 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
With a knowing look, he read them the book
By DONNA WINCHESTER, Times Staff Writer MADEIRA BEACH -- Travis Wert remembers a middle school student reading One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to him when he was just a little kid. On Friday, it was the Madeira Beach Middle School sixth-grader's turn to read to an elementary student during the school's fourth annual celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday. Hunkered over a copy of The Butter Battle Book, Travis read to Madeira Beach Elementary pre-K student Allen Jones, 5. Allen listened closely, smiling at the nonsense rhymes and helping Travis turn the pages. Admitting that he doesn't read Dr. Seuss as much as he used to, Travis said he still thinks the books are fun. Madeira Beach Middle School was one of several Pinellas County schools that participated in Read Across America, an annual celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday. The students invited the elementary children to join them in the media center, where they shared Seuss classics such as The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. "There's a buzz," library information specialist Nancy Millichamp said, describing the sound of children reading to each other. "It's a positive, wonderful noise." The annual celebration, which is a project of the National Education Association, is a good experience for both elementary and middle school students, Millichamp said. The younger children get a thrill from having the older ones read to them, and the older children get to practice their reading skills before a non-judgmental audience. The opportunity is especially helpful for struggling readers, Millichamp said, because it increases their confidence and their self-esteem while deepening their appreciation for reading. Although children tend to lose interest in Dr. Seuss around third grade, their interest is rekindled when they read to the younger students, Millichamp said. "They think Dr. Seuss is just for little kids, but on this day, when they go back and rediscover these books, they enjoy them just as much as when they were little," she said.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks |
