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Overcast Reading event highlights culture mix
Sixth-graders at the Brooklyn Avenue School shared readings about various cultures at a Pick a Reading Partner event on Jan. 20.
“It was a wonderful experience for the children and the parents,” Principal Scott Comis said, adding that the cultural theme was a component added to celebrate the wealth of diversity in the community.
The PARP program (formerly Parents As Reading Partners), is a program that asks reading partners to read with children for at least 15 minutes per day, stressing the fact that reading can be fun as well as informative. The daily activity of reading together is designed to strengthen reading and communication skills as well as the child’s relationship with his or her reading partner.
Students read selections from either fiction or nonfiction works relating to their chosen culture, and posed comprehension questions to an audience of fellow students, parents, and faculty.
Comis said parents asked questions about other cultures with genuine curiosity. “I’ve never seen parents chime in,” he said, adding that there was a level of engagement and interest he hadn’t seen before. That same energy prompted Comis to participate. He asked the audience if they’d like to hear one of his favorite stories.
“It was spontaneous,” he said of deciding to read Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree.”
In continuing with interactive reading events, the school is planning a day in the spring for community members to come read to classes and share their appreciation for their favorite works.
