Language Arts

George White Elementary School emphasizes the importance of learning to read and then reading to learn! The entire staff has been trained to use our reading series by Harcourt Brace which focuses on a balance program of reading, writing, speaking, and listening with a strong foundation in phonics. Each grade level has a list of Core literature books to compliment their program. Students have the opportunity to practice reading and writing on a daily basis.

Highlights

In December the students at George White had an opportunity to participate in Read 2003, a national reading activity to celebrate the upcoming year. The students were asked to read for 2003 seconds (about 33 1/2 minutes). Read 2003 was a schoolwide success. In February our school participated in Read Across America which celebrates Dr. Seuss' birthday. During that week, our students can enter a schoolwide poetry contest, a family reading night, PTA Book Fair, Author's Day and of course our annual Read-a-thon. For Author's Day we have had famous authors visit our school such as Laura Numeroff, John Archambault, Barney Saltzberg, Kathryn Hewitt, James Gardiner, Judith Ross Enderle, Stephanie Gordon Tessler, along with others. The students get to meet the author during grade level assemblies and they get a chance to purchase autographed books by these featured authors. Our favorite event has been our annual Read-a-thon where the students get to wear their pajamas to school and bring stuffed animals, pillows and blankets while spending the day reading. Some classes invite parents to come in the morning and read with the class for "Wake up to Books." Many kids have had special Green Eggs and Ham breakfast while reading their favorite Dr. Seuss books. The principal and many other special guests such as school board members, custodians, office mangers, etc... have also been invited to read to students during this special week. What a great way to celebrate literacy!!

Throughout the year students have been reading at home to earn their medal for our schoolwide Reading Olympics Program. Remember, it is important to read aloud to your child(ren) on a regular basis!

Finally, many classrooms have participated in extra plays, choral reading, and Reader's Theatre.

Please continue to develop good reading habits over the summer!