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Battle of the Books
Reading Madness hits Struthers Elementary
Video
Amy Thompson, third-grade teacher, speaks on her idea of a March Madness style reading tournament for her students.
By Sarah Lehr
STRUTHERS
A battle of the books is raging at Struthers Elementary School.
Third-grade teacher Amy Thompson has created a March Madness-style competition to get kids excited about reading.
Each day, the students read a new book. After every two books, the students vote on which story deserves to advance in the bracket.
The activity draws inspiration from the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament.
“The kids love it,” Thompson said. “They are always asking when we are going to read the book for the day.”
Though the books haven’t yet advanced beyond the “Sweet Sixteen,” front-runners have emerged.
Joey Pupin takes seriously his role as a student referee. He gives high marks to Mordicai Gerstein’s “The Man Who Walked Between the Towers.”
The picture book tells the true story of a French artist who walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers in New York City in 1974.
“It’s cool because he gets to do tricks,” Joey said, sagely.
Last week, students gathered around eagerly to judge another contender, “Henry’s Freedom Box” by Ellen Levine.
The work of historical fiction dramatizes the life of a slave who escaped to freedom by mailing himself in a crate.
As she read the book aloud, student teacher Arianne Axiotis asked the students what Henry should do about his plight.
Tommy Mitcheltree suggested calling the president – at the time, “probably Lincoln or Buchanan,” he said.
This provoked a discussion among the third-graders about whether phones existed in the 1800s. One student hypothesized that people had only flip phones.
After they read each book, the children completed comprehension activities designed to meet Common Core standards.
One assignment was to write a four-paragraph essay on the classroom’s Chromebook tablets.
“We’ve incorporated technology in that way,” Thompson said. “Anything to get a book in their hands.”