Frank Ohl students are wild about reading

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Neighbors | Pam Jadue.Frank Ohl students Alize Richard (left), Julia Mullins (middle) and Talia Diaz were brought on stage during impersonator Ronnie Navarra’s performance Feb. 5 as part of the school's reading program.

By PAM JADUE

neighbors@vindy.com

Aiming for the “wow factor,” the staff of Frank Ohl Intermediate School in Austintown provided the fourth- and fifth-grade students with a unique kickoff to their annual reading incentives campaign.

Students were treated to an Elvis experience on Feb. 5 — complete with a rhinestone cape, karate kicks, Teddy bears and scarves by Elvis impersonator Ronnie Navarra. A Friday afternoon concert was planned by literacy coach Lisa Marucci as a springboard to a future reading experience.

To open the event, students performed cheers with reading promotion themes. That was followed by a presentation from the Frank Ohl student choir. The choir, accompanied by director Dan Forsberg, sang their own version of “All Shook Up” with words expressing “a love for reading.”

Students clapped and sang along as Navarra performed many of Elvis’ biggest hits with numbers including performance help from the students. He interacted with his audience, briefly speaking of the importance of reading.

“The staff has an entire playbook of activities planned to promote reading during this campaign. One of our goals is for students to read books of different genres,” said Frank Ohl Principal Dennis Rice. “Included in the reading plan for fifth grade is the book “All Shook Up.”

The plan is to incorporate reading activities that encourage individual skills throughout the curriculum.

For the months of February and March, the students are asked to read books from different genres. Students will choose from biographies, fables, folktales, mysteries, nonfiction, poetry and science fiction books to read during the campaign. Each student will keep a reading log to track their progress and help them reach their individual reading goals.

Teachers will also model reading to the students with one of the first books planned to be read to fifth grade being the realistic fiction book “All Shook Up,” described as a funny tale by Ohio author Shelley Pearsall.

The chapter book is written from the point of view of a 13-year-old boy whose father has lost his job and is forced to earn a living as an Elvis impersonator.

Pearsall will visit the school and speak to the students on her experiences as a writer and reader after the students have read the book. Friday’s event left the students with a clear picture of what Pearsall’s character experienced in the book and an incentive to read the book.