March 11 Celebrations and Challenges

One of our former students from the first year of the challenge has been accepted to CSU's veterinary program.  She will be the first generation in her family to attend college - neither of her parents speak English. We are so proud of both of her!

Next week we will be celebrating our students who have read 1,800 or more pages at this point in the year.  Beatrice is working on prizes for the students who have met the goal at this point.  Mystayn has a student who has read over 12,000 pages at this point.

Tracker Form and Questions

This is our tracker form we have developed for students to use.  We ask them to select a question from a list we have developed based on our themes and essential questions we are discussing from the semester's units and then use their books as evidence of supporting their answers to the questions.  Students are expected to write one paragraph per 100 pages they have read in the books.

Tracker form:
https://drive.google.com/a/bvsd.org/file/d/0B4s9rihiUF5LZnNGN05CdWp6dEE/edit?usp=sharing


Tracker Questions (sample)
https://docs.google.com/a/bvsd.org/document/d/1LVuvKzZq9jOPaCmPAdJTKOaQaBNQBoIsg9piFGEpZY4/edit

Reading Challenge Description

Reading Challenge!

Barnes/Bucher/Gerrish/DiCarlo

Description:

Welcome to the 2013-2014 reading challenge!  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to read 2,500 pages this year…if not more!  Our goal?  To get you interested in reading recreationally as well as for class AND hopefully the two will become intertwined.

Rationale:

Studies show that if a student reads….anything….frequently that their reading comprehension and fluency increases.  This will help you succeed in school, in college and in life!

The Process:

• Grab a book or a magazine and start reading.
• Complete a TRACKING SHEET. Turn in when you finish a book, when you “drop” a book, or on the last school day of each month.  (participation grade)
• Teachers may assign academic writing as the year progresses that relates to the independent reading you are doing.
• At the end of the semester, we will compare to see who has read the most of pages. The winners (top 10% across all 5 classes) get a pizza party, courtesy of Ms. Gerrish.
• At the end of the year, we have an even bigger surprise…so keep reading!!!!

What kind of reading counts?

• Almost any kind – magazines, newspapers, books.  
• Select one book per semester from the “Recommended Reading List”.  These books will tie in directly to what you are learning in Social Studies and Language Arts classes. Title are listed:
• City of Thieves by David Benioff (2009)
• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
• Book Thief by Markus Zusak  (2007)
• Marcelo and the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (2011)
• Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (2008)
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2013)
• In the Time of Butterflies by Julie Alvarez (2010)
• A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
• Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden (2013)
• First they killed my father by Loung Ung (2006)
• Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (2010)
• Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (2012)
• Pyongyang:  A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle  (2007)
• Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick (2011)
• Geeks by Jon Katz (2001)
• LOL, OMG by Matt Ivester (2012)
• The rest is your choice…as long as it adds up to 1,250 pages per semester.

Can I read poetry books?

Yes.  There are some amazing slam poets as well as the classic poets…explore and enjoy!

What about magazines?

Keep your choices enjoyable, but challenging.  The idea is to read text…not look at pictures.  Some good suggestions are: trade magazines, People, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, so on and so forth. If you read a magazine, count the pages of text, not advertising.

Religious Documents

Many of you read as part of your religious practice.  Please feel free to count this as your free reading.   If you read something that is outside of your own tradition (i.e. someone Jewish reads the Koran) Then you may count it as “historical” reading.

Do I have to write about everything I read, even if I did not finish it?

Absolutely!  You can stop reading whatever it is you are reading at any time.  You don’t have to finish everything, but you do have to complete a tracker on the part you did read.

What if I don’t like the book?

Then stop reading it.  Move on and find something else.  Fill out a tracker and then drop it.  We live in an information age…read information you are interested in.

What if I don’t know what I like?

Then you are in luck!  Ms. Gerrish is ready willing and able to help you as much as possible.  

Try something new?

If you feel stuck or unchallenged, try some technology to enhance your read.  Check out a nook from the library, or download the unabridged audio file for the book and listen to a professional reader while you read along.  Visit the Monarch Library or a Public Library and browse.  You can even check out ebooks from the public library web page.   Read something you are interested in online.  Learn to do something new.  Build something from directions on the Web….share what was good.

Due Dates:  Turn Trackers in when you finish a book, if you drop a book, or by the due dates below:

Monday 9/30  Tracker Due

Friday  11/1 Tracker Due

Friday 11/22 Tracker Due

Friday 12/13 Tracker Due

Friday 1/31 Tracker Due

Friday 2/28 Tracker Due

Friday 4/04 Tracker Due

Tuesday 4/29 Tracker Due

Final Due Date:  All Trackers turned in

Friday 5/16