OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers!
who soar to high heights.

Those are a few lines from the Dr. Seuss classic, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go,” this year’s featured book for Read Across America, an annual event created by the National Education Association (NEA) that coincides with Seuss’s birthday, March 2. The program provides children the resources and motivation to keep on reading every day throughout the year.

This year Valley of the Sun United Way is expanding our Read Across America celebration from one day to a week from Feb. 29- Mar. 4, with volunteers reading to children at 13 Valley elementary schools.

United Way provides the books through our bonus book program with Scholastic, Inc., a partner in inspiring the lifelong love of literacy and learning that research shows is so critical to a student’s success.

Scholastic's Tips To Inspire Young Readers

• Choose a Book That’s “Just Right”: Children feel confident and competent when they read books that fit their current skill level. Have your child read the back and front cover, and first page of the book. If there are more than five words he cannot pronounce or understand in context, the book may be too challenging. Be supportive about finding a more perfect fit so that your little reader will feel successful.

  

• Card Tricks: Reading opportunities are not confined to the library. Take your child to a greeting card store and read the cards together. Together, vote for the ones that convey the best birthday or get well wishes.
  
• Picture This!: During your next outing or gathering, take action-packed photos, then have your child create captions to go with each picture. Assemble the pictures and captions in a picture book or album, and add speech and thought bubbles to create a personalized – and probably hysterical – story.
  
• Labels of Love: To develop word recognition and vocabulary, get some paper and tape and start labeling everything in your home—from furniture, to kitchen items, to knick-knacks. Reading these labels repeatedly will build your child’s mental word bank. If your family is bilingual, create labels in both languages.
  
• Fan Mail: Your child will soon develop a love for particular authors and illustrators. Nurture her fan-ship by helping her write a letter to her favorite author. Here’s a great place to start. You may also contact the book’s publisher, the mailing address for which can often be found on the back of the title page or on the publisher’s website.