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In dogged pursuit of authenticity Photo by Bob Pennell The students at Central Point Elementary School give Lisa plenty of attention. Central Point students aren't sheepish about bringing book list to life By JOANNA COLLINS When Bill Burke's fifth-grade class reads a book, the students do more than read the book. They visualize it. When a small herd of sheep and two sheep dogs showed up at Central Point Elementary School Wednesday, the class didn't have much trouble visualizing. Burke's class is reading a book, "The Loner," by Esther Wier, about a boy who is taken in by a woman who herds sheep. "It's bringing the book to life," said 11-year-old Charlotte Donovan. Burke, a teacher for more than 30 years, said children today don't have "miniature movies" in their heads anymore when they read. "I try to read to them as much as I can to create that picture," said Burke. To help, he often does additional activities or has the children watch movies based on the books they're reading. Burke said he wanted to "lead (the students) to a certain point so exploration became something they would absorb." And that's exactly what his latest activity accomplished. When Burke saw friend Kathy Rose at a boarding stable one day, he said she looked like the sheep herder in "The Loner." Fitting, since Rose owns 40 sheep. Burke asked Rose and fellow herder Marilyn Hahn, both of Eagle Point, to come to the school and "make literature come really, really alive." The two women showed up Wednesday with a portable pen, panels and posts, six sheep and their two border collies, Lisa Marie and Ninja. As the class of 28 kids watched from the sidelines, Rose and Hahn gave a real-life demonstration. At their piercing commands, the dogs drove the sheep down the field, around the panels and posts and into the pen. They even let a couple of the children try their hand. "Kathy and I like to interact with kids," said Hahn, who is a retired school teacher. She has trained sheep dogs and given demonstrations for the last 15 years. "I went from teaching children to teaching kids," she joked. Rose, who calls them both queens of sheep herding, has only been at the business for a few years. She used to be an endurance rider for horses but saw this as something older people could do and be competitive with. "It's much better than sitting in front of the TV watching CNN and making hamburger patties," she said. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA