STORY TIME: Georgia’s First Lady Sandra Deal reads “T.J.’s Discovery” to the students at Chase Street School. “I know for Pre-K, they all got the book sent home a few weeks ago. They have had the opportunity to read it with their families, so I know some of them are familiar with the book,” Chase Street School Pre-K teacher Amy Evans said. The story was written by written by teachers from the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy at the Atlanta Speech School.
By BRITTNEY BUTLER – Managing Editor (ODYSSEY Newsmagazine)
Georgia’s First Lady Sandra Deal visits schools across Georgia reading to Pre-K students as a part of Governor Nathan Deal’s reading initiative.
First Lady of Georgia Sandra Deal spends the month of March reading to preschool students as a part of the initiative Read Across Georgia Month.
“It’s wonderful having a whole month dedicated to reading. We teach our kids is that learning how to read is the most important thing for them to learn in school because that’s how they’ll learn everything else,” Chase Street School Pre-K teacher Amy Evans said.
One of her stops in the Clarke County School District was Chase Street School. Teachers prepared their students for the event by informing their students about the visit.
“Our students were very excited for Mrs. Deal to visit,” Evans said. “I thought it was a great opportunity to really promote literacy and really how important that is and have an opportunity to show (Deal) how great Clarke County Schools are.”
The book Deal chose to read is titled T.J.’s Discovery, which was written by a group of teachers from the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy at the Atlanta Speech School. The story follows a young girl who is scared of the dark while she goes on a camping trip with her family.
“I the book was fun. It had a little bit of everything for everyone, even if they haven’t gone camping they probably have a stuffed animal or they think about being scared, but they also think about learning new things,” Evans said. “I thought it was a good book that really helped everyone connect to something they already knew.”
Read Across Georgia Month was created in 2012 order to encourage parents to be more confident when reading with their children.
“T.J.’s Discovery is a family adventure that engages children and serves as a teaching tool for parents and caregivers,” Deal said in a press release on Georgia Governor Nathan Deal’s website. “My hope is that this book will help parents become more confident as they guide their children in the process of learning to read.”
