A Visit to Dallas Center-Grimes

On Monday, October 2nd Polk Suburban UniServ Director Randy Richardson and I headed to Dallas Center-Grimes Elementary in Dallas Center. Here I was given the chance to read aloud to two separate fourth grade classes.

The first class we visited was of Mrs. Jeanne Peters. She had me read aloud from the chapter book The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney . It was a delightful book and the students filled me in on what they recalled from the last reading. I’ve included a bit from an online bookstore so you can have a flavor of the book too: Paperback, 144pp, Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group, and Age Range: 7 to 11 years.

From the Publisher
You can learn a lot about life by observing another species. That's what Humphrey was told when he was first brought to Room 26. And boy is it true! In addition to his classroom escapades, each weekend this amazing hamster gets to sleep over with a different student, like Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. and Speak-Up-Sayeh. Soon Humphrey learns to read, write, and even shoot rubber bands (only in self-defense, of course). Humphrey has friends, adventures, and a cage with a lock-that doesn't- lock. His life would be perfect, if only the teacher, Mrs. Brisbane, wasn't out to get him!


The second class I had a chance to read to was Mrs. Tami Dixon’s class. Mrs. Dixon’s class had been listening to Half Magic by Edward Eager, N.M. Bodecker (Illustrator). I read aloud a page the class had heard in their last read aloud and as we proceeded, I would stop and ask the class to fill me in so I could make the reading connections. They did a phenomenal job and I enjoyed the book nearly as much as they were!

A bit of the background in case you’re interested in this book: Paperback, 208pp, Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books, and Age Range: Young Adult.

The annotation stated:
Faced with a dull summer in the city, Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha suddenly find themselves involved in a series of extraordinary adventures after Jane discovers an ordinary-looking coin that seems to grant wishes.