Passing along a love of reading

It takes a village to teach a child to read.

That was the lesson in action Thursday at Lothrop Magnet Center's after-school program.

Bunched into small groups, some of Lothrop's youngest students sat in rapt attention as sixth-graders from King Science and Technology Magnet Center read them stories.

Dr. Seuss' “Fox in Socks” rolled off the tongues of seven boys who took turns reading to two groups of children who are just starting to read. A group of girls shared “Green Eggs and Ham.”

Those sixth-graders then made the stories come to life. Over five weeks, students from the University of Nebraska at Omaha's communication disorders program had worked with the King Science students in their after-school program on how to read in an active way to help the younger students — and then to turn their reading into a skit and a rap.

The collaboration brings students from the two north Omaha magnet schools together, with the help of two community agencies — Bethesda After School Academy and Heartland Family Service with funding from the city — and UNO.

And students at every level got something out of it.

The UNO students were able to perfect some of their classroom skills.

King Science students gained confidence in their own reading and, as Rayshawnn Banks said, “It's for the kids, so they can learn how to read more. And so they can be more satisfied.”

The boys read “Fox in Socks” again as a rap, finishing to enthusiastic applause.

In one skit, Libny Contreras played Sam, who does not like green eggs and ham. She said the experience was good because the college students were nice and got her thinking about college — and she could tell the younger students were excited about reading.

And so was she.

Contact the writer:

444-1037, michaela.saunders@owh.com