Hundreds of students across Region 16 are coming together to celebrate the joy of reading in this year’s “Read Across the Region” initiative, a collaborative effort aimed at fostering literacy and a love for books in schools, libraries, and community centers. During the week of March 3rd through the 7th, various members of Woodland’s National Honor society sat down to read a book.
The members read to elementary school students from both Prospect Elementary school and Laurel Ledge Elementary school. “Read alongs” were conducted via Google Meets, in the library throughout the day all week. National Honor Society members were given a Google form to choose a time and grade to read for throughout the week. As for the elementary students, these readings happen during their library class, and they look forward to it every year.
This is the fifth year that NHS has done these read-alongs, they started in 2021 during covid, when everyone was separated. Mrs. D’Alexander came up with the idea to read to the elementary students from Google Meets to connect everyone even though we were separated. So far this has been a successful project, especially this year where 48 read alouds were conducted throughout the week.
One of the main pillars of the National Honor Society is community service and this is such a great way for NHS seniors to give back to the younger kids during their last year at Woodland. It brings a lot of joy not only to the little kids, but also to those reading to them, to peek back into their childhood.
“How rewarding it is for them to give back” one last chance to give back to elementary school,” said D’Alexander
Mrs. D’Alexander can speak from experience that most kids were nervous, but ended up loving it, and would even be willing to read to the kids again.
“For me it’s a National Honor society member and how they feel after reading. And they all come out loving the experience,” said D’Alexander.
The main reason these readings are such a big success is because of the members of National Honor Society and how much they love doing these readings.
Most members do wish that they could read to the kids in person because the members feel it would be a better way to really convey the book and connect with the kids. But, they still think the readings went over well even though they were on a Google Meet. At the end of the readings the kids were able to ask questions to the reader, ranging from questions about the book, to more personal questions, like the reader’s favorite color or if they have any pets.
But at the end of the meet the smiles on the kids’ faces said it all — the importance of reading to young children goes far beyond the pages of a book. Reading nurtures a love for learning, fosters creativity, and helps build connections that will last a lifetime. As the books were put away and the Google Meets ended, one thing was clear: the seeds of literacy had been sown, and these young readers were just beginning their journey.
