BUTTE — Here at West Elementary School, educators are focused on getting kids to read more and at an early age— because the sooner they start reading, the better it is for their educational development.
“I like this one and I really like this one. You can, like, forget yourself a little bit and you're like, ‘Huh, oh no, is this character, is he going to get hurt? Is he going to fall off a cliff? What’s going to happen,’” said sixth-grader Helen Lucon.
Providing interesting books for students is the best way to get them reading.
“Any time we can get kids to read and they improve … we were about 70 percent proficient at the end of last year, so that’s always a good step in the right direction,” said reading coach Jennifer Liva.
It’s been a year since West Elementary participated in the Scripps Howard Foundation and KXLF’s "If You Give a Child a Book..." campaign.
“It went really well; all the kids loved to pick out a book of their choice and the books that looked fun to them, and that’s part of getting them to read is finding something that excites them,” said Liva.
I asked one student if she thinks reading makes her a better student all around.
“I think so, because you have to read whether you’re in math or English or reading, or really all those subjects,” said sixth-grader June Todorovich.
Improving reading fluency is part of the goal to make better students. And it seems to be working for some students.
“I kind of just like how sometimes you kind of get pulled into the book and you’re like, ‘Well, I can’t stop reading this,’” said Todorovich.
