Washtucna students “Dig Into Reading” during month-long program

The Washtucna School District is celebrating the success of students reading a total of 16,185 pages. With a total of 22 students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade, the students excelled during the “Dig Into Reading” month.

Preschool students also participated in Reading Month, with four students reading 102 books. All students receive a reading month t-shirt for participating in the program.

“This year the theme ‘Dig Into Reading’ was based on dinosaurs but we took the archaeological aspect and looked into not only dinosaurs but their role in the environment, what makes them so interesting, and what would it be like to find one if we could excavate one,” teacher Janet Camp said.

The students studied the differences of dinosaurs, climates and food from where the dinosaurs lived. The students also participated in a miniature dig, where they excavated small-scale dinosaurs and then put them back together.

The highlight for the program came with a trip to Clarkia Fossil Dig in Clarkia, Idaho. Ken Kienbaum, a private landowner, allows individuals to dig on his property and keep what they find.

The students in kindergarten through sixth grade had the opportunity to travel there and dig on the property.

Kienbaum’s property is at the bottom of an ancient lake, and the mud and silt has helped preserve the plant materials from 15 million years ago, Camp said.

The students split into sections where they found plant leaves from extinct trees, cypress leaves, sequoia needles, and maple and sycamore leaves. The leaves still maintained their color from falling into the water and being preserved.

One teacher on the trip also found a fish fossil, providing an excellent end to the “Dig Into Reading” month.

Camp said the staff and students would like to thank Caring Neighbors and Wilbur-Ellis for the grant money, and the Washtucna School Board for allowing the students to attend the field trip.