Blasting Off Into One School, Two Books!
Buffalo Hills Elementary is excited to announce a school-wide reading event titled “One School, Two Books!” Students in K-3 and 4-5 will receive a copy of the same book and are invited to read it together at home over the month of April.
We know reading aloud at home plays a powerful role in developing strong readers, and it’s also a great way to spend time together as a family. Through this shared reading experience, our goal is to build a community of readers at Buffalo Hills. Students, families, teachers, and staff will all be reading along together and sharing in the experience!
Each family will receive a copy of the book on Monday, March 30th after we reveal the titles in class. Hints to the theme can be found on our school website! Along with the book, families will receive a suggested reading schedule to help everyone stay on track. Most weeks will involve approximately 15 minutes of reading, three evenings per week.
At school, students will have opportunities to engage with the story through class discussions, activities, and fun trivia questions that encourage careful reading and listening. We hope you’ll find that your child takes pride in knowing the details of the story and eagerly anticipates what comes next! To ensure your child can fully participate in these activities, we encourage families to follow the reading schedule that will be shared as closely as possible.
This program is unique because students across different grades will be reading or listening to the same book. While that may seem unusual at first, it is supported by research as reading experts recommend that children regularly listen to books that are above their independent reading level! We have selected books that appeal to a wide age range that everyone can understand and enjoy, while still offering depth and interest. We encourage you to spend time as a family and read chapters aloud, even if your child is able to read the book independently.
While this event is entirely optional for our families to follow along with, we hope you join us for this special reading time with your child! When an entire school shares a book, it creates connections, conversations, and excitement around reading. With your support, we can strengthen our community of readers and make this a memorable experience for everyone.
In addition to the fun of reading, the books lead up to a culminating school-wide event on April 22-24! Students will participate in enriching and fun activities during their specials on these days that tie directly into the stories they just read! This includes interactive technology in media, themed art and music projects, and a surprise visit from Edgerton Explorit Center during PE!
This wonderful opportunity is made possible through our amazing Buffalo Hills PAC, and we are looking forward to sharing our excitement for reading with our entire school community! Thank you for your partnership and continued support of literacy at Buffalo Hills!