- Studies show that children who lack ongoing access to a rich selection of books spend far less time reading, resulting in lower reading proficiency and a struggle to complete high school and prepare for the world beyond.
- Through the Scripps Howard Fund's “If You Give a Child a Book…” campaign, FOX 47's parent company has been able to provide over 1 million books to students across the country free of charge. Thousands of those books were distributed right here in Lansing
- In the video above, I visited Riddle Elementary School in the Lansing School District as each student received 5 free books. Their smiles were priceless!
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Whether they like animals, dragons or astronauts, students here at Riddle Elementary had the chance to take those characters home through the Scripps Howard Fund's "Give a Child a Book…" campaign.
"Read a loud is our favorite time of the day. They love to sit down and circle around with each other," said Keara Artis, Riddle Elementary School GSRP teacher.
Monday, I got a chance to see for myself just how much these students at Riddle Elementary in my Lansing neighborhood like to read.
"I promise to do ALL of my homework," I read to them from the "I Promise" book.
"Yes!" students responded.
In talking with these elementary students, I learned that there are so many reasons why they love to read.
"You need to know how to read as an adult because how else are you going to read a menu?" said Rene'e, a second grader at Riddle.
But teachers here at Riddle tell me, that love for reading needs practice both in and out of the classroom.
"Tell me what's going on, can you guess what's happening? We're working on their comprehension and communications skills which are so important to literacy," Artis said.
The students now have more choices when it comes to reading on their own. The Scripps Howard Fund's "Give a Child a Book…" campaign is back for another year of free books.
This year, students got to take home five free books each.
"I felt good when I walked in because I get to read more," said Jayceon, a third grader at Riddle.
5 books that teachers say can help set the tone for the rest of their educational journey.
"They might not a lot of have books at home so this is a good way to be able to take so many books home at one time and just be able to look at those pictures and read with their families because all of that is so important," said Artis.
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