Lights, Camera, READ!!!

Hi, my name is Mrs. Witham, and I’m a bookaholic. I consume a pack of books a day.

Audio books, books on my Kindle, paper books, you name it! My greatest indulgence is picture books. Not only am I addicted to books, I am a dealer . . . a book pusher. My targets? Students. I won’t stop until every child I interact with has a book habit.

Technology provides an amazing opportunity for book pushers. The students and I have been creating video recordings of book readings, and we use the videos to communicate with our families and reflect upon ouroral reading skills. I select books that suit the personality and reading ability for each group or child. The kids and I decide how to make the stories interesting. We use props and dramatic voices for some. Other books are read in English and Spanish. Dr. Seuss’s birthday provided wonderful motivation for an author study. The possibilities are only limited by our imagination.

I am blessed to work with students in grades preschool through kindergarten. This activity engages students at all levels. My older students tutor younger readers, and we all enjoy finding ways to ‘spice it up.‘ The videos have been a wonderful communication tool. 5th through 12th grade students at our school have laptops. Most elementary students have siblings with computers that they can load and view the videos on. Parents are able to see and hear what their children are learning. This has been a wonderful tool with families where English is not spoken in the home.

Highlighting tape is used by the students to mark the parts they will read. A

ccommodations can be made for vast ability levels. More challenging sections are given to students who are more confident readers. Beginners focus on words they know and repetitive text. Books are read as a group, individually, and in pairs.

The project not only promotes reading and vocabulary development, it has add

ed to our sense of community and togetherness. Students of all ages request to be a part of this project. We are all teachers AND students. Need a good book? We can hook you up!