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Teachers Hit The Books During Library Marathon

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By MEGAN HUSSEY, Tribune correspondent

Published: October 21, 2007

PORT RICHEY - Bunnie McCormack's T-shirt read, 'Laugh it up at your library' - a fitting motto for the Chasco Middle School media specialist to be touting Monday, when she began her two-day reading marathon.

Twelve teachers participated in the event, sharing their favorite stories with their classes, in an effort to show how fun reading can be.

'So often, teachers listen to children read. Now, they get to hear us read and to perform the book for them,' said intensive reading teacher Tammy Casanova, who performed a joint reading of 'The Witch and the Broomstick' with language arts teacher Gerilyn Laney.

'This event allows the students to see us in a positive light and not just as disciplinarians.'

Others got creative, too.

McCormack, for example, used a nose puppet to perform 'Norbert (the Nose from Jupiter)' and joined reading specialist Kathy Alves to present a puppet show version of 'The Serenade of the Singing Goats.'

She came up with the reading marathon this year as something the school could do as part of the American Library Association's Teen Read Week. More than 4,800 school and public libraries registered to participate in the event last year, according to the ALA's Web site.

The event, which is in its 10th year, encourages teens to explore what's inside their school and community libraries and to read for fun.

The library association's effort inspired McCormack, who found something that worked in the reading marathon.

'I (asked) myself, 'What can I do that I've never done?'' she said. 'Throughout the reading marathon, I've noticed how entertained the kids are by the different genres of books read.'

The lineup of books covered Monday and Tuesday was diverse. Marty Frank, a seventh-grade reading teacher, presented 'The Cay,' a World War II tale. Eighth-grade math teacher Marty Richardson read 'The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle,' which explains the origins of common objects.

Students seemed to appreciate the reading marathon's mix of fun and education.

'I'm learning new words, and I loved it when Ms. McCormack made the nose puppet talk,' said seventh-grader Laura Anderson, 12.

As they read various stories, the teachers and media specialists passed along information about the books and authors and encouraged students to check them out and keep reading.

'I created this event to correspond with the Sunshine State reading standards, and the students are really responding,' McCormack said.

For information about the ALA's Teen Read Week, go to www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teen reading/trw/trw2007/first.cfm.

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