A new initiative at Orange Grove Elementary School is taking reading outdoors, giving students a chance to connect with nature while developing literacy skills.
Fifth-grader Jackson Machen is one of many students enjoying the school's new hammock garden, a space designed to make reading more engaging.
"Whenever you read outside you could relax in the nature and kind of connect the nature to what you're reading," Machen said.
The hammock garden came to life after reading teacher Rachel Wiggins secured a grant from the district's education foundation. Wiggins, who has taught at Orange Grove Elementary for eight years, was looking for creative ways to encourage students to read books of their own choosing.
"I was thinking how are we going to get kids to read books they want to read? I struggled with that last year," Wiggins said.
The initiative addresses a challenge many educators face: balancing required reading with fostering a genuine love for books.
"A lot of what we do is mandated reading. So, through Facebook and other social media we came across this idea to kind of incentive the kids to pick books of their own to be able to spend time reading," Wiggins said.
Wiggins has observed students struggling with reading, particularly when using technology. She believes physical books offer unique benefits.
"I think it opens them to a lot of books that they wouldn't be exposed to through internet and stuff. A lot of classic novels and poetry," she said.
The garden is already making a difference for students like fifth-grader Kaylee Wheatley, who admits she wasn't much of a reader before.
"Like you'd sit in your classroom and it be kind of like boring and cold and uncomfortable to sit in the seats all the time," Wheatley said.
The 11-year-old also recognizes the importance of reading skills beyond the classroom.
"It's good to be able to read so you - like - if people don't know how to read you can help them and teach them. Like our teachers do," Wheatley said.
Students hope more schools will embrace similar innovative approaches to learning that take education beyond traditional classroom settings.
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