MANSFIELD — The seventh grade students at Richland School of Academic Arts spent Thursday discovering a love of reading.
English teacher Grace Larsen received a $1,300 TAP grant from the Richland County Foundation. She purchased 36 books with a variety of genres and writing styles.
The students spent their day reading the books of their choice and will write about what their reading journey in a blog.
“I wanted to to show my students about my passion of reading,” Larsen said.
Thursday, she turned her students on to the Starbooks Cafe, where they were able to choose a book to read.
“I wanted them to have a good time. Let them have fun. I wanted them to have the opportunity to find a book they will enjoy,” she said. “I want them to get into the groove of have a good book to read and have access to the books all year.”
Larsen said students who regularly read perform better on state exams, noting those who don’t read regularly tend to finish in the 10 percentile of students.
“Those who read often finish in the 90th percentile on state tests,” Larsen said.
