Why Read 20 Minutes at Home?

What's the best way for students to get better at reading?  How do students become readers?  While direct reading instruction is valuable, the research says that the best way for students to get better at reading (and really to improve in school all around)....is to read!

Whether your student is reading fiction or non-fiction, a novel or a magazine, an ebook or an online article, what's most important is that they are reading!  This week, I've added "Read 20 minutes at home" to the task list.  This 20 minutes is not a strict assignment, but rather a goal to aspire to. In class, we spend a lot of time trying to find high and engaging material to read.  My hope is that students will be so absorbed in what they are reading, they will want to do it at home!

The Global Read Aloud

Beginning October 6th, our ELA class will be participating in the Global Read Aloud.   The Global Read Aloud is a project created to connect students around the world using a single book.  In ELA, our class will be reading One For the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.  Each week, I will read chapters aloud to the students during class, and then we will use the book as a platform to talk with classrooms in other states and countries.

I've been busy connecting with teachers from around the world. Some of the activities we have planned with the students include:

• Mystery Skype
• Blogging
• Book Reflections using iPad technology, including Keynote, Prezis, and Animoto
• Classroom and Partner Discussions

...and more!

I will be introducing the project in class today, and sending home a family letter and blogging permission slip with the students this evening.  Please sign and return the permission slip by Monday, September 29th.

For an online copy of the family letter and permission slip, click here.

Book Recommendation: The False Prince

So this week has seriously been the best week ever for books.  First, we get amazing book donations for our classroom library, and then, this morning, I wake up to an email from Overdrive (an online library resource) that The Runaway King is available for checkout on my kindle. I have been wanting to read The Runaway King since February, and I've been on the library waiting list for months.  It was a great way to wake up!

The Runaway King is the second book in the Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer Nielsen.  I first was introduced to the series when I was long-term subbing in Middleton.  The teacher for whom I was subbing, Pernille Ripp, had chosen the book as a read aloud for her fifth grade students.  I had the good fortune of having my first day on the day the class was having an author Skype...the fifth graders were Skyping with Jennifer Nielsen!  It was amazing to see, and something I would love to figure out a way to do with our students.  Without spoiling anything, Nielsen told us all about the book and her favorite parts.

I jumped into reading the book aloud to the kids in the middle of the novel, and immediately, I was hooked.  The students were "ooing" and "ahhing" while I was reading....I had never seen anything like it!  I went home and read up to where the class was so I could experience the plot with them.  I was going to read ahead, but they begged me not to.  I'm so glad I didn't.  Finishing an amazing book with a group of students was quite a memorable experience.

Take a look at what goodreads has to say about the book:

"THE FALSE PRINCE is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end.

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats."

Our school library doesn't have a copy yet, but we made a request, and Mrs. Neal is working on getting it for us.  We are so lucky to be in a school with such amazing staff and resources! :)

Reading Goals

Today we set our reading goals for the year.  There are three types of reading goals students will have this year:

1. Monthly Goals:  These goals will help students monitor their own growth over the course of the month.  Students will set one goal relating to quantity and two goals relating to reading quality (using reading strategies, having high level partner discussions, etc.).  These goals will not be formally graded.  They will serve as a guideline and basis for check-in during reading conferences over the course of the month.
2. Quarterly Goals:  Each quarter, students will set a page goal using a page goal form.  Today, students set their page goals based on a number that they felt would be challenging, but not overwhelming. In addition to the personal goal, students have the option of going for the sixth grade challenge goal, which for first quarter, is 1,000 pages. These goals will be graded.  If students reach their personal goal they will earn an A in independent reading, and if students reach the challenge goal they will receive an A+.  During class, I checked in with each student individually to discuss and sign off on goals.
3. Year-Long Goal:  Today, I introduced the 40-Book Challenge, inspired by Donalyn Miller.  This challenge is entirely optional and purely for fun.  I challenged any students who wished to participate to reach forty books over the course of the year, and as a double-challenge, I challenged them to do it faster than me.  Regardless of whether or not students participate in the challenge, all students will be keeping track of the books they are reading.  My goal with this is to help promote a culture of reading and generate excitement around books and book discussions.

We also brainstormed our Classroom Reading Rights.  I've included some of the ideas the class brainstormed below:

In our classroom, we have the right to

• read!
• choose our own books
• choose where we read
• choose how much we read (as long as we are reading!)
• abandon boring books
• dislike some books
• give and receive book recommendations

I was so proud of how deeply the students were thinking while we were generating this list.  I'm excited for all of the book recommendations and book discussions to come!

Our First Book Donations!

Today, we received our first book donations!  A member of the school board donated books to the school, and since our classroom was in need, we got to take a look at them!  Five boxes were delivered to our door, and the students spent the first part of ELA sorting through the books, looking for keepers.  We were lucky...almost all the books were keepers!

Students sorting through book piles in table groups

I dumped piles of books at table groups, and students spent time previewing the books with their table-mates deciding what we should keep.  Looking through all the books generated a lot of interest! The excitement in the air was tangible... the students were laughing at how much energy I had going from table to table looking at the books.  There were some gems in there!  I've been keeping an eye out for the Artemis Fowl books, and sure enough, several were found in the boxes!  We also found copies of books in the Percy Jackson series and the Maze Runner series.  Today felt like the best treasure hunt ever!

I am going to stamp and file the books, and then students will be able to check them out from me.  Many were already writing titles down on their book wishlist....my goal is to get the books in their hands as soon as possible!

New additions to our classroom library!

If you have any books laying around at home (even just a few), we would love to take them off your hands!  It was awesome to see the students so excited about new books today...hopefully it's a feeling we'll have again in the future soon! 

Visit to the School Library

In my opinion, today was one of the most exciting days, by far!  Today, our entire class went to the library for library orientation.  Mrs. Neal and Ms. Micheals told us about upcoming events (there is a new IMMS book club starting later in September!), showed us how to use the online library guide, and explained the different sections of the library and how to check out books.  

Mrs. Neal and Ms. Micheals make displays of current books....we are so lucky because our school library has books available that are backed up by holds at the public library!  Today, I felt like I hit the jack-pot.  I found the titles of several books that I've been on the waiting list for months at the public library.

Here's a preview of the books I'll be reading over the next couple of weeks:

As I finish them, I'll do a "book commercial" about them for the class.  Then, if anyone in our class wants to check the book out, they'll have first dibs! :)

I just started The One and Only Ivan, and I'm already hooked.  I'm looking forward to curling up with it this weekend!

Our First Read Aloud

Our first Read Aloud for the School Year is Schooled, by Gordon Korman.  This book is one of my new favorites!  

Here's a quick synopsis from Goodreads:

"Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a school counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school."

One of my favorite parts about the book is written in first person and the chapters alternate between different characters' points of view.  That means with each new chapter, we get a different character's take on the situation.  So far, we have met Cap, the main character, Mrs. Donnelly, a well-meaning social worker, and Zach, the most popular boy at Claverage Middle School. I can't wait for more of the story to unfold...

We are reading Schooled as are homeroom read aloud.  This means that after lunch, students attend their homerooms, and every 6th grade homeroom reads Schooled. I hope you find it as funny and insightful about middle school as I do!

Making a Marvelous Classroom Library

Someone once told me that every child is a reader, they just need to find the right book.  My goal this year is to help students discover books that will ignite and keep ablaze their passion for reading.

As this is my first year teaching in McFarland, our classroom library is a work in progress.  I've carted every single young adult book I own to our classroom.  I've ransacked my teenage brothers' rooms asking to borrow their favorite books from middle school.  I've searched through piles of books at thrift stores, and I've begged and borrowed from family and friends.  We have a good beginning, but we could use your help!

Our class needs engaging, exciting, and current young adult novels at their finger tips.  If you have any young adult novels or relevant picture books at home that you would feel comfortable donating to our classroom, we would love to accept your donations!  During the course of the year, if you are looking to contribute to the classroom in some way, books would be a welcome gift.

I believe the best books serve as a window and a mirror.  They allow us to learn about diverse people, places, and times, and yet, they also grant us a glimpse of ourselves.  Books teach us to reflect, to think, to emphasize, and to learn.  Middle school isn't just about meeting standards.  It's about growing.  And that is exactly what the books in our classroom library will help us do.

Thank you so much for your time, support, and consideration.  I look forward to the reading ahead!