Sayville public library’s program, Sayville Reads – One Friendly Town, invited residents of Sayville and West Sayville to read the select books on a certain theme, and after, participate in activities or programs at the library on that theme. 

       “This year’s theme was dogs,” Sunrise Drive First-grade teacher Denise Philp said, “and the students in my class jumped on board by reading both the picture book Bad Dog Marley and the chapter book Marley:  A Dog Like No Other.

 “In addition to reading these books as a class,” Ms. Phelps expounded, “the kids wrote and published their own stories about ‘a bad dog’ in their lives.” 

During their research, the First-graders chose a breed of dog, visited the library for books, and made notes. Compiling all the information, they created a fancy book with facts and an illustration. 

 The students read about working dogs and cartoon dogs, deciphered the figurative language of certain dog phrases, and then learned the origins of those phrases. (Examples:  It’s raining cats and dogs; The dog days of summer.)  Once they understood the expression “in the doghouse,” they wrote about a time they were “in the doghouse” with their parents and created three-dimensional doghouses to go with a clay dog figure they sculptured. 

 “One day, for the fun of it, they had a hot dog lunch bar, which was a huge hit,” Ms. Philp added. Prior to the lunch, the students took a poll with their family and friends about favorite hot dog condiments and created a bar graph with this information for display. “At the hot dog lunch, the kids made a ‘loaded hot dog’, did a taste test, and then wrote a piece about how to make the best loaded hot dog. When illustrating the loaded hot dog, the kids made a condiment key for viewers as well.” 

 “And now,” Ms. Phelp concluded, “my students are pumped up to attend the various dog-related programs that the public library has to offer over the next two months.” 

Woof, Woof!