Wagoner school reading program earns international award

By Cathy Spaulding
Phoenix Staff Writer

April 24, 2007 12:18 am

— WAGONER — By replacing a magnetic C with a magnetic F, Ellington Elementary School first-grader Savannah Dieter shows teacher Karen Harlow how she can make a whole new word.
In another classroom, kindergartners tell reading teacher Judy Hall how Cocoa the Cat stopped killing birds.
In the school’s hall, four bicycles hang from walls as incentives to get students to read even more.
Ellington educators can’t point to a single program that makes their school so successful at reading.
“It’s teamwork,” said kindergarten teacher Lindsey Butler.
Officials with the Oklahoma Reading Association noted such teamwork by awarding Ellington with its 2007 Exemplary Reading Program Award. School officials will pick up the award May 13 at the International Reading Association’s annual convention in Toronto.
A press release for the International Reading Association described Ellington’s program as “a balanced comprehensive literacy program.”
“Based in reading research, all students receive daily practice in guided/small group reading, independent reading, writing and working with words,” the release said about the school, which serves kindergarten and first grades. “Technology, including Smart Boards in each room, help students read online books and practice skills. Teachers provide a variety of literacy experiences.”
Butler, and first-grade teacher Amy Cantrell, attributed their school’s reading success to a cooperative effort among teachers, administrators, parents, even the community.
“Our administration is very supportive,” Cantrell said. “They let us do our own programs that are research-based.”
An educated faculty also helps, Butler said. “70 percent of our teachers have Master’s degrees in reading, early childhood education or school administration.”
Butler said the school does not use any particular reading curriculum, except to meet the state-mandated P.A.S.S. objectives, curricula for each grade level. P.A.S.S. stands for Priority Academic Student Skills.
Guided reading plays a big part in the school’s program, she said. Guided reading involves putting students into small groups, according to their ability to read, for 30 minutes of intense work.
“It’s reading aloud, it’s comprehension, it’s phonics, it’s spelling,” Butler said.
On Monday, Hall’s group of kindergartners talked about what they learn as they read the Cocoa the Cat book.
“It’s sad that the cat was killing birds,” said Baylee Nicely. She said the cat stopped killing birds when people put a bell around its neck.
Later, Baylee talked about how valuable the reading program is: “It makes your brain smart.”
“And reading is a good habit — isn’t it?” said classmate Zadie Norman.
Cantrell said this group of kindergartners already was reading as well as first-graders should in the middle of the school year.
But the school’s reading program won’t stop there. Reading classrooms have baskets of books, sorted according to different reading level, that go up to “chapter books” such as “Charlotte’s Web.”
The school also has an active Reading Recovery program, which pairs a teacher with a student struggling with reading.
“Our at-risk kids get a lot of extra help each day,” Harlow said. “Writing is a big part of our program.”
Kids also are involve in Accelerated Reader, in which students earn points for reading and comprehending books on a list.
Cantrell said the Ellington parent-teacher group has paid for a new bike for the boy and girl in each grade who tallies the most Accelerated Reader points.
The parents’ group “does all sorts of things,” Cantrell says. “They provide materials for our classes.”
Reach Cathy Spaulding at 918-684-2928 or Click Here to Send Email

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