EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT: Grand View students win tourney, stress reading skills
Mar. 15—The past few weeks leading up to Spring Break have been busy ones for Grand View School, with students taking part in Literacy Lab activities and others competing in volleyball.
Roslyn Harrison, a Grand View Literacy Lab mentor, said 22 third-graders participated in a literacy lab book project sponsored by department educators: Judy Croman, Larry Dickerson, Debra Dickerson, and Roslyn Harrison.
"Serving kindergarten through third grade, [the lab] seeks to enhance reading readiness, reading comprehension, and writing skills," Harrison said.
Harrison said this was the first time for the project, which covered the literary work "How to Eat Fried Worms" by Thomas Rockwell. After studying and discussing the book, Harrison said the kids created "worm recipes," which taught them about measurements and other comprehension skills.
The students also decorated their "plates," which were later hung up in the hall everyone to see. They compared and contrasted the book and movie version of "How to Eat Fried Worms," while eating snacks, such as "worm dirt" — chocolate ice cream, crushed up Oreos, and gummy worms.
Harrison said the goal was to inspire students to write, read, and think critically about texts. Associated activities promoted comprehension, understanding, fluency, comparing texts, and writing abilities.
"They loved watching the movie because it was nothing like the book. That was a learning experience for them to see how drastically books can change when they're put on the big screen, but they love it," Harrison said. "It was exciting for them and they felt a real sense of accomplishment."
While some of the younger students were learning to think critically about literature, others were taking part in extracurriculars, such as a volleyball tournament.
Ryan McMurray, Grand View P.E. teacher and coach, also known as "Coach Mac," said the district hosted its annual volleyball tournament March 7, with 16 teams from seven schools competing: Briggs, Lowrey, Hulbert, Wickliffe, Shady Grove, Sequoyah Immersion School, and Grand View.
McMurrary said it felt like a high school tournament, due to the "electric atmosphere" from those cheering and getting into the game.
The day-long, double-elimination tournament featured the winning team, as a group from Grand View that went undefeated. It was made up of Maci Cook, Brooklyn Anderson, Raylee Mccarter, Cheyenne Daugherty, Kashyah Tehee, and Sarah Carey.
McMurray said he was proud of the team members, who had been practicing for the past two months. "They really showed a lot of leadership qualities, and they had a ton of fun," McMurray said.
McMurray said he hopes those on the Grand View teams will keep pursuing the sport, which he thinks they are all capable of doing when they reach high school.
