- February 19, 2025
-
-
Loading
Loading
Teachers say they must employ some creativity if they want to give their students a reason to divert some of their screen time to the pages of a book.
The staff at Myakka City Elementary School has tried a variety of methods to win its students’ attention against screen-time entertainment.
One of those efforts is an annual Literacy Night event the school hosted Jan. 30.
“Just having their hands on an actual book instead of a device is so key,” said Myakka City Elementary Principal Carol Ricks. “Just being able to have conversations and that rich language and vocabulary helps kids.”
Finding a way to encourage students to embrace reading isn’t an issue unique to Myakka City.
The New York Times reported Jan. 29 that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released historically low data for struggling readers across the country.
According to the NAEP, 33 percent of eighth grade students are "below basic" reading level while 40 percent of fourth graders are behind pace — the lowest marks in each category in over 20 years.
Though there is no evidence-based information to show what exactly is the reason for the lower marks, increased screen time and learning lapses caused by the pandemic have been suggested by educators.
Some instructors have adopted the "if you can’t beat them, join them" strategy.
Myakka City allows students to use ClassDojo, an application that includes a game called Dojo Islands in which students learn through play.
The book fair explored the excitement generated by technology, too, selling marker cases that look like cellphones, and books of the popular Dog Man series.
“We sell these little things and it looks like a phone, and they all want it because it looks like a phone, but it has markers in it,” Myakka City media specialist Elizabeth Harris said. “But they go, ‘Oh, I wish it was a real phone.’ That’s what we fight.”
Myakka City’s Literacy Night was a two-hour event that featured second grade teachers Maureen Geary and Karen Washington reading books to the students, music teacher Kate Cline leading a musical read-aloud, and students shopping at a Scholastic book fair.
Washington said that while it is fair to say that screen time is a concern when students are away from school, that’s not as much of a problem when they are in a classroom and can’t access a cell phone or tablet.
“I’ve had a lot of these kids since kindergarten because I taught kindergarten and then moved up to second (grade),” said Washington, who is in her 41st year of teaching. “They’ve always enjoyed stories. Stories calm them when they’re getting wild and they kind of need some downtime. They love it because people don’t read to their children as often as they used to.”
