By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Oakwood Elementary is getting the community involved with March is Reading Month in a new way.
“The pandemic hasn’t really made planning difficult for March is Reading month, but it has made us want to focus more on supporting the community and supporting businesses in Ortonville,” said Jessica Hevel, literacy coach at Oakwood.
Hevel has asked business people and members of the community to take a video of themselves reading a children’s book at their place of work if possible.
“We had a virtual career day last spring because of the pandemic and we learned that the students loved getting to actually see inside local businesses and getting a peek into what a day in the life looks like,” she said. “When thinking of how to incorporate the community in March is Reading Month, we decided to reach out to members of our community and ask them to send videos of them reading from their place of work. We asked community members to share how reading is a part of their everyday lives, so our students can see that reading is something that they will do daily for the rest of their lives.”
In addition to the virtual stories, the students are going to be reading books about topics that are important to them, and then they will write persuasive letters or essays about that topic. There will be a winner from each grade level that will have their letter or essay published in The Citizen. The virtual stories will be shared on the Oakwood Elementary Facebook page.
“We wanted to create an authentic reading experience,” said Hevel. “We know our students and families are going to enjoy watching these videos on Oakwood’s Facebook page throughout the month of March.”
To send a video of you reading a children’s book, contact Hevel at jhevel@brandon.k12.mi.us.