Montana State collaborates with local elementary schools to produce Masked Reader events

BOZEMAN - Hundreds of K-5 students gathered recently in the Emily Dickinson Elementary School gymnasium in Bozeman, sitting in rows on the floor alongside their classmates. They peered toward the front of the gym, craning their necks to get a glimpse of a person wearing a duck mask and a black cloak.

Led by Jules Harris, one of the students' health enhancement teachers, the kids chanted in unison: "Show us your face! Show us your face! Show us your face!"

The person in disguise complied, peeling off the mask and revealing her identity: It's Kendra Gault, an Emily Dickinson kindergarten teacher. The kids erupted in cheers.

Gault was one of eight masked readers whose identity was revealed during the assembly at the school on Feb. 27. The assembly and events leading up to it were part of a collaboration between Montana State University and two local elementary schools - Emily Dickinson and Hawthorne - known as the Masked Reader. Those events, organized by MSU health enhancement students enrolled in an elementary methods class and health enhancement teachers at the two elementary schools, were part of an effort to promote literacy and build community, according to Karie Orendorff, associate professor in the MSU Department of Food Systems, Nutrition and Kinesiology, who started the event in 2024.

"As a (health enhancement) teacher, you're expected to do more at a school than just teach," Orendorff said. "As a (health enhancement) teacher, you have the ability to affect the entire culture of the school. That's why we do this."

In the week leading up to assemblies at Emily Dickinson and Hawthorne, the elementary school students were shown videos where the readers - wearing masks and with their voices disguised - provided a few clues that could help the school's students identify them. (Clues from one Hawthorne reader were that their favorite food is chicken enchiladas and their favorite Olympic sport is downhill skiing. Another Hawthorne Masked Reader said their favorite weather is the rain and they have a dog with very short legs.) Then, each Masked Reader read a children's book aloud. Hawthorne and Emily Dickinson students then made their guesses about the identity of each reader.

MSU health enhancement students worked with the participating teachers, administrators and staff members at the two schools to create the videos. They also prepared and delivered movement lessons to students at each of the schools before the assemblies. Approximately 10 MSU undergraduate students participated in the event at Emily Dickinson, while approximately 22 participated in the event at Hawthorne, which was held on March 6. It was Hawthorne's third annual event, and Emily Dickinson's second.

"Movement and literacy go hand in hand," Orendorff said of the decision to pair classroom lessons with the literacy-focused assemblies. "Kids remember a lot more when they're moving. If they're learning a concept, it helps to put movement to it. There is research galore on how movement helps fire all neurons in your brain to help you remember things."

MSU students Ellen Olson and Madylan Osler delivered one of those movement lessons to third grade and first grade students at Emily Dickinson, encouraging the kids to get up and move around by leading rhythm games performed with pieces of foam pool noodles.

Osler noted the lesson provided her with valuable classroom management experience.

"It's really helpful to be in a classroom and to be interacting with the kids," Osler said. "I've learned a lot from this."

Olson, who is studying health enhancement K-12, said working with the students validated her academic pursuits.

"It makes me excited," she said. "Every time I'm in the classroom and interacting with the kids, I love it. It makes me glad I picked this for my major."

Emily Dickinson's principal, Chanell Brown, said the school loves the Masked Reader.

"I love the camaraderie that the Masked Reader brings, along with all the communication students and classrooms are participating in," Brown said. "Jules Harris, one of our health enhancement teachers, brought the idea to me, and I thought that it sounded so fun. Last year was our first year doing it, and it will now become a yearly tradition."

For her part, Orendorff values the collaboration because it serves local schools. For the MSU students, it's also an opportunity to experience how to build culture in a school setting.

"A benefit (for the MSU students) is they get to see kids' reactions, from start to finish," she said. "It really is a positive thing."

Plus, she added, the event enables MSU undergraduates to see the practical side of teaching.

"This is not about a lecture and learning theory; it's about putting theory into action, with real kids," she said.