red Fern Grows”.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the whole class when I finished the book,” she said. “They were crying, I was crying. Sometimes, when they read by themselves, they read so slowly that they don’t get emotionally involved in the book. I think this showed them how emotional books can be.”
She also reads a wide variety of children’s books to them as well.
Her class celebrated Right to Read Week by participating in other reading activities throughout the week as well.
“There were lots of different things they could do for Right to Read week,” said Kimberly. “But this seemed more manageable and it’s a lot of fun.”
Category: Education
