Dana’s Story:
Dana McPherson is a seasoned teacher, with eight years experience. She began her career introducing young students to reading and writing, as a first grade teacher. Since earning her master’s degree, Dana’s focus is even more on early literacy. She’s been a Title I Reading Teacher for the past three years.
Lots and Lots of Books
Last year, Dana became involved with the Reading Recovery® program at Potomac View Elementary School in Woodbridge, VA. She first learned about the MaryRuth Books titles through the RRCNA Supplier’s Guide, which is given to schools that implement a Reading Recovery® program.
As an educator, Dana feels that having a large number of books available that feature Danny and his friends is motivating for young readers. The desire to learn more about the characters encourages students to keep reading. One-off books are less likely to to drive additional reading. By keeping plenty of books about Danny and his friends on hand, Dana feels she is able to keep students always reaching for their next book!
Writing to Danny
Mrs. McPherson remembers a first grade student named Jacqueline on whom Danny made a big impact. As a struggling reader, Jacqueline found it difficult to get immersed in a book and wasn’t able to enjoy reading. When she was presented with the MaryRuth Books, Jacqueline quickly developed a love for Danny and the other recurring characters. She began reading more in order to follow their adventures. The more Jacqueline read, the more her reading skills improved. Danny also inspired Jacqueline to become a better writer when she decided to use her daily writing time to begin writing letters to him!
Building Vocabulary AND Confidence
It’s not only the lovable and realistic characters that make Dana McPherson choose the MaryRuth Books for her classroom. She is also impressed by the way the vocabulary builds across the collection of books. Dana feels it’s evident that author, Mia Coulton, puts in a great deal of work to ensure that these books teach and support the students who read them. She thinks the books are great tools that not only build a student’s literacy skills, but boost their confidence as well.
“I teach a lot of students who speak Spanish at home. English is their second language. The Danny books will sometimes include phrases that are not heard in everyday language, which is a great thing. My students need to be opened up to those rare words and phrases within the English language to see how much our language can vary,” says Dana.
At MaryRuth Books, student successes are the ultimate reward for us. Just like Mrs. McPherson and Jacqueline, you can encourage your students to write letters to Danny. Contact us to learn more or start shopping now!