Brooke Students 'Drop Everything and Read'

Brooke Elementary School's kindergarten through fourth graders have been celebrating books this week as part of the National Education Association's Read Across America week.

Friday March 1 is designated by the NEA as "Read Across America" Day. Each day for the past week, students at Brooke have been encouraged to "Drop Everything and Read!" by reading specialist Dr. Marilyn Nepps.

Stufdents spend fifteen minutes of "DEAR time", as Nepps called it, in class reading their favorite book, or having a teacher read to them.

Each grade level decorated the hallway leading to their rooms. Kindergarteners did One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish; first grade did The Lorax; second grade did The Cat in the Hat; third grade did Green Eggs and Ham and fourth grade did Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Students have also celebrated the week by having a theme for each day.

"Monday we wore crazy socks and shoes," Nepps said. "Tuesday they wore a shirt from someplace they'd been, Wednesday we wore pajamas, and today [Thursday] we're wearing bright colors."

Friday is red and white day and the students will be wearing a Dr. Seuss hat or their favorite hat.

Also on Friday, students will have green eggs and ham in the cafeteria and will be taking the Reader's oath, which reads:

I promise to read
Each day and each night.
I know it's the key
To growing up right.

I'll read to myself,
I'll read to a crowd.
It makes no difference
If silent or loud.

I'll read at my desk,
At home and at school,
On my bean bag or bed,
By the fire or pool.

Each book that I read
Puts smarts in my head,
'Cause brains grow more thoughts
The more they are fed.

So I take this oath
To make reading my way
Of feeding my brain
What it needs every day.