Elizabeth Ross

Being an elementary reading teacher can be very exciting with many opportunities to explore imaginative teaching techniques. "There is so much that you can do when teaching reading. You can be very creative especially with vocabulary," says Mrs. Elizabeth Ross, a second grade elementary teacher at Allegheny-Hyde Park Elementary School. Believing that reading is very important to the educational process, she encourages it daily in the classroom and is always trying to help her students realize its importance.

One way that she does this is by giving examples that they can expect to encounter in their daily lives such as reading a menu or taking a drivers test. Elizabeth also tries to reinforce positive reading skills by providing supplemental reading material in the students' desks. That way when they have spare time they can pick up these items and practice reading.

Through the school year extra activities are scheduled as part of the reading and learning process. One of the biggest hits with her students was the millennium celebration. She asked her students to read for 2000 seconds in one day (which comes out to be about 33 minutes). This usually takes place at the beginning of the new year and there are awards for their accomplishments. The first year this program was done, the kids were so excited that she decided to make it a reoccurring event. She now holds it every year and with an additional second added for each new year.

There are other reading programs that she thinks are a great supplement to the classroom studies. One is Book-it, through Pizza Hut, which encourages students to read a certain amount of pages or books per month for a reward at the end of each month. Another program is through the PTA called Books To Go. Students can buy books for 50 cents or trade their old ones in from home. This particular program has been very successful.

Her two loves, reading and children, have enabled her to give incredible enthusiasm to each new day in the classroom. After deciding on a career, Elizabeth attended Slippery Rock University and Graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Master Degree in Elementary Education.

So far her career has been very rewarding. One of her favorite things is to see her previous students in the newspaper for awards and accomplishments. This makes her really proud that she had a part in getting those students to where they are today.