PORT ANGELES — Reading or recess, what do you prefer?
Ask most elementary school students that question and the resounding answer is recess.
But that’s not true for many of the first- and second- graders at Dry Creek Elementary School in Port Angeles.
A new reading program implemented at the school in October has the students so excited about reading that they’re leaving the playground early to do it.
“It’s the love of reading that has to go along with the instruction of reading,” says Dry Creek Elementary Principal Mary Hebert.
The new program, called the Dragon Plan after the school’s mascot, abandons the traditional method of removing students from the classroom who need special instruction.
Instead, the entire class goes to a special reading room where students are separated into five groups, each receiving individual instruction at their own level from a teacher, reading specialist or para-educator for about 30 minutes, four days a week.
“By pulling everyone together into one team that makes this happen,” Hebert says about the students’ enthusiasm for reading.
With the traditional method, more advanced students are often neglected because a teacher’s time and energy can only be spent in one place.
Lisa Lisk, a second-grade teacher at Dry Creek, says having each student reading with guidance at their own level is the most exciting part about the new program.
Stigma taken away
The program also helps eliminate the stigma for students who need more help because children are not aware which table has the advanced readers and which table has those who are struggling.
“They’re so absorbed in their book, they don’t notice the other books” other groups are reading, Hebert says.
Having small groups also helps teachers individualize learning plans to match students’ learning styles.
The four-day reading schedule is also a benefit because it allows teachers, para-educators and reading specialists to meet Fridays and assess each student’s strengths and weaknesses.
“I think it’s better for learning, because you’re not trying to pull things together,” on your own, says Linda Wolniewicz, a para-educator at Dry Creek for 10 years.
Before the Dragon Plan was implemented, Wolniewicz says she would have to try and catch up with teachers between classes or on their breaks, which did not provide enough time to fully assess each student’s need.
