The Ohio Reading Road Trip

The Ohio Reading Road Trip is an interactive curriculum package that brings authors to life for language arts students in grades 6-8. Students will read and learn about many of Ohio's historically significant literary figures such as Sherwood Anderson, James Thurber, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Paul Laurence Dunbar as well as contemporary authors such as Sharon Draper, Sharon Creech and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. The authors and their works will be introduced through multimedia resources that allow students to visit the authors' hometowns, hear their thoughts on writing or listen to their works read aloud.

The integrated curriculum package (video, DVD, Internet and print resources) is designed to help students improve their reading skills by sparking their interest in reading and giving them many opportunities for involvement. The Ohio Reading Road Trip is available free of charge to Ohio schools; additional information is available at http://www. ohioreadingroadtrip.org.

Local professional development workshops for The Ohio Reading Road Trip will be held in January and February 2004: Monday, Jan. 26 from 4 pm to 7 pm at PBS 45 & 49 in Kent and Thursday, Feb. 5 from 4 pm to 7 pm at Campbell High School in Campbell. Educators interested in attending the workshop should register now. Due to space limitations, participants will be signed up on a first-come, first-served basis. You can register by contacting Erin Burke at ThinkTV, , or register online at http://www.ohioreadingroadtrip.org.