Get Them Reading!

This year has been a struggle to know exactly how much my students are reading at home.  We sent home all their textbooks and have given them access to use the anthology as an independent reading option - just in case they didn't have anything else.  Our school library has been checking out books every Friday, but families still have to go online to check them out. I do weekly conferences and we are still doing the 40 Book Challenge... basal stories are counting in those as well. No offense to basals - but sometime they are really boring.  Especially when the kids are used to reading full on novels.

My dad usually buys a monthly book for my students.  He's done it for years.  Last year when everything shut down, I still had the spring set of books that I haven't been able to give out yet.  At least the ones for April and May - so about 64 books that were in my classroom, different titles since I had picked up those multipacks from Scholastic. I only had 7 books per title, so I've used those this year.  

I've put 2 titles in our office crate per month - about 14 books. It's been a first come, first grab kind of thing.  I post a picture in Class Dojo and on our TEAM at the beginning of the month. I talk it up big time during class.  Interested kids will motivate their families to get to school. Some kids don't care - they either really don't care or they just don't like those titles.  But the books have flown from our crate.  The deal is when they come they should only grab one book, and if another is still there the next week that they can choose a different title.  

I'm now working through other sets that I've used for Book Clubs - the copies that still look brand new that I just don't need anymore.  I'm glad they are adding to their home libraries, and I hope they always remember these gift books in this crazy year. 

Hope you have a great day!