Keeping classroom bookshelves stocked is an ongoing process, according to Anastasia Anisimova, a teacher at Butte Elementary School.
BUTTE, Alaska - The students in Anastasia Anisimova’s second and third-grade loop classroom were learning all about digraphs and blends last week at Butte Elementary School. They would take dry-erase markers to individual whiteboards as their teacher guided them through words letter by letter.
“The kids kind of pick their own things that they like to read, which is one of the kinds of predictors of whether they’re going to keep reading or not,” Ms. Anisimova said. “Giving them a choice is really important, and the only way you can do that is by having a selection of books.”“If you talk to a librarian, books last about three to four years in the hands of kids,” she said. “They wear out and then kids’ tastes change, there’s new trends — so you really do have to kind of keep it going.
Lester created a support team that consisted of KWHL, KHitz, Big Dreams Transport, Visionary Construction, and Matanuska Brewing Company to put on the book drive. The goal was to get 1,000 books donated in 12 hours, but the weather on that fateful Friday was less than ideal to hold an outdoor event as the wind blew sideways rain.
Despite the rocky start, however, residents braved the stormy conditions and dropped off enough children’s books to exceed their goal.