One School One Book and The World According to Humphrey...the Hamster

The secret has been revealed.  This morning at an assembly for the elementary students our inaugural program One School One Book was unveiled.  What is One School One Book (OSOB)?  It's a school wide program targeted at families and increasing literacy at home together.  Each family will receive a copy of the book, The World According to Humphrey, a bookmark, reading completion certificates, and a flyer that includes the reading schedule and tips for reading aloud at home.  Most of the time, the reading assignment for the night is to read one chapter.  They are short, about 5-10 pages.  The ideas is to involve EVERYONE in the family.  Gather all the kids and parents, heck aunt, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are welcome too.  Sit down together and read the chapter together.  Take turns passing the book around to read and talk about it afterwards.

Each morning, there will be questions asked to the students over the morning announcements.  As a class, they will submit their answers via email to Mrs. Sieh.  If the class answers the question correctly, they get a point.  We will see how many points each class has at the end of the reading period.  In addition, for every child that completes the weekly reading selection, the can fill out a certificate and bring back to school on Monday to be entered for a drawing.  Prizes will be awarded!

To read a description of the book, click here:  Humphrey

I hope that you will all get on board with our inaugural OSOB program enjoy reading about Humphrey.  The students were all expecting a real hamster...we will see if one shows up!


Here is the letter than went out to students today about the program:

Dear Parent/Guardian:

This month our school will be embarking on a special project, an all school book club called One School, One Book.  Every family will receive a copy of the same book – Betty G. Birney’s The World According to Humphrey - and will be asked to read it at home over the month of February.  I am personally asking you to make the time so your family can participate in this special activity.

Reading aloud at home is valuable because it better prepares your child to be an effective reader.  But it is also a fun, worthwhile family activity.  Through our One School, One Book program, we aim to build a community of readers at our school.  Everyone - students, parents, teachers, even administrative staff - will be participating, and we can all reap the many benefits.

Your child will receive his/her copy of The World According to Humphrey at a special school-wide assembly, February 6^th, introducing the program and the book.  When the book comes home, you will receive a tailored reading schedule so you can keep up at home.  Generally you will be asked to read a chapter a night – about 15 minutes per night.

In school, your child will be invited to answer daily trivia questions to encourage and reward attentive, aggressive listening.  You will soon find that your child will take pride in knowing and anticipating the details of the story.  In class, there may be various activities which discuss or explore the book.   You will want to make sure your family keeps up so your child can be included.  Throughout February, everyone will be talking about The World According to Humphrey!

One School, One Book is a novel program in that children at all grade levels will all be listening to the same book.  Strange or daring as that may seem, it actually makes sound educational sense.  Reading professionals recommend that you can and should read material out loud that is beyond a child’s own reading level.  And we also believe that you can and should continue reading chapter books with your older children, even when they are able to read by themselves.  We have selected a title that can be followed, understood, and enjoyed by younger students, but that will still captivate and stimulate older children.

Good luck!  I hope to talk with both you and your student sometime this month about the adventures of Humphrey.  “When a whole school reads a book, there’s a lot to talk about.”  With your help, we can build a Community of Readers at our school.

-- Mrs. Sieh, Elementary Principal