20 Books in Term 2
"Charlotte's Web." "Charlotte's Web." "Charlotte's Web."
That was the predominant response my students gave when asked what books they read last year. I have nothing against that book at all (who would?) and clearly their Grade 5 teachers did an amazing job of teaching that novel but it just got me thinking and later realizing that these kids weren't readers...YET!
Fast forward to June and this conversation I had with the Grade 8 sister of one my kids:
I can't say I was sorry. That was what I wanted to accomplish.
Donalyn Miller's book - The Book Whisperer - was my inspiration. I'd been seeing it a lot on Instagram, specifically from Hello Fifth (check her out on Instagram - you won't be disappointed) and decided to give the book a read. It was everything I wanted - motivation for me to get books into the hands of my students; to show my kids that they could all be readers; that I believed in their abilities even if they didn't. 20 Books in Term 2 was born.
We started out with a Book Tasting (post to come) to introduce the students to various genres and the books we had in the classroom. I have a reasonable classroom library but hadn't seen the interest in taking out books that I wanted. We do Reader's Notebooks and some kids were still writing in February about a book they started in October.
After the Book Tasting, I presented the challenge to the students and included this in our weekly newsletter to keep the parents updated.
Beth Van has a cute Shelfie available on her Teachers Pay Teachers site that the students used to record their books. I added the genres I wanted my students to focus on.
Poetry
Graphic Text
Fantasy
Mystery
Historical Fiction
Realistic Fiction
Biography
Informational
Traditional Literature
When they finished a book, they would write the Title and Author on the spine of their Shelfie and colour it in. Once they completed their entire Shelfie the class cheered for them and they stuck it up on the outside of our classroom door.
The kids were so into it! They read more than they ever had in just a few months and were so proud of themselves. I sent home this newsletter a few months into the Challenge, including information from Donalyn's website that I thought would be helpful for parents.
Once the students completed 40 books they wanted a balloon. Yes. A balloon. So I gave them a balloon and they gave themselves a gift that I'm hopeful will never leave them.
That was the predominant response my students gave when asked what books they read last year. I have nothing against that book at all (who would?) and clearly their Grade 5 teachers did an amazing job of teaching that novel but it just got me thinking and later realizing that these kids weren't readers...YET!
Fast forward to June and this conversation I had with the Grade 8 sister of one my kids:
I can't say I was sorry. That was what I wanted to accomplish.
Donalyn Miller's book - The Book Whisperer - was my inspiration. I'd been seeing it a lot on Instagram, specifically from Hello Fifth (check her out on Instagram - you won't be disappointed) and decided to give the book a read. It was everything I wanted - motivation for me to get books into the hands of my students; to show my kids that they could all be readers; that I believed in their abilities even if they didn't. 20 Books in Term 2 was born.
We started out with a Book Tasting (post to come) to introduce the students to various genres and the books we had in the classroom. I have a reasonable classroom library but hadn't seen the interest in taking out books that I wanted. We do Reader's Notebooks and some kids were still writing in February about a book they started in October.
After the Book Tasting, I presented the challenge to the students and included this in our weekly newsletter to keep the parents updated.
Beth Van has a cute Shelfie available on her Teachers Pay Teachers site that the students used to record their books. I added the genres I wanted my students to focus on.
Poetry
Graphic Text
Fantasy
Mystery
Historical Fiction
Realistic Fiction
Biography
Informational
Traditional Literature
* Books with over 200 pages counted as two books
When they finished a book, they would write the Title and Author on the spine of their Shelfie and colour it in. Once they completed their entire Shelfie the class cheered for them and they stuck it up on the outside of our classroom door.
The kids were so into it! They read more than they ever had in just a few months and were so proud of themselves. I sent home this newsletter a few months into the Challenge, including information from Donalyn's website that I thought would be helpful for parents.
Once the students completed 40 books they wanted a balloon. Yes. A balloon. So I gave them a balloon and they gave themselves a gift that I'm hopeful will never leave them.
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