Clemson Community Relations Department Announces T.I.G.E.R! Read Program

Oct. 20, 2011

The Community Relations department recently introduced a new component, T.I.G.E.R! Read, to the Be a T.I.G.E.R! character education program. T.I.G.E.R! Read is a book club that teaches the five T.I.G.E.R! character traits: teamwork, integrity, gratitude, education and respect. The program began the week of September 26, 2011 and will last through spring 2012. Bonnie Forbe’s “High Five Club” class at Central Elementary School is the first group to participate in T.I.G.E.R! Read, however the goal is to expand the program to more schools, similar to T.I.G.E.R! Talk.

The Director of the Solid Orange Squad, Callie Cavanaugh, is leading this initiative and has recruited other student-athletes to volunteer their time to prepare the materials necessary to make this possible. While some student-athletes helped Callie create a video with prompts and discussion questions for the participating students, others will be visiting Central Elementary on a weekly basis to read the selected books. With the help of Dr. Michelle Martin, a former English professor at Clemson, and her students, five different books were selected, each focusing on one of the T.I.G.E.R! traits. The following five books were selected for the program:

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrauHow to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas RockwellMonkey Island by Paula FoxManiac Magee by Jerry SpinelliCat Running by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The students will begin reading one of the books and each week, student-athletes will visit the classroom to read to them. When the students finish the book, they will watch a video featuring a student-athlete who asks discussion questions about the book. This video can be accessed on the Clemson Athletics Community Relations webpage as well as the Clemson Athletics Community Relations YouTube page. The students will be able to talk with their classmates about the book and they will also complete an activity that demonstrates what they learned from the book.

Linda White, the Director of Community Relations, said it was her goal to create “more of an individually motivated program that the students can access on their own time and at their own pace”. She also wanted to create something that promotes reading and makes the Be a T.I.G.E.R! program more well-rounded.

Watch the video below for an introduction to the T.I.G.E.R! Read program:

If you would like more information about T.I.G.E.R! Read or any of the other Be a T.I.G.E.R! programs, contact Linda White or visit the Community Relations website.