CALABASAS : Event Helps Students Focus on Language

Fifth-grade student Evan Blank admits there are times when his motivation drops and he ends up watching too much television.

“Sometimes I get so lazy, I want to become a couch potato,” he said. “You just sit there and you don’t want to do anything with your life.”

Evan, who wants to be an actor, said he jumped at an invitation to be master of ceremonies at an event this week at his school, designed to help kids appreciate written and spoken language. Teachers at Lupin Hill Elementary School said he turned out to be a natural on stage.

“He was polished, prepared,” said Sharon Lawenda, a teacher at the school. “We were in awe at this kid talking on this loudspeaker in front of 700 people, and a lot of adults wouldn’t do that.”

Evan’s stint on stage fits into the theme of “Week of Words,” a program designed to show kids how words affect their lives, said Lawenda. She organized the event with colleague Cindy Godinez.

In its seventh year, the program features poets, storytellers and music. It coincides with a read-a-thon, sponsored by the Parent Faculty Club. The goal of the read-a-thon is to persuade each child to read for about 2 1/2 hours this week.

Children and teachers said the program, which ends this Friday, has been a success. One of the storytellers, Jim Cogan, who has entertained at previous functions at the school, has become a hero to the children, said Lawenda.

“As soon as he walks into my room, the kids are like, ‘Everybody sit down and be quiet,’ ” she said.

Cogan said children enjoy oral storytelling, despite the influence of television.

“Children quickly adapt the story to their imagination to make it real,” he said. “It becomes their own amusement, their own excitement, their own entertainment.”

This week the kids will also get an opportunity to meet authors of children’s books.