Last year, Stephanie, the reading specialist, and I started a pilot program in which I met with some of her students, once a week, to talk about what they were reading. Here's the post. We were very encouraged by the results and comments that we received from both students and parents. So we decided to "take it up a notch" this year.We had two major goals:
1. Encourage students to connect to their books through BHH moments (see this post)
2. Have students actually FINISH books. So many of her students start a book and quit, start another book and quit, etc.
Step 1: At the beginning of the year, we talked with students about how to find a book that they will enjoy. We had them make lists of things they were interested in reading about, books they had read in the past that they enjoyed or books that they had heard someone else talk about. We encouraged them to read the first page and make sure they were comfortable reading the book.
Step 2: After they chose their first book for the year, we had them set a goal. How many books do you think you can finish before Winter Break? Remember: this isn't a goal to impress anyone, it's just a realistic target for you to try to achieve.
Step 3: Stephanie set up the schedule. Every Friday, I meet with half of the group and Stephanie meets with the other half. The following week we flip groups so that I see the other students. We have a little book club. Kids tell us how it's going with their current book. If they have finished a book, we celebrate in a way chosen by the students. Students talk about their "Head and Heart" moments and ask each other questions. Before they leave, they set a page number goal for the following week.
And we are loving what we are seeing. Students who didn't finish a book all last year have finished more than one this year already! And they are actually getting title recommendations from each other for what to read next. And they can really talk about their books ... what they like about the characters or the events. And most of the kids, with a month still to go, are about to reach the goals that they set at the beginning of the year. We are definitely on the right track!
