April 27, 2001
Program to make reading fun
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
FOSTORIA -- Using her best character voice, Lynn Searles made youngsters see in their minds.
From the antics of a mouse who made a wish for a friend, to a lonely fish that became a hero, Searles helped about 20 children and their parents experience the thrill of reading Thursday night.
They were taking part in a Story Night in the library of Riley Elementary. Searles, the Fostoria Community Schools Title I reading coordinator, instituted the program this year at each of the elementaries, and for sixth graders at Fostoria Middle School.
After stressing to parents the necessity of reading to their children from the time they are very young, Searles read to the group.
Her first selection involved two mice. One was an ordinary mouse, named Alexander. The other was a wind-up toy named Willie. Showing the group the vivid illustrations, Searles said that it was important to look at the pictures with your children before reading the book.
"Alexander is the real guy,'' she said, addressing her comments to the children. "How can you tell?''
"Right, he's inside the cup,'' she said, pointing to the cover illustration. "A wind up mouse couldn't get up there. Reading is thinking.''
"When you are sharing a story with your children at home, stop and talk about the pictures,'' she added.
Using her best "mouse'' voice, Searles shrieked to express the character Alexander's terror at being chased by a broom. "I try to use good expression when I read,'' she explained.
When coming across the word "envy'' in the story, Searles stopped to ask the children if they knew what it meant. When the mouse's voice was quivering, she asked them what they thought Alexander was feeling.
Alexander's character was tested when he wished to change to be like his friend, the stuffed mouse Willie. After discovering Willie had been thrown out with all of the other old toys, he gave up his wish to be a toy. Instead, he wished for his friend to be a real mouse like him.
"The main character, good ol' Alexander, changed his wish for his friend,'' Searles said. "Sometimes we talk about wishes, and what the character has done. This story is rich in language. Let them hear it from you first, so that when they read it they will understand it.''
The next reading selection was entitled "Big Al,'' and was about a fish. Showing the children the cover of the book, she asked them to guess what kind of fish Al was.
"He kind of looks like seaweed,'' one young girl offered.
"Is he a handsome fish?'' Searles asked. "She thinks he might be a blowfish,'' she said, pointing out another child's suggestion.
"This way, you get the children thinking about the story,'' Searles told the parents. "They will share what they know about fish, the ocean. It's amazing how much they know. They hear it from TV, books and from you.''
Opening up to the first page, Searles held the book away from her.
"Whoa ... stand back, he is so scary,'' she exclaimed.
She said she felt sad when she read about how lonely Al was. As he tried different ways to make the other fish like him, Searles had the children imagine what else he could do.
As the turning point of the story approached, Searles had the children guess what would happen next. A fisherman's net caught the other fish, and Al saved the day.
"Yeah, we can applaud now,'' Searles said, inspiring all to join in clapping. "All right ... he saved his little friends.''
However, Al got stuck in the net himself.
"How can we get Al back?'' she asked them. One child guessed correctly; that the fishermen thought Al so ugly they threw him back.
he story helps to explain the concept of friendship, Searles said.
Searles said that Story Night was instituted by the Continuous Improvement Plan Committee of the school district. She plans on continuing them with more volunteer readers next year, and begin sponsoring book club nights in each elementary.