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STAUNTON, VA, November 9, 2023 — Bessie Weller Elementary School is making reading even more engaging with a school-wide book reading and a culminating event this Friday.
The entire school began a book reading of “J.D. and the Great Barber Battle” during literacy week at the end of October to support the critical role shared reading plays in developing fluency and comprehension skills. The chapter book is part of a witty series about J.D., an eight-year-old boy. In this story, he turns a tragic home haircut into a thriving barber business.
Principal Sandra McGrath said they chose “J.D. and the Barber Battle” for several reasons.
“We always look for books that students can resonate with. Our teachers are very proactive in having titles in their classroom libraries that students can see themselves in,” she said.
About 50 percent of Bessie Weller’s student population is non-white.
McGrath said they’re also planting seeds about career paths at a young age. The book is also about entrepreneurship and having a dream. On Friday, when all classes finish reading the book, a local barber and a hairstylist will visit Bessie Weller at 9 a.m. to talk to upper elementary students about their careers.
"We believe there are some books you shouldn’t close and put on a shelf. We should take every advantage to make connections from a book to real life,” McGrath said.
The guests will share their work with students, and a staff member may even offer up some of their hair as part of the activity.
McGrath said this is the school’s first attempt at doing a school-wide reading of the same book from kindergarten to fifth grade. Each teacher has found time during the day to do group readings with their students or allowed students to do silent reading. They also do trivia-style general comprehension questions about the book during morning announcements, and classes have started to create their own questions, challenging other classes to answer them.
“Even the kindergarteners are really enjoying the book, McGrath said. “It’s a chapter book, and it’s a lot of reading, but they are really into it.”
(Pictured below, Ms. Beville's second-grade class does a group reading of the book.)
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