HOLLADAY — The guided reading program at Howard R. Driggs Elementary School is now taking off, thanks to a grant from the 100% for Kids Credit Union Education Foundation.
The $5,000 grant is being used to help build up a guided reading library that will help K-6 students to learn at their own pace and receive and increase academic achievement in reading, science and social studies, said Karen Israelsen, reading specialist for Driggs Elementary.
"It widens their knowledge in so many ways," she said. "It can teach about commas and mechanics of writing, for example."
Students in the guided reading program start with reader books at the first-grade level and can use them all the way to sixth grade. However, Israelsen said, at this point her main concern is teaching grades 1-3 with the materials she was able to purchase through the grant. The money wasn't sufficient to buy the level readers for all grades as it costs $6-8 for each book.
Basically how the guided reading program works is, the students are put into small groups of no more than six, and they sit around a table with Israelsen, all reading the same book. Israelsen discusses the book with the group to make sure they all understood it and talks about any new concepts it might present to them.
The level readers Israelsen bought are primarily nonfiction and tend to cross curricula, or be applicable in more areas than reading. For example, one set of guided readers may have books on math, science and social studies, so it introduces students to those subjects as well as helps with their reading skills.
Being introduced to these topics gives the students a background in them, so when they learn about the concepts later on in their education, they will already know something about them. If they don't have that background knowledge, they won't have anything to hook the new information to and it goes in one ear and out the other, Israelsen said.
Even though the books are expensive, Israelsen feels they're worth it.
"The kids are so interested in the books. If they start early with science curriculum, they will have background knowledge before learning it in whatever grade it's taught in," she said. "They will have something to hook their science knowledge to."
Each year the school receives a certain amount of money for textbooks, but once that money is gone, there isn't any more for materials such as the level readers. This is where the foundation comes in.
"The foundation was formed to try to assist education in Utah, to fill the gaps in education where the district and schools don't have the budget and to enhance education," said Liz Bourne, foundation coordinator.
Israelsen says the level readers broaden students' perspectives and makes a plea for any community members to make donations to help buy more readers for the school.
"They (the students) need to broaden their knowledge to the things the world has for them," she said. "It's worth it because the kids' little faces light up and they want to read. It makes all the difference to have this kind of reading material."
E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com