A program I like to offer grades 4 and 5 students is the Reading Link Challenge which "encourages team work, reading for retention, public library usage and encourages children to develop a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure." It is a partnership between the public library system and school library where groups students read 6 novels and are then quizzed on information relating to character, plot, setting or other details from the story. There are a number of levels of challenge where students compete against other schools in the Lower Mainland, eventually revealing one winning team!
I have run this program for 3 years and find it very enjoyable for both the students and myself. I offer many practice challenges throughout the length of the program and quiz students in a number ways. Students get so excited about this program that they go to great lengths to create team spirit. This year, one of our teams made it to the third level of challenge which is a first at our school! They made team posters, shirts and created a team cheer. We celebrated by publishing it on our school blog and invited many other classes to come and watch one of the challenges in the gym as a way of generating excitement for next year's upcoming teams.
I have run this program for 3 years and find it very enjoyable for both the students and myself. I offer many practice challenges throughout the length of the program and quiz students in a number ways. Students get so excited about this program that they go to great lengths to create team spirit. This year, one of our teams made it to the third level of challenge which is a first at our school! They made team posters, shirts and created a team cheer. We celebrated by publishing it on our school blog and invited many other classes to come and watch one of the challenges in the gym as a way of generating excitement for next year's upcoming teams.
| They created a team cheer that I have to include for you! |
I am always getting questions why this program is not offered for older grades, and I found out that it was designed for this age group specifically as they are an at-risk age level for losing interest in reading. I am interested to create another similar challenge for those students who love to participate but are no longer in those grades. Perhaps we could incorporate this idea into literature circles in the future, or possibly combine it with other programs like the Global Read Aloud. Next year I will incorporate Kahoot as a quiz method to help students prepare for their challenges. I hold the practice challenges at lunch time and also open up the LLC at lunch on some days for these students to come in and have extra time to read and discuss as a group.
Another program our younger students enjoy that I like to support in various ways is our Surrey Schools Picture Book of the Year. 10 pictures books are chosen by a committee of Surrey Teacher-librarians that "reflect diversity in theme, cultural content, creative styles and promote discussion, extension activities and appeal to a wide range of learners. This year I read them to most of my classes and others I sent the books out for their teachers to help participate. Some of the books worked to support themes that were being explored in the classroom. As a review before voting I used a Kahoot game SSPBOY 2017/2018 that was created by another Surrey TL. This was very exciting for students to take part in. There is no hope of keeping them quiet during this game so BEWARE!!! I like this program because there is a lot of tl collaboration when it comes to lesson ideas that go along with the books. Anyone can add to the google doc that has been created for this purpose.
Another collaborative relationship I am fortunate to have is with my Principal who also has her LIBE training and so we relate well promoting literacy initiatives in our school. One project that we have been working on getting ready for next year is exploring and organizing our Lit Circle book sets. We are aiming to encourage teachers to use Lit Circles in their classes to promote student collaboration and deep comprehension of a particular area of study or theme.
We have been pulling out the various themes within books in order to create sets of books that relate in theme but differ in storyline and offer multiple reading levels to students. This way, classes should be able to have rich discussions about topics that share a similar idea in different ways. Students will hopefully be able to make connections and gain a deeper understanding and acceptance for diverse perspectives and ways of life.
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| Lit Circle Books with different reading levels that share similar themes of survival, perseverance and homelessness |
Sources Cited
“Welcome To Reading Link Challenge.” Reading Link Challenge, Fraser Valley Regional Library, 2014, www.readinglinkchallenge.ca/.
“Surrey Schools Picture Book Award Program.” Surrey Schools' Picture Book of the Year, Surrey Teacher-Librarians SSPBOY Committee, 2009, sites.google.com/view/surreyreads/award-program-info.
MacDonald, Shauna. “SSPBOY 2017/2018.” Kahoot! , 2018, play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=318041dc-a5a7-4208-aa46-618ef06a0aec.
It is evident from the Taco Team cheer that you foster a positive reading culture in your school! I like your suggestions of using Kahoot to help them practice as well as trying to create something for the older students. I also like the idea of the Surrey Picture Book Challenge. I might pitch that idea to my TL group to see if we can start something like that in my district!
ReplyDeleteSurrey Schools Picture Book of the Year 2017/18
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Check out the website if you are interested in the program. I should have included it.