At Saint Mary School we understand the importance of creating a love of reading for all our students. Research shows "that children who don't learn to read by the end of third grade are likely to remain poor readers for the rest of their lives, and they're likely to fall behind in other academic areas, too. People who struggle with reading are more likely to drop out of high school, to end up in the criminal justice system, and to live in poverty" (Hard Words by Emily Hanford). Developing strong readers is crucial for success in other subjects and in life. For this reason, our teachers are dedicated to providing a quality literacy program that teaches foundational skills such as phonics, vocabulary development, and fluency while providing opportunities to read books that students enjoy. Our literacy instruction is supplemented with technological resources such as Epic, Accelerated Reader, Reading Eggs, and Freckle. And of course, there are fun, hands-on learning activities and events that happen in our classrooms daily and throughout the school year. Dr. Seuss Day in March (Read Across America Month) is just one fun activity that we use to promote literacy. Our youngest readers spend the day participating in different activities that revolve around Dr. Seuss's books and our teachers join in on the fun as well! We hope that by providing these experiences, and a classroom environment that promotes literacy instruction in whole and small groups, we can help build avid readers, life-long learners, and critical thinkers who will succeed academically.
