Second-grade students at Kimball Elementary School joined together and read 100 books. The students learned the importance of reading and said they think the task is fun. Second-grader Ben Serbus said, “When I get bored of watching TV or playing with toys, I read books.” His classmates agreed. “Reading could be funner for kids than just sitting there,” student Kenzie Thompson said. Kenzie Libbesmeier added, “Reading books helps make you read better.” The young readers made it clear that the benefits of reading are endless. Together, the students in Mrs. Dockendorf’s and Mrs. Sides’ second-graders participated in the Scholastic Book Clubs “Classrooms Care.” Every time students read a book, they came to school and signed the Scholastic poster. Student Stacy Hurrle said, “I read four books.” Consequently, she signed her name on four books on the poster. “I read every day.” Second-grade teacher Mrs. Dockendorf said that the children benefited from the experience. “This fall, reading meant a lot to the second-graders. That’s because every book we read helped us give books to children who don’t have them.” The second-grade teachers challenged their students to read 100 books by Dec. 31 of this year. The children completed the task in about one month. As a result, 200 books will be donated to the following organizations, First Book, I Have a Dream Foundation, Reach Out and Read, and Save the Children. The second-grade class also received recognition by having their names listed on the official ClassroomsCare Web site. Sharing what they learned While the kids were excited to earn books for other children, they were enthusiastic to share what they learned through their books. Libbesmeier said that her favorite book was the “Berenstain Bears and the Bad Habit.” She described the book. “The bears bite their nails and don’t have them anymore. They have to put tape on them and others tease them, but in the end they stop their habit.” Thompson enjoyed the book “Grumpy Bunny Goes to School.” “The grumpy bunny doesn’t want to go to school. He goes and the teacher is gone and the principal asks him to take the class. He gets into a big mess.” Serbus preferred a scary selection, his favorite was “Scooby Doo and the Spooky Strike Out.” “Scooby and Shaggy won tickets to the ball game because they ate 50 pizzas. [At the game] they see a spooky umpire. The umpire says the team is cursed and in the end they found out it (the spooky umpire) was the news lady.” Hurrle also liked reading the Berenstain Bears. Her book of choice was “No Girls Allowed.” “When Sister was little she always wanted to tag along with the boys. She wanted to play the marble game but she always screwed things up. Then, she got better than them. She ran faster, climbed higher and won all of their marbles.” Hurrle said this made the boys mad and they created their own clubhouse, where girls weren’t allowed. She said it ended well with everyone playing together. After sharing the stories of the books, the students remembered who taught them to read. Libbesmeier credited her older sister. Thompson said her grandpa bought her books and she read them to him. Serbus learned from his mom and dad, and Hurrle was taught by her older brother. All were proud of their skill. They were equally excited to share books with others. Mrs. Dockendorf summarized this with her comment, “This fall, our class is proud that the reading we did will give the gift of reading to others.”
