Like many schools, Woodland plans special events for March is Reading Month.

Each year, a steering committee comprised of teachers from each grade — 4-year-old kindergarten through fourth — choose a book for the whole school to read, Elementary Principal Darren Petschar said.

This year they picked “The Pet War” by Allen Woodrow, about a brother and sister who each want a different pet and are in a contest to see who can raise $500 first.

As part the book selection, the steering committee brainstorms related activities to do throughout the month.

FIRST-GRADE student Cece Pipp looks at a wall covered with pictures of student pets that was assembled at Woodland Elementary in Kingsford as part of March is Reading Month, during which the entire school read the book “The Pet War” by Allen Woodrow. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

One very popular event was having students submit pictures of their pets for a pet wall at the school. It was an overwhelming success, with more than 300 of the school’s 760 students submitting entries.

Another activity was a pet matching contest, in which students tried to correctly pair teachers with their pet. Winners received books by Woodrow.

Petschar said they normally also would hide book characters around the school that students would hunt and then receive candy or coins.

“This year, because of COVID, kids can’t go around the building, so we did a ‘pet on the shelf.’ Teachers got to be creative with the pet on the shelf,” Petschar said.

Each Friday, the school had trivia based on the chapters they read that week. The winning class in each grade level received a bag of treats.

Jaxson Butterfield uses his computer during a recent read-in day in Stacy Bruno’s second-grade class at Woodland Elementary in Kingsford. The entire school was taking part in March is Reading Month by reading the book “The Pet War” by Allen Woodrow. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

The school also collected items for the Almost Home Animal Shelter.

This is the 11th year they’ve had a “one book, one school” selection, when the whole school reads the same book, Petschar said.

The first book selected was “Because of Winn-Dixie” by Kate DiCamillo, a Newbery Honor book, and they created activities around the book. Another year it was “Charlotte’s Web” and they had a carnival, complete with a dunk tank.

Classes can also create their own activities. Students in kindergarten celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday with green eggs and ham.

There were character dress-up days in which students dress as their favorite character, wear a shirt with an animal on it day, read an animal book day.

STAFF AND STUDENTS AT Woodland Elementary in Kingsford collected items for the Almost Home Animal Shelter as part of their activities for March is Reading Month, during which the school read the book “The Pet Wars.” From left, in back are Trina Allen, Julie Cootware, Samantha Edwards, Principal Darren Petschar and Bryan Johnson; in front are Alex and Estella Edwards. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

Students also had read-in days in their classrooms.

They normally would have had a Family Literacy Night at the school, Petschar said, but because of COVID, they switched to things families could do at home. They also had teachers reading stories over the radio.

The whole point is to foster a love of reading — a war worth winning.