For Woodland students, Reading is Fundamental

Woodland — Woodland Public Schools students in kindergarten through fourth grade are being encouraged to forge a lifelong love of reading through the Reading is Fundamental Program. Woodland schools provide books for free with the idea that access to an abundance of books at a younger age will spark a passion for reading. “The idea of the program is to get books into kids’ hands and encourage reading,”said Shae Lindsay, librarian for Woodland Primary and Woodland Intermediate schools, in an school newsletter. Librarians at Woodland Intermediate have been using the program for several year; this is the first school year Woodland Primary has participated. At each Reading is Fundamental event, Lindsay reads a book to the students and each student has the chance to pick any book they want from the program to take home with them. “Students can select any book they want,” said Lindsay. “We try to give them very little direction so they pick the books they’re most interested in without being affected by outside influences. The students just love the program and can’t get over how they get to keep the book they choose.”