NEW SHARON – Cape Cod Hill School capped off its annual Iditaread celebration of reading Monday morning, with a ceremonial lap by the winning class through the school’s hallways.
For at least four years, the dogsled race-themed Iditaread has served as CCHS’ springtime reading competition. It ties student reading into the Alaskan Iditarod race, with each class’ progress tracked by the number of books or number of minutes students read. Class progress is recorded on a board listing way stations associated with the famous dogsled race. Students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade participate.
This year’s winning class was Delana Yeaton’s second grade students, who read 255 minutes a day for nine days to reach Nome. That same group of students won last year with teacher Michelle Scribner’s 1st grade class.
The competition is organized by librarian Lori Ellis, who tracks students’ progress based off either books or minutes, depending on their age. The young readers are hoping to drag the library’s dog sled, complete with stuffed sled dogs and noisemakers, through the halls of CCHS.
Additionally, the event allows teachers to tie the Iditarod into their lessons. Students study sled dogs and the race itself.
What an awesome activity. There are so many ways to tie the Iditarod into educational strategies.
Way to go Mrs. Yeaton’s class!! Keep up the good reading! Congratulations!
Great job,kids! You will go far in life with good reading skills. Thanks for making us proud!