Idea to Use Next Year - Right to Read Week

Saint Mary’s School in Columbus develops an annual Right to Read Week celebration around a theme and works the theme in and out of the curriculum all year.  This year’s theme is Agriculture, and school librarian Annie Ruefle said “This theme has been just amazing!  There is SO much to cover - I feel as if we can't do it all justice - but I like that we are ‘planting the seed’ in our students’ minds how we need to be connected to - and grateful for — our agriculture world.”

Each class already made a field trip to a farm early in the school year. Ruefle continued, “We are celebrating Earth Day, too, on May 7, even though that is not the official Earth Day -- but we also know that everyday is Earth Day to a farmer.  Our students will celebrate and learn by doing projects and simple science experiments based on soil.” Also Saint Mary’s students wrote letters to all the county Farm Bureau offices asking what the major commodities in each county are as part of their study of Ohio agriculture. The students were thrilled with the responses; county offices sent all kinds of information to them.