Kids get a boost with CCISD's summer reading program
By WENDY SLEDD
Special to Leader-Press
The Little Red Hen may not have gotten any assistance in planting her seeds in the traditional story of this feathered fowl teaching the lesson of pitching in to help others. But, she got a lot of helping hands from Cove ISD elementary students to make pizza.
In the second week of CCISD’s elementary summer reading camp, students read the book, The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) by Philemon Sturges. The story of the industrious Little Red Hen is not a new one. But in this storyline, this particular hen spies a can of tomato sauce in her cupboard and decides to make a pizza. The students loved following along as the hen, with no help from her friends the duck, the dog, and the cat, went through the steps of making a pizza-shopping for supplies, making the dough, and adding the toppings.
“We did a whole group brainstorm of the materials and ingredients we would need to make pizzas,” CCISD Elementary Teacher Amy Carlson said. “The next day we made mini pizzas using canned biscuits, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Students made their individual pizzas and baked them in a toaster oven.”
Summer camper Eric Johnson said he enjoyed the familiar tale with a fresh, new twist.
“My favorite part was when the animals helped with the dishes,” Johnson said. “I am pretty sure they learned a valuable lesson about doing something with others to help."
In Sturges’ version of the story, the hen's friends come through in the end and help out in a refreshing and surprising way despite their initial resistance. Therefore, they all got to enjoy the pizza which was student Jonathan Gutierrez’s favorite part.
"I enjoyed reading The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) because I like pizza,” he said. “My favorite part was when they all ate pizza."
Our focus during reading camp was to build comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary. Teachers and students read various books throughout the week with one book leading up to a special project.
“Reading camp has been so much fun for the kids and adults,” said Holly Prax, a 2nd grade teacher at Fairview/Miss Jewell Elementary. “We are able to take a hands on approach that excites all of us.”