Last week, on February 6-9, a new reading activity was introduced by the Homewood High School library. Students, faculty and members of the Homewood community were invited to participate in a “Homerathon” to celebrate World Read Aloud Day.
The Homerathon allowed students and faculty to experience a piece of classic literature and read a novel from a different time period and culture.
Over the four day reading period, participants read Homer’s “The Odyssey” in fifteen minute increments until the book was finished.
Complete with a microphone and stage in the library, the Homerathon set-up allowed the readers to have an audience, adding to the fun atmosphere of the activity.
HHS Latin classes have been attending the reading over the last few days to experience the Greek literature in a more interactive environment.
HHS Junior Jack Mitchell participated in the reading with his Latin 3 class. “I’m extremely glad we did it because it was a lot of fun reading from one of the greatest literary works in history. If I wasn’t in Latin, I would’ve totally still signed up to get that unique experience.”
Mitchell appreciated the “professional and academic” atmosphere. “It was a lot of fun to both read from the Odyssey in front of a crowd as well as watching others do the same.”
Members of the community were invited to the “Read-A-Thon”, giving anyone the opportunity to partake in the event.
HHS librarian Dutcha Lawson was in full support of the reading opportunity and is hopeful that the library will host more events like the Homerathon in the future.
“Mr. Welle approached me with the idea and was super excited about it,” Lawson said. The excitement surrounding the event has allowed for new ideas regarding more read-aloud opportunities to form.
“I’m open to other things, maybe in different languages,” Lawson said. She wants to involve more of the school in future reading events by including languages such as Spanish and French to read from books pertaining to their subjects.
All year the HHS Library promotes reading opportunities and challenges for students to explore new types of literature.
“I want the library to be viewed as a place of community and continual learning, a place that encourages learning,” Lawson said. Through interactive, library activities, she wants to “encourage reading and help students foster a love for reading.”
The Homerathon was a fun, engaging opportunity that allowed readers and listeners to experience classic literature while interacting with their peers, forming a community within the library.
