Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. Health and Public Safety Academy

Students will participate in activities including creating a computerized collage of their favorite book from either this year or years before, discussing changing the title to a novel they have read and the reason for changing it, creating a video or audio recording of themselves reading to a younger sibling, writing an essay convincing another student to read their favorite book, and drawing pictures from a book or a scene from their favorite novel. They will also take part in special themed days for which they can wear pajamas or comfy clothing, a green shirt, backwards clothes, a favorite hat, and silly or mismatched socks.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early Childhood Center School No. 52

Students will participate in activities including special themed days Silly Sock Day for which students and team members will wearing wacky socks, Wild Hair-Do Day for which students and team members have wacky hairstyles, Wacky Hat Day for which students and team members can wear a fun or crazy hat, Pajama Day for which students and team members can wear pajamas, and  green clothing and accessories, and Virtual Dance Party or Movie Day during which students get to participate in a dance party or watch a movie version of a book that they have read. Virtual guest readers will be given the opportunity to read their favorite children’s stories to students throughout the week.

Dr. Albert Einstein Academy School No. 29

Students will participate in activities including special themed days for wearing wacky socks, a fun or crazy hat, wacky clothes and hair, green clothing and accessories, and pajamas while celebrating all of their favorite books. Students and team members will be enjoying books with diverse themes throughout the week while exploring lessons about various literary elements. They also will be joined in their classrooms throughout the week by virtual guest readers who will share their favorite stories.

Dr. Orlando Edreira Academy School No. 26

Students will participate in activities including talking about each of their favorite characters from the stories they’ve read, brainstorming the character traits for each character, and dressing up as their favorite character while trying to guess the character each of their classmates dressed up as; reading a book about New Jersey and another state of their choosing for which they will gather and share facts about the states they chose; completing art projects based on stories they have read; reading, making inferences, and sharing personal connections to stories that they have read; played math games related to stories they read; researched famous women and composed small paragraphs about the women they studied; and created pattern activities based on the content of stories.

William F. Halloran School No. 22

William F. Halloran School No. 22 students participated in themed days throughout the week, such as comfy clothes day, stuffed animal day, crazy sock day, wear green day, pajama day, and crazy hat day.

Students also created, illustrated, and presented their own rhyme schemes and characters on Flipgrid;   recorded Flipgrid videos talking about their favorite book with the option to dress as one of the characters in the story while also “liking” or recording responses to the recordings of their classmates;  and completing literacy-based projects such as writing a book review, a flipgrid book review, a movie trailer, or a song/rap about their favorite character along with an original grading rubric for each.

Parent guest readers were invited to visit virtual classrooms throughout the week to read to students.

Victor Mravlag School No. 21

Students will participate in activities including special days for wearing stripes or a crazy/favorite hat; red and blue clothes and accessories; mismatched, inside out, or backwards clothes;  green clothes and accessories; and funky socks and pajamas. Students also had a day in which they dropped everything several times during the day to read. Guest readers were welcomed throughout the week to share their favorite children’s book and love of reading with students.

John Marshall School No. 20

John Marshall School No. 20 teachers and students participated in Read Across America across all grade levels including different spirit activities each day such as crazy hat day, wear your favorite color day, crazy sock day, and pajama day. On Read Across America Day, students were surprised with guest readers, including Acting Supervisor of Mathematics (6 -12) Aaliyah J. McClinton. Students worked on creating new book covers for their favorite stories while reading a different story each day.

Woodrow Wilson School No. 19

Students participated in schoolwide themed events, including Crazy Hat Day, Storybook Character Day, Wacky Hair Day, PJ Day, and Dress for Success Day. Students also worked on a cover book design and used Flipgrid to record a read aloud of their favorite parts of books, learning about rhyming, participated in a favorite book “Show and Tell”, did crafts, drawings, or writing activities based on stories they read, infused content from stories into related to ELA and Math skills being presented such as rhyming words and counting numbers, and went on a virtual road trip across America while reading and sharing facts about each state.

Special guests readers who visited virtually to read to students in grades preK-3 included Union County Commissioners Sergio Granados and Kimberly Palmieri Mouded, Elizabeth Board of Education President Jerry Jacobs and Board Member Maria Carvalho, Elizabeth Public Schools Chief of Operations Frank Cuesta, and district Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction Jose Rodriguez.

Robert Morris School No. 18

School No. 18/18A students and team members took advantage of this very special time to celebrate the importance of reading and all that it brings to our lives by reading their favorite books together and independently, integrating stories into other subjects such as math and social studies.  Students also participated in show and tells of their favorite books; celebrated with themed days such as Superhero Day, Crazy Hair Day, Crazy Hat Day, Mix and Match Day, Favorite Character Day, and Favorite Color Day;  practiced their rhyming skills; discussed the importance of reading;  explored his writing styles and themes of various books;  made literary comparison and wrote persuasive essays; and enjoyed guest readers engaging them with excerpts of some of their  favorite books.

Madison – Monroe School No. 16

In honor of Read Across America Week, Madison Monroe School No. 16 celebrated by having a month-long reading bingo challenge for students in grades Kindergarten through eighth. Students who fill their whole bingo card win prizes at the end of the month. Students had mystery readers join their classrooms for story time. In addition, students completed cross curricular activities and participated in special themed days for which they wore mismatched clothes, crazy hats, crazy hair, wacky socks, and pajamas.  

Christopher Columbus School No. 15

Christopher Columbus School No. 15 celebrated Read Across America on March 2, 2021 and throughout the week with enthusiasm! Students participated in themed days that celebrated some of the favorite books they read, places they want to explore, favorite story characters, self-expression, and future aspirations. These themes were explored in in a variety of ways that were engaging, motivating, and meaningful. Some activities from our celebration included creating a song or rhyme that students’ favorite story characters would sing or say, creating a virtual background of a place they want to travel to and explore, dressing up as if they were in their dream career, recording themselves reading a favorite book, and expressing themselves in fun ways such as with fancy hair or mix and match clothes. Our students and staff enjoy celebrating their love of reading and the world of opportunities that it opens for our students!

Abraham Lincoln School No. 14

Students will participate in activities including special days for wearing wacky socks, crazy hats, mismatched clothes, crazy hair, green clothing and accessories, and animal prints while celebrating literacy. Students and team members will be enjoying books with diverse themes throughout the week while exploring lessons about various literary elements.

Benjamin Franklin School No. 13

Students will participate in activities including Mixed-Up Monday, for which students wear mixed-up Clothing such as backward shirts, inside out clothes, mismatched socks, etc.; Read Together Tuesday for which families and middle school students will read to the K-2nd grade students; Wild Hair Wednesday, for which students style their hair in creative or humorous ways to celebrate, Silly Tie Thursday, for which students wear silly ties over their clothes to celebrate; and Readers Become Leaders, for which Principal Stewart reads to students in grades K-2.

Elmora School No. 12

Students will participate in daily school spirit activities including a mix and match day for which students and team members can mix and match clothing, a crazy hat day, Wild Wacky Hair Day for which students and team members can wear wild and crazy hair, a silly sock day, a Character Day for which students can dress up as a character from their favorite book, and a Word Wall T-Shirt Day for which students can make and wear T-shirts that contain word walls.

Jerome Dunn School No. 9

Guest readers will celebrate the joys of literacy and will ensure everyone dives into reading to cultivate a love for books, print, authors, and life! Selected middle school students will be virtually reading to lower elementary classes or to a small group of students in virtual break out rooms, or will be creating a create a video clip to share reading a book that illuminates this year’s RAA theme: Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers. Students will also complete a writing component that includes creating a visual representation of a book trailer, changing the plot of a story, writting and alternate ending to a story,

writing a sequel or prequel to a book read, or discussing, in writing, a book’s global purpose by sharing how it makes the world a better place. Students and team members will also participate in activities such as wearing your silliest hat and/or red, white and blue; Wild and Crazy Hair Day; wearing your silliest socks to virtual school; Grammar Day, which encourages the use of correct grammar in both verbal and written language; Pajama Day; representing their culture and celebrating our nation of diversity and beauty; and picking a virtual partner and dressing alike.

Terence C. Reilly School No. 7

Students will be encouraged to do a virtual book review using Flipgrid, QuickTime, iMovie, PowerPoint, or Keynote. Additionally, students will be challenged to complete the March Reading Challenge, which includes activities such as reading a story about a trailblazing woman in honor of Women’s History Month, reading a fairytale or folktale from another country, or reading a book about the new season in celebration of the start of spring. Guest Readers, such as local dignitaries and Elizabeth Board of Education members, will also be visiting virtually to read to elementary classes.

Toussaint L’Ouverture – Marquis de Lafayette School No. 6

Students will participate in activities including School Spirit Day for which students and team members can wear their School No. 6 Clothing to TEAMS meeting; Wild Hair Day for which students and team members can come to TEAMS meeting in wild and crazy hair (wig or crazy hairdo); Silly Sock Day for which students and team members can wear their silliest socks to TEAMS Meeting; Wacky Hat Day for which students and team members can wear their wackiest hat to TEAMS Meeting; and Pajama Day for which students and team members can wear their favorite pajamas to TEAMS meetings.

Joseph Battin School No. 4

The students of Joseph Battin School No. 4 participated in a variety of activities during Read Across America. Students read a variety of cultural children’s books selections, sharing which ones were their favorites, and also created art projects that included their favorite story characters. In addition to cross curricular literacy activities, students in Kindergarten through second grade were read to by special guest readers School No. 4 Principal Hollis Mendes, School No. 4 Vice Principal Christina DeSimone, and Elizabeth Public Schools Supervisor of Guidance Anthony DiDonato.