Dear Parents,
This year, our students will be challenged to read 40 Books. I have enrolled our students on a website called BiblioNasium, Where kids flex their reading muscles. BiblioNasium connects educators, parents, and the kids to create a reading community that will encourage your child to read more. Long gone are the days of paper reading logs with parent signatures. Students will can keep track of their favorite books, log their daily reading, and win virtual awards. I have setup our class’ recommended and assigned reading challenges. Often one book is read and discussed with a small group. Book groups vary throughout the year. Typically, the other book on the contract is read independently. It is my job to convince students to read a variety of genres by pitching books, plots, characters, settings and authors to them. Students will read and recommend books and help others get excited about reading too. Peer influence is very powerful. Kids will realize quickly that we are a community of readers…we read, we talk, we write, and we share. And always, as time flies by, they will be amazed at the sheer volume of books they’ve read by the time our school year ends. For many of our students, the end of the year brings the realization that they have read more books than ever before. They will be astounded by their accomplishments. The goal of the 40 Book Challenge is to get young readers to leave their reading comfort zone and explore new genres. Ultimately, I would love to see my students’ love of reading flourish, as well as for students to make big academic gains in reading. Let’s face it, the best way to become a better reader is to read… VORACIOUSLY. And the 40 Book Challenge will help with this! Although it sounds like a lot, students will only have to average one book every two weeks. This can be accomplished by reading during our independent reading time at school and spending at least 20 minutes reading daily at home. Some books, like shorter non-fiction books, can be read possibly in a day or two. Some books will obviously take longer to finish. By making the right book choices, I am confident that all students will be able to achieve the goal of reading “just right” books in class and at home this year. The students and I will be keeping track of the books read. We also need your help. Please make sure your child is reading each evening. This is part of their homework. Although you do not need to join as a parent, there is also a parent component and you and your child can access BiblioNasium from home. As a parent you will then be able to see my reading lists, monitor your child's independent reading and even set up family reading challenges. If you wish, you may also want to give your child permission to connect online with friends to see what others are reading, to read book reviews, and to receive and recommend books. Together, with the stimulation of this website, I believe we can motivate your child to read something different, something new, and something more challenging. I hope you will encourage your child to use BiblioNasium daily. Thanks for your help at home! Mrs. Newman and Mrs. Tosi |
For students without internet access:
Please download the attached file to keep track of your reading. You will be given five minutes of class time each day to transfer your paper reading log to your BiblioNasium log.
Students,
When completing your daily log on BiblioNasium.com, please select option for Thinking Within the Text when completing the notes for after each night's of reading. Make sure that you use correct punctuation, spelling and capitalization for each entry. ***For bonus points, also include an option from Thinking Beyond and About the Text.
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