JACKSONVILLE, Arkansas — Drive up Highway 107 to Bayou Meto Elementary in the Jacksonville system, and all around the school, you see signs promoting literacy.
They know their priorities. But if you're gonna read to first graders, sometimes you first have to move furniture.
I got to get in a good spot and prepare them for the best part of their day: Opening a book and sharing a story.
What am I saying? I never sit down when I read.
I'm busy showing them stuff. And you may think I'm showing pictures, but what I also want them to see is the words and hear the sounds those words make.
We're back to phonics in Arkansas classrooms. There's a lot of energy being put behind this effort. That's why it's good to have dinosaurs on your side.
They've got em in Gravel Ridge. The first graders have seen them.