Fifth Graders Embark on a “Bike to Books” Journey

The field trip is meant to prepare them for the next phase of their lives: middle school

FARGO, N.D. — They say knowledge is power, and these fifth graders are brushing up on theirs with both books and bikes.

“It’s super fun because, like, you get to check out books and you get to bike, and I love to bike,” said 5th grader Bella Tesch.

The idea of combining the two came to one Centennial Elementary School teacher 8 years ago.

“Their bike physically opens them a new world, and all of those texts open them figuratively a new world,” said 5th grade teacher Lucas Steier.

He says this pivotal time in their lives is when new doors will open up, and he wants them to be ready.

“When we look at that progression of your life, your bike is your first wheels of freedom, and as we see all of these fifth graders preparing for more of those freedoms of middle school, we wanted to make certain that they knew how to use those two wheels properly.”

But more than just learning to safely navigate on two wheels, the destination for the nearly one hundred kids is just as exciting.

“It’s, like, quiet here, relaxing, and you can, like, check out books and movies and CD’s, so cool stuff. Like, I can, like, read a story and pretend I’m in there,” said Tesch.

Sparking an interest in being both physically and academically active is what the trip is all about.

“No longer can a student tell us that they don’t have a book to read, because we know you know how to get to a book to read,” said Steier.

And although keeping an eye on nearly a hundred ten–year–old bikers certainly isn’t easy, Steier says it’s well worth it.

“When we stretch ourselves just a little bit, and in this experience when they’re actually riding a bike to the library, they’re stretching themselves a little bit, they feel like they accomplished something big. It’s a mile and a half, but for a lot of them, it feels like they just won the Tour De France.”

He says as a teacher and in life, challenges like these are what reap the greatest reward.

Every student received a library card and was allowed to check out books on the trip.