Cabot school program promotes reading

Arkansas first lady Susan Hutchinson accepts a handmade gift from Northside Elementary School students Ava Berryhill, left, and Piper Brown. Hutchinson was the guest speaker at the school’s One School, One Book program, which unveiled The Chocolate Touch as this year’s schoolwide book.
Arkansas first lady Susan Hutchinson accepts a handmade gift from Northside Elementary School students Ava Berryhill, left, and Piper Brown. Hutchinson was the guest speaker at the school’s One School, One Book program, which unveiled The Chocolate Touch as this year’s schoolwide book.

— At Northside Elementary School in Cabot, students have been as excited about reading as they have been about candy.

Through the One School, One Book initiative, Northside Elementary on Friday revealed the schoolwide book that will be given to students for a two-week period. The school held an assembly to reveal The Chocolate Touch, by Patrick Skene Catling, as this year’s book and hear Arkansas first lady Susan Hutchinson speak on the importance of reading.

“If you have trouble with reading, that has nothing to do with how smart you are,” Hutchinson said.

A program through a Virginia-based nonprofit called Read to Them, One School, One Book encourages students to read aloud at home with their families and use tools and resources to comprehend the material. The Chocolate Touch is a 1952 book about a boy named John Midas who, after a magical experience, learns that everything he touches turns into chocolate.

“We just encourage the kids and their families. It’s about getting them to read together,” said Principal Suzie Kelley, who also said Cabot elementary and middle schools participate in the initiative. “We know all students can’t read this book, but we want them to read as families. We do activities each day to promote that reading.”

The assembly took place in the school cafeteria, with the walls lined with brown craft paper that mimicked dripping chocolate, Styrofoam materials decorated to depict wrapped candy and paper plates styled to look like the tops of suckers. A group of teachers, along with Hutchinson, acted out a portion of the book, leaving a cliffhanger to further excite the students about beginning the book.

Hutchinson told the students that reading allows them to learn about experiences they may not personally have and to imagine how it is to be someone else.

“What would it be like to fly up to the moon and walk on the dusty moon and see the Earth from there and all of its blue? Wouldn’t that be fun? Most of us aren’t going to get to do that, but we can read about it in a book,” she said.

The school gave students one copy of The Chocolate Touch per household, a bookmark with a reading schedule and a chocolate coin. During the morning announcements for the next two weeks, a question pertaining to the previous night’s assigned chapter will be asked. Students can write down and submit their answers for the chance to win a prize. At the end of the two weeks, a grand prize of a gumball machine will be given to two students who have finished the book.

“We’ve got kids at every grade level who are not reading on grade level. We have kids with diagnoses that [show] they’re going to be below grade level, but we support them where they are,” Kelley said. “We meet kids where they are at their reading level, always with that goal to bring them up to where they need to be.”

Kelley said the school has two reading interventionists and volunteers who will assist the students.

“We do have some volunteer readers coming in at lunchtime because we do have some kids that we know their parents are unable to read with them — or won’t for whatever reason,” she said.

Miriam Berryhill, assistant principal, said it’s important for children to have examples of adults who read. She said she encourages parents to read anything to and with their children, whether the family is driving on the road or visiting a museum. Berryhill said parents who read will have kids who read.

“[Reading] to their kids is the most important thing, just reading together as a family, making sure the kids read every day, having some time set aside to read and then just talking to them about what they’re reading,” Berryhill said. “A lot of times parents know that [their children are] reading. ‘Oh, they read that book.’ But there’s no discussion about it.”

Kelley said parents can ask their children questions about their reading material and create games to make it memorable and understandable.

“It’s really hard for us as our kids get older; they still need it just as much,” Kelley said. “[Parents] read with them in kindergarten. They’re good about reading with them at first. But as they get older, that just dwindles. I was guilty of that, too, as a mom because they can read independently; you think, ‘Go read.’”

Northside Elementary also holds family nights that are always math- and literacy-focused. In March, the family-night theme will be Reading Is Sweet, to stay in The Chocolate Touch theme.

Kelley said she hopes every child will experience reading The Chocolate Touch aloud with an adult in his or her life.

“I think we were successful about getting the kids really excited about reading the book,” Kelley said.

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