Veronicka Overbeck reads her essay. (Click on images for enlargements.)

Susan Harper, center, with Veronicka, left, and Traci Mills, Wendy's marketing director.

Ms. S. Harper is my 6th grade reading teacher. I want her to win the Teacher of the Year award a lot because she helps us learn about the world by using the newspaper The Las Vegas Review Journal. By using the newspaper, our class learns about different cultures, different people, and the different parts of the world. Also, Ms. Harper ties in the newspaper articles we read to the short stories we learn about in class. One day in November, Ms. Harper found out that no one in class could tell where Europe was on the map and only one student knew where Ireland was. Also, she asked the class if they knew if Africa was a continent or just one country. No one was sure. She seemed shocked and sad that many students did know the world map or about many countries. She told us that the world is really a small place and that we are closer to other countries than in the past. After that, we started reading newspapers and mapping them on the wall. We string yarn or strings from the articles and the maps.

So, Ms. Harper started giving us time to read newspaper articles and had us read them, write about them, and locate the cities, countries, and continents that were in the news. On the days we study the newspaper, our day starts out like this. We all come in quietly and pick up our paper and newspaper or it's passed out. We only read parts of the paper. Then, we write it on a piece of paper that asks where was it at, about it, and what was the topic. If my reading teacher and class is in the mood we get really deep. Also, when we think really deep about the articles, we have so much fun and we talk about the newspaper articles.

We talk about the newspaper articles and we look on our huge world map in our classroom. We also have a map of the United States. On our map, it shows the cities, capitals, continents, oceans, and areas where people crossed the sea. So, when we need to, we can see where we are talking about. We tie strings from the articles to the places on the maps. Also, when we read a short story, we now know better where it took place. Picturing the country in our mind also makes even poetry more fun.

Studying the maps and the newspapers, helps us understand the other things we read in class. Now, we know where Europe is, we know where Ireland is, and we know that Africa is a huge continent. Studying newspapers has helped us read better. And understand other cultures! And, now Ms. S. Harper has helped us know more about the world by using newspapers.

Why should Ms. Harper be teacher of the year? Well, all I can say is that she makes us read a lot and makes us look forward to reading a lot. She has so many things in the room to read. Reading is all around us! She has always had the newspaper delivered every Tuesday morning. By using the newspaper to help us learn the world, she has made it all more interesting Ms. Harper should be teacher of the year. If she wins books, she will want us to read even more! Now we love to read more about countries. Some of us like the newspaper more.

So, we use the newspaper a lot in my reading class. So please let us win.

-Veronicka Overbeck
Gr. 6
Swainston Middle School