Posted: 10/8/03

In Columbus, reading becomes a team sport

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

On a regular basis, kids at Columbus Elementary are meeting with coaches to discuss plans and strategies. But these arenít meetings for football or volleyball players.

At Columbus Elementary School this fall, newly formed book club have adopted the ìteamî format as a way to enhance reading and develop a lifelong love and appreciation for reading while encouraging parent-child relationships. And itís all being done with books.

The program saw its official launch on Oct. 2 and is being funded by the Columbus Parent-Teacher Organization. The CPTO has acquired 20 books (10 copies of each title) after extensive summer research by parents, including Linda Kinkel who is spearheading the book club effort.

So far, 59 Columbus students have registered for the book clubs. At last Thursdayís meeting, about 40 kids were on hand for inaugural sessions with coaches and the selection of a first title for reading.

Kinkel said the program is a way to encourage kids to read, to have fun reading and to help build relationships between kids and parents.

Principal Neal Fox said the program was another positive extension of the school districtís emphasis on building reading skills. For Fox, the program is a way to encourage young people to continue to read for enjoyment as they grow older.

And such encouragement is needed, Fox said. He pointed to studies that show kindergarten students are 100 percent reading for enjoyment, but the number of students who read for enjoyment drops to 50 percent by Grade 4, to 27 percent by Grade 8 to 24 percent by Grade 12.

Encouraging students to read daily for pleasure should be a goal for all schools, Fox said.

Kinkel said the spark for a reading club came when she saw the enthusiasm for a book in her son. The idea of reading together is a natural way to build relationships between parents and kids at an early age, Kinkel said.

After extensive reading this summer, Kinkel said the CPTO provided funds to acquire the first collection of books for the clubs. Books in the collection cover a wide range of topics and reading levels.

A resource book contains possible discussion questions for each book. During regularly scheduled club meeting, the parent coach will lead a discussion on the selection of the month. Kids will come prepared for discussion thanks to parental engagement during home reading sessions.

Parents will play a key role in following through with the readings and setting the tone for the discussions, Kinkel said.

Thanks to the early success of the program, Kinkel says the CPTO hopes to expand its book collection. Grant applications have been submitted to Wal-Mart and Target to secure funding for the purchase of additional books, she said.

Top of Page