One, part two

Last week, our school celebrated International Literacy Day with a school-wide reading of the book One by Kathryn Otoshi. All of the ‘It only take ONE to…’ statements that students have written are now on display and make a proud statement of friendship, cooperation, and reach out to others in our community as they walk around our school. The colorful sentence strips attract your attention and they are being read!

I watched a class line up in the hall getting ready for lunch and heard a hum of whispered readings of the quotes. The display happens to be in an area where two hallways converge so there is a lot of foot traffic… and reading. Some of the students take a moment to spot their own quote and then began looking for friends or siblings quote but settled in to read statements nodding their head in agreement with what was written. Here are a few more quotes:

It just takes ONE to help other people when they fall.
It just takes ONE to make someone else happy.
It just takes ONE to turn a bully into a friend.
It just takes ONE to turn around the world.

Teachers have taken the opportunity to bring in other books to read aloud or a collection of books that echo a similar message. For example, Carol McCloud’s book, Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?, is a book that has extended the conversation around friendship and helping others.

If you are interested in looking for books to read with your child, I recommend the web site Kids Lit. The site offers book reviews on books from toddlers to teens as well as reading and writing information. I like the way the site is set up because you can locate books by genre, recommended book levels, authors, award winners and more. Check it out! Chances are good that you’ll find a book that is the ONE.