By By RANDI K. PICKLEY / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Reading is alive and well at Oak Manor Elementary School.
Marla Arnold's first grade class has been reading about houses that come in all different shapes and sizes throughout the world. As part of their new reading program, the School Home Connection, the children do hands-on projects, which often involve their parents, that tie into the vocabulary words and reading material assigned for that week.
This week's project for the children was to create a house of their own. Each house reflected the child's individuality.
Among the variety of houses were a tent, a rainbow structure made from popsicle sticks, and a colorful hand-molded clay house. Each structure was unique.
The children were excited about the project and proud of their creations.
To honor the occasion, a book titled "My Mongolia" was donated to the class by Marcia Steffens, managing editor for Leader Publications. The book had pictures of Mongolian children and their houses, written by a teacher.
The next reading project for the class is about robots. Mrs. Walterhouse's first grade reading group will also be part of that project.