All books were stamped and color-coded with tape identifying the classroom to which they belonged. A collective phenomenal transformation was occurring. Another informational aspect of the reading promotion project was school visitations. Ambassador-students, administrators, and teachers experienced successful reading programs at other schools. Throughout these visits, teachers were encouraged to experiment and expand through reading.
Teachers now take the initiative with reading in their classrooms.
There is an abundance of book talk among the middle-level and secondary faculties. In fact, on occasion a middle school teacher can be found explaining the use of a picture book for curriculum activities to high school teachers in the shared library. Advisory programs have been enriched through excerpt readings from selections such as Chicken Soup for the Soul . Other teachers in all subject areas have added read-alouds to their weekly routines, shared excerpts from their own favorite selections, enabled students to share their books with peers during class time, and hosted contests to further promote reading at the middle evel. Additional literacy programs, such as Rosewater and Young Hoosier Book Award collections, Accelerated Reader, Electronic Bookshelf, and book fairs, have presented opportunities for teachers to make books available and rewarding for their students as well.