Early childhood education majors from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will celebrate Read Across America Day on March 1 when they visit Maxwell Elementary School (Hempfield Area School District) to present a program to the 67 second graders there. The program will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. In addition to celebrating reading and Dr. Seuss, the Pitt-Greensburg students, in partnership with WQED, will also encourage the young students to write and participate in the annual PBS KIDS Write Contest.
Taking the lead in organizing the event are five early childhood education majors:
- Gina Wojtowicz, of North Huntingdon, PA;
- Kim Ruffner, of Plum, PA;
- Amber Bright, of Export, PA;
- Aubrey Mollenauer, of Hopewell, PA; and
- Madison Ramsdofer, of Johnstown, PA.
Twenty-five early childhood education majors from Pitt-Greensburg will lead the second graders through activities at stations throughout the room. Those activities will focus on the steps in developing a draft of a story that include creating characters, plot, settings, illustrations, and story boards.
“The partnership with PBS and WQED gives our pre-service teachers the opportunity to work with some of our littlest learners in celebration of READ Across America. We are always eager to partner with neighboring school districts,” said Jeanne Burth, EdD, associate professor of Education at Pitt-Greensburg. Burth mentors the early childhood education majors through the process of developing the program and activities for the day. “For the second graders, it is an opportunity to learn and practice skills in a fun, interactive environment.”
Burth continued, “The second graders will develop a draft of a story, and their classroom teachers will work with them to refine the story for the contest entry. Our pre-service teachers will gain more experience working with elementary-age students. Each experience makes them stronger in their abilities to manage and lead classroom instruction. Beyond the skills of delivering the short activities, pre-service teachers will deliver the same lesson to different groups of second graders, learning that the same lesson can go many different ways because of the levels, learning styles, and personalities of the students with whom they are working.”
Throughout their four years, Pitt-Greensburg early childhood education majors have multiple experiential learning opportunities that culminate in their student-teaching assignments. Many of the activities are community-service related, like PITT Pals and the Greensburg Salem Learn to Succeed After-School Program. Others, like Read Across America, PBS KIDS Write contest kickoff, and Read for LIFELong Learning, focus on helping local elementary students develop their literacy skills.
Since 2014, Pitt-Greensburg’s Education Department has partnered with PBS/WQED to host a kickoff event in Westmoreland County for the annual writing contest that is open to children in grades kindergarten through five. The PBS KIDS Write Contest is designed to empower children to celebrate creativity and build literacy skills by writing and illustrating their own stories. The contest opens in January and runs through March.
Read Across America is a national event usually held March 2 and organized by the National Education Association (NEA) to encourage people of all ages to read—especially through a shared love of Dr. Seuss and other authors.
“In recent years, the celebration of Dr. Seuss Day changed to Read Across America in order to celebrate so many devoted authors and their writings that have the ability to transform print into personal connections,” explained Burth. “Books, such as ‘I Love You the Purplest’ (Barbara M. Joosse/Mary Whyte) and ‘Love You Forever’ (Robert Munsch), often have more meaning for adults who have more life experiences than the children for whom they are written. Classics, like ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ (Margery Williams), which tells the story of unconditional love, and ‘The Emperor’s Clothes’ (Starbright Foundation), which teaches us not to take ourselves too seriously, are favorites for all ages. Read Across America is a day to connect to those cherished stories and to help our young learners to appreciate the magic in words.”