For weeks, McVay Elementary students looked to the display near the cafeteria for hints of the book they would be reading this year as part of the annual school-wide book read.
Pictures of dragons, New York, scenes from the book and author Zetta Elliot offered some clues. This week, the school hosted a spirit week where students could dress up in a daily theme such as animal print, a mythical creature and fiery colors — all hints of the title McVay staff revealed on Friday.
Staff members kicked-off festivities at a school-wide assembly on Friday with a skit where instructional coach Sandy McClain searched for missing dragons — played by Principal Jason Fullen and English Learners teacher Heather Lewis. McClain then played a trailer for “Dragon in a Bag,” a fantasy urban adventure McVay students, teachers and staff will be reading for the next four weeks.
After the assembly, all students received their own copy of the book — all purchased by the PTA — and read the first chapter in their classes.
McVay has embraced the national One School, One Book reading program for the last six years, covering books such as “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” “The World According to Humphrey,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “The Mouse and the Motorcycle,” “Cleo Edison Oliver: Playground Millionaire.”
For McVay educators, the activity helps foster connections across the school, with families and in the community while building excitement about reading.
“We want students to feel connected with the whole school and get excited about reading,” McClain said, who has planned McVay’s book reads for the past three years.
As part of the book read, all teachers will read chapters of the book each day in their classrooms. Students can answer daily trivia questions covering what they read during the morning announcements the next day, giving them the opportunity to win prizes.
Throughout the book read, McVay has embedded a variety of activities such as fifth-graders pairing with younger students to do activities related to the story, collecting gently-used or new books for nearby Little Libraries — public book shelves that foster neighborhood book exchanges.
The initiative culminates in a virtual author visit with Elliot and a Literacy/STEM night for families and students on Feb. 22.