Spotlights
Reading helps Woodmoor Elementary School students understand nature
03/04/09
Reading helps Woodmoor Elementary School students understand nature

Jawan Lewis stands before a “WOW chart” where students capture interesting facts they have just learned.

“Ask me anything!”

That’s what the students in Room 18 say when you enter their classroom at Woodmoor Elementary School in Woodlawn. The students, members of Alice Scott’s second grade class, are especially eager to talk about bugs, a subject they have researched with great interest.

Scott’s students are among the thousands across Baltimore County participating this year in the 100 Book Challenge and Reading Research Lab, created by the American Reading Co. Both initiatives encourage students to read independently during the school day and at home and support students in increasing their reading skill levels.  

Reading helps Woodmoor Elementary School students understand nature
Indya Garrett and Khalid Beatty created illustrations and text for their books about bugs

As a part of the Reading Research Lab, each one of Scott’s students selected a bug to study. They used books included in the program and research done on the Internet to answer questions found on their research cards.

Now these bug “experts” challenge visitors to ask them questions. Makhigha Davis can describe the physical characteristics, habitat, and life cycle of a bee. Christian Lesane can identify the diet and behavior of a caterpillar. Favour Eze can illustrate a ladybug with ease. 




Reading helps Woodmoor Elementary School students understand nature
Erin Jordan, Jaraya Bellamy, and Favour Eze display their work.

Scott encouraged her students to let their writing and artistic creativity flow during the process of researching and then publishing books on their bugs. With the help of the school’s Reading Research Lab site coordinator, Tricia George, the class developed charts with interesting facts about bugs and a vocabulary “web” listing technical words that the children found as they read (such as exoskeleton, semi-hibernation, and larvae) and their definitions.

The published books authored by each student are a testament that these second graders are well on their way to becoming future researchers and authors.




Reading helps Woodmoor Elementary School students understand nature

Top row - Jawan  Lewis, Lyriq Hawkins, and Cobe BrownBottom row - Sharon Johnson and Sergine Quenum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Story by Tricia George, Instructional Coach and Reading Research Lab site coordinator, Woodmoor Elementary School. Photos courtesy of Woodmoor Elementary School.

<< more Spotlight items >>