LaDonna Wicklund considers it her mission to teach kids to read.

“I have to do this,” said Wicklund, 60, a reading recovery and Title I reading teacher at Grant Wood Elementary. “I have to make it easy for kids to read.”

To help that process along for beginning readers and those who have difficulty reading, Wicklund developed the I Can Read! curriculum five years ago. The curriculum, which emphasizes high-frequency words in the English language such as “I” and “the,” comes in books with easy-to-read print, she said. The books also can be used with a CD of 13 songs she produced last year that put the high-frequency words to music.

“They’re catchy,” Wicklund said of the songs. “They teach them how to read and write high-frequency words. It’s teaching kids how to read words in a line.”

The materials are now standard in all kindergarten classes in the Iowa City School District. Wicklund said she hopes to spread the materials to other kindergartens and preschools through her non-profit group’s Web site — www.icanreadsongs.org — and through donations from businesses and the general public.

“My goal is to get these materials in all the kindergartens and preschools in the United States,” she said.

The development of the materials and her career were driven by a passion to help children.

“If you’re a teacher, the children inspire you,” Wicklund said. “When they learn, they get excited. Teaching a child to read is an exciting experience. It doesn’t have to be hard to learn to read. It can be fun.”

— Rob Daniel

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