Each year, March is Reading Month in Michigan is celebrated by the Northern Michigan University Center for Rural Health in partnership with the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan, Copper Shores Community Health Foundation and Student Leadership Advisory Council of the Keweenaw (SLACK). This collaborative effort improves oral health literacy and educates close to 1,000 elementary students in communities across the Central and Western Upper Peninsula about life-long, best practices for developing and maintaining a healthy smile and mouth.

Why Celebrate?

March is Reading Month is a month-long celebration promoting the importance of reading. Reading plays a crucial role in our lives, stimulating our imagination, expanding our knowledge of the word and each other, and helps us to develop language skills. Reading is also associated with early childhood learning and development, as it helps children to learn sounds, words, and language, expand literacy skills, and develop the ability to focus, concentrate, socialize and communicate. Reading also has long-lasting health benefits for individuals of all ages, including increased cognitive function, memory, empathy, and decreased levels of stress.

Our Project

This annual project increases health literacy by engaging second-grade students through reading, discussing, and demonstrating proper oral hygiene in hopes of ensuring comprehension of lifelong best practices. 

Second-grade students are educated by Northern Michigan University (NMU) pre-dental and pre-med students and second-grade students in the Western U.P. are educated by high school students in SLACK. Efforts included reading the book Curious George Visits the Dentist, engaging students in an oral health trivia game, demonstrating how to properly brush and floss teeth and conducting a pre and post-assessment to measure the level of knowledge students had prior to and following the classroom project.

Each student receives the book Curious George Visits the Dentist to take home. Inside the book cover is a QR code that links to a video recording of an NMU student reading the story aloud. This allows students to enjoy the book being read to or with them and to practice their reading skills beyond the initial classroom project. Additionally, students receive an oral health kit containing a toothbrush with a cover, toothpaste, floss, a timer, and an Oral Health Tip Sheet and letter to take home to
parents/guardians informing them of what their child learned that day in school.

This project...

  1. gets youth excited about reading and interacting with high school and college students;
  2. provides high school and college students an opportunity to communicate, educate and engage with
    youth;
  3. increases youth’s awareness and knowledge about proper oral health hygiene;
  4. encourages youth to read alone and/or with others;
  5. increases parents/guardian’s awareness and knowledge about proper oral health hygiene;
  6. and will, hopefully, improve youth’s oral health hygiene in an effort to have healthier mouths into adolescent and adulthood years to come.

2025 Project

2025 Project Funding

This annual project continues to grow thanks to the on-going funding and support received from the
Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan and the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation.

The Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan increased their funding this year to cover the cost of books for the
project expansion into the Copper Country area. Their on-going commitment to funding this annual
project has been solidified as a Legacy Grant ensuring funds will be available to continue this project on
an annual basis for years to come. The partnership with and the generosity of the Literacy Legacy Fund
is greatly cherished.

Copper Shores Community Health Foundation provided funding for the oral health kits distributed to
second grade students in participating elementary schools in Houghton and Baraga Counties. Their on-
going commitment to improving the health and well-being of the communities they serve is appreciated
and we continue to be grateful for this project expansion and their partnership.

2025 Project Reach

As a result of this year’s support, the project resulted in visiting a total of 17 elementary schools and
educating 965 second-grade students.

Conclusion

The success of the project is largely due to the collaboration and wonderful partnerships that have been
established and maintained with the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan, Copper Shores Community
Foundation and SLACK. We look forward to exploring more ideas, developing more partnerships and
expand health-related efforts throughout the U.P. region in the future!

2024 Project

March is Reading Month was celebrated by the Northern Michigan University Center for Rural Health by engaging NMU students currently enrolled in the pre-dental and pre-medical academic tracks at Northern Michigan University. Together, they joined forces to read and engage with second grade youth in an effort to increase awareness and education about proper oral hygiene.

The annual project was sponsored, once again, in part by the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan. The on-going partnership between the NMU Center for Rural Health and the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan continues to develop and benefit youth in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. As a result of this year’s support, the project expanded from visiting three elementary schools and educating 350 students in 2023 to visiting nine elementary schools and educating 488 students in 2024.  

The project...
1) got youth excited about reading and interacting with college students
2) provided college students an opportunity to communicate with and educate youth
3) increased youth’s awareness and knowledge about proper oral hygiene
4) encouraged youth to read at home with their parent(s)/guardian(s)
5) increased parent’s/guardian’s awareness and knowledge about proper oral hygiene and, hopefully, will
6) improves the oral hygiene of youth.

This year’s project targeted second grade students at Aspen Ridge Elementary in West Ishpeming, Birch View Elementary in Ishpeming, Lakeview Elementary in Negaunee, K.I. Sawyer Elementary and Gilbert Elementary in Gwinn, Powell Township School in Big Bay, Mather Elementary School in Munising, and Graveraet Elementary and Superior Hills Elementary in Marquette.  

Northern Michigan University pre-dental and pre-medical students received training ahead of time to learn the proper way to read and engage with a young audience. Two to three NMU students visited second grade classrooms, read the book Curious George Visits the Dentist, engaged students in oral health trivia and demonstrated proper brushing and flossing techniques. All elementary students received a copy of the book to take home and read with their parent(s) and/or guardian(s). A label with a QR code was placed inside the cover of each book acknowledging the NMU Center for Rural Health and the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan. When the QR code is scanned, the reader is connected to a video of the book being read by NMU alumna Anja Erickson. This allows a child to have someone read the book with them. Additionally, second grade elementary students received an oral health kit consisting of a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, a timer and a toothbrush cover. 

Additional Project Expansion

The on-going partnership between the NMU Center for Rural Health and Copper Shores Community Health Foundation resulted in replicating and expanding this project to the Copper Country area in 2024. Copper Shores Community Health Foundation supported project expansion, in coordination with the NMU Center for Rural Health, by engaging with the Student Leadership Advisory Council of the Keweenaw (SLACK). SLACK is a youth organization hosted by the Copper Country ISD. The group brings youth leaders together in an effort to improve the lives of youth in Houghton, Keweenaw and Baraga Counties. Approximately 45 student youth leaders received training and education from the NMU Center for Rural Health and then engaged by reading and educating almost 500 students in L’Anse, Baraga, Houghton, Hancock, Dollar Bay, Lake Linden, Calumet and South Range elementary schools. Blog story 

Conclusion

The success of this year’s project is largely due to the collaboration and wonderful on-going partnerships with the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan and Copper Shores Community Foundation. We look forward to exploring more ideas, developing more partnerships and expanding health related efforts throughout the region in the future.

Partners on this project include...

Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan
Copper Shores Community Health Foundation
Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan Logo

Copper Shores Community Health Foundation Logo