TCA’s second grade class celebrates work to improve their reading skills

Gennice Gipson, second grade teacher and music teacher at The Christian Academy, reads to her second grade class on “nerd day.” This school year, Gipson’s class has been devoted to improving their reading skills, and to celebrate their efforts, the class had a “nerd day” Thursday, Oct. 26 and had special guests read stories to them. Also pictured is TCA Administrator Mike Jensen.

Gina Williams/Standard Democrat

SIKESTON — The second graders at Sikeston’s The Christian Academy are developing bookworms.

Due to their commitment to reading, the second graders were rewarded with a fun-filled “Nerd Day” party. 

On Thursday, Oct. 26, Gennice Gipson, The Christian Academy’s second grade teacher and music teacher, hosted the party for her second grade class. Students wore fun-looking glasses, dressed “nerdy,” ate donuts and drank Capri Suns. In addition, they had guest readers come to their class and read to them. 

Earl Brown, a guest storytime reader for The Christian Academy's second grade class, reads the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the book of Daniel on Thursday, Oct. 26.

According to Gipson, it is essential for children to be able to read well, and she said at the start of the school year, she wanted to have her students spend more time reading.

Gipson has her second graders spend 20 minutes a day reading a book this school year, and the students are still reading in every subject that is taught. Gipson has also spent time reading to her students, as well as having guest readers visit.

Gipson’s second graders have been reading more, not only in the classroom but also at home. Parents have also played an important role by reading with their children when they get home from school, she said.

According to Gipson, the second graders each have their own card sheet they take home with them after school. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, the kids will read that evening with their parents from a book of their choice. On the card sheet, parents will write what was read and how many pages their child read, then sign their initials for their child to take back to school the next day.

“The things that we don’t always get to cover in class, the students are going to get the opportunity to cover with their parents at night so the parents can also see what’s going on and how important it is for their child to learn to read,” Gipson said. “So it’s like reading has been put as a top priority.”

(Gina Williams/Standard Democrat) Students in Gennice Gipson’s second grade class at The Christian Academy in Sikeston smile for a group photo Thursday, Oct. 26.

Gipson’s second grade class has nine students, and she said each of her students have done a great job of making reading a priority, so she decided to have their own party to celebrate their hard work.

Gipson said people who enjoy reading are often referred to as “nerds” as a stereotype, implying they’re super smart, and it was this stereotype that inspired her idea for a “nerd day” party.

The impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on children in 2020, according to Gipson, is also what prompted her to have her students place a greater importance on reading.

“In the year of COVID, a lot of children got behind in school,” Gipson said. “Everywhere you looked on television and in the news, children from all over were struggling with reading and math. So I thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty bad; we’ve got to get that reading back up where it should be.’”

Gipson said for the students’ next grading period, they will focus not only on reading but also on math, and that she intends to have parents work with their children on their math skills at home, just as they did with reading.

Reading is just another way to find enjoyment in something, she said.

“If you can read, you can travel anywhere—on an airplane, in a car, on the computer or on the iPad,” Gipson said. “You can get on whatever you want to get on and read, and it will take you places.”