The literature of multiple languages was celebrated at Berner Middle School in the Massapequa School District, which hosted its eighth annual World Languages Read Aloud on Nov. 22 and 23.
Throughout each day, French, German, Mandarin and Spanish teachers brought their classes into the library to share stories, primarily focusing on children’s literature, including stories that have been translated from English and books original to other languages. A group of students read the Spanish version of “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” with each reading the part of a different animal.
Students and teachers also read books in languages they speak at home such as Italian, Greek, Hebrew, Portuguese and Russian. A few students did their selections in American Sign Language.
“The read aloud provides an opportunity to hear, or see, other languages in an enjoyable format and at the same time promotes the love of reading so important to all academic subjects,” said world languages teacher Janice Kincaid, who organized the event. “Students not only had the opportunity to apply their new skills in a second language, but they also had the opportunity to learn about the other languages offered by our program.
