Sharing the benefits and joy of reading together was the theme of a recent event at East Hartford Middle School. More than 100 middle school students, parents, younger siblings and other family members attended the 2nd Annual Family Literacy Night on November 28.
Attendees were able to rotate through several stations enjoying games and activities including blackout poetry, “Guess The Song”, literacy-themed trivia through Blooket, and creating their own bookmarks. One of the stations was a series of “book talks” where students could read and discuss selections from three new books they could take home for free.
One student said, "It was so much fun! Blackout poetry and Blooket was my favorite because I got to express my feelings through poetry, and I learned about different genres through the Blooket game."
During the event, families were able to enter raffles to win Kindles or gift cards to Barnes and Noble. A special prize went to the student who had the best costume representing a book character.
“It was wonderful to see so many members of the school community, including students, teachers, and administrators celebrating reading together with parents and families. This event sends a strong message about EHMS as a culture of readers!” said Gaunet Davis, English/Language Arts teacher who organized the event along with English/Language Arts Teacher Tanya Richards.
A highlight from the night, Davis said, was “Café Style Reading” where students read their own writing out loud in the Media Center. After listening to these middle school students, one of the younger attendees at the event was inspired to take the floor and try to read out loud himself.
Davis said, “Tanya, myself and his mother all agreed that, ‘This is what it's all about.’”