Ridgefield teacher gives students a taste of different reading genres

Ridgefield — Union Ridge Elementary School third-grade teacher Kari Hall transforms her classroom into a cafe twice a year, with red-and-white checkered tablecloths and background music. Instead of food, she serves up books. Each table contains a different type of book — fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, biography and book series — with 10-plus examples for the students to try. “The gist of it is to get kids excited about reading different genres,” Hall said in a release from the district. Students rotate to each table, look at the covers, pick a book and read three pages. They take notes on their reaction and keep it in a booklet to refer to. All the books come from the school’s library, so students can continue reading outside class if a book interests them.