EIPS Schools Celebrate Reading
Elk Island Public Schools
Submitted
Sherwood Park, AB. — Students and staff throughout Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) are taking a digital approach to this year’s Read In Week—an annual initiative that promotes a lifelong love of reading. While schools can’t welcome guests to read in their classrooms, they’re finding inventive ways to bring the spirit of Read In Week to students, and promote literacy awareness at a distance.
“It’s Read In Week’s 31st year, and even if we can’t celebrate in the usual way, it’s important to keep the tradition going,” says Heather Balog, an Elementary Literacy Consultant at EIPS. “The theme this year is Read Around the World and it couldn’t be more appropriate. Even though we can’t visit each other, technology allows us to connect with readers and audiences around the world, and opens up entirely new ways to celebrate literacy.”
To this end, many schools are participating in Global Read Aloud (GRA), an annual event that runs concurrently with Read In Week. GRA connects more than one-million students from more than 80 countries around the world through a shared love of literacy. Through video chat, teachers link their classrooms and read stories together, with one voice.
Some of the other activities planned within the Division include book giveaways, dressing up as beloved book characters, reading challenges, lesson plans focused around literacy and storytelling, and guest readers who are visiting classrooms through video chat. These guest readers include community members, EIPS trustees and administration, local MLAs and local municipal representatives.
As always, the spirit of Read In Week extends beyond the classroom. EIPS schools, staff, students and community members are invited to participate in Read In Week by reading themselves, or connecting with friends and family to read through video chat. Throughout the week, participants can also share what they learn on social media using the hashtag #eipsreads.