One Read Program at Eastview Elementary School Promotes Reading and Valuable Life Learning Lessons for Fifth Grade Students

The entire fifth grade at Eastview Elementary School spent the month of January reading the book, “Joey Pigza Swallows the Key”.  

The One Read Program was designed to have all of the fifth-grade students, their families, and teachers read the same book during January 8th – January 26th.  Parents were given a guide to help lead weekly discussions with their child about the book.  This guide followed the same track that teachers were using in their classroom discussion.  Research has shown that reading and talking about what you are reading helps students to become better readers.

In addition to becoming better readers through discussion with their family and friends, the students learned valuable lessons through the book itself.  The story, “Joey Pigza Swallows the Key”, told from Joey's perspective, deals with his inability to control his impulses, due to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  These impulses lead Joey to do numerous things, both at home and at school, which get him in trouble.  Joey ends up bouncing around a lot — and eventually, he bounces himself all the way downtown, into the district special-ed program, which could be the end of the line. As Joey knows, if he keeps making bad choices, he could just fall between the cracks for good. But he is determined not to let that happen.

The books were generously funded by the Lake Geneva Rotary and Meemic.