| bookchallengereadersnotebook2015-2016.pdf |
My Personal Reading Challenge
“Tell me, teacher, what do I have to do? How do I get a good grade?” This is a personal reading challenge. This year, we will all learn how to use data to help us make informed decisions and S.M.A.R.T. goals.
“I don’t get it. All you’ve said is that we’ll be making goals. What am I supposed to do?” READ! That is what I expect you to do! The books you read are entirely up to you. The length of the book you read is also your decision. Yes, there is a list of genres and a suggested number of books that you read from that genre, but you will decide which books to read. No, I’m not kidding. Here is why I am trusting you with these decisions.
At the beginning of the year we will all take an assessment that will provide us very important information: reading level and reading comprehension. What, you ask, does that mean? Simply, it is how well you read and how much you remember and understand about what you read. We’ll take the same test again at mid-year to see if we’re improving our reading skills. The data from these tests will help inform our decisions like the level of books we read and how often we read. These will be your decisions that will be backed up by the data. “Never questions the data!” - Name that movie.
“So, am I going to get a grade for this? Why should I do this?” Are you sitting down? No, really, if you’re not you had better sit down. No, you will not be getting a grade. Guess what? There are no reading calendars either. Hey, are you okay? I know that is a little hard to believe, but it is true. There are other assignments on which you will be graded, but the idea here is for you to learn to love to read for the simple joy of reading. Remember, this is a personal reading challenge. You may have a goal to read 40 books this year. But if you have never read more than 3 books in a school year, a goal to read 40 may not be realistic. It is very important for you to know that this isn’t about the number of books that you or your friend has chosen to take on as their challenge: The intent is for you to make an informed decision that allows you to set a S.M.A.R.T. goal that helps you learn to love to read and expose you to genres of reading that you otherwise may have not considered.
I am so very excited to do this with you! Yes, of course, I’ll be doing this with you. We’ll have many wonderful stories to share from the adventures we take in the books we read. You’d better hold on to your book jacket because here we go!
“Tell me, teacher, what do I have to do? How do I get a good grade?” This is a personal reading challenge. This year, we will all learn how to use data to help us make informed decisions and S.M.A.R.T. goals.
“I don’t get it. All you’ve said is that we’ll be making goals. What am I supposed to do?” READ! That is what I expect you to do! The books you read are entirely up to you. The length of the book you read is also your decision. Yes, there is a list of genres and a suggested number of books that you read from that genre, but you will decide which books to read. No, I’m not kidding. Here is why I am trusting you with these decisions.
At the beginning of the year we will all take an assessment that will provide us very important information: reading level and reading comprehension. What, you ask, does that mean? Simply, it is how well you read and how much you remember and understand about what you read. We’ll take the same test again at mid-year to see if we’re improving our reading skills. The data from these tests will help inform our decisions like the level of books we read and how often we read. These will be your decisions that will be backed up by the data. “Never questions the data!” - Name that movie.
“So, am I going to get a grade for this? Why should I do this?” Are you sitting down? No, really, if you’re not you had better sit down. No, you will not be getting a grade. Guess what? There are no reading calendars either. Hey, are you okay? I know that is a little hard to believe, but it is true. There are other assignments on which you will be graded, but the idea here is for you to learn to love to read for the simple joy of reading. Remember, this is a personal reading challenge. You may have a goal to read 40 books this year. But if you have never read more than 3 books in a school year, a goal to read 40 may not be realistic. It is very important for you to know that this isn’t about the number of books that you or your friend has chosen to take on as their challenge: The intent is for you to make an informed decision that allows you to set a S.M.A.R.T. goal that helps you learn to love to read and expose you to genres of reading that you otherwise may have not considered.
I am so very excited to do this with you! Yes, of course, I’ll be doing this with you. We’ll have many wonderful stories to share from the adventures we take in the books we read. You’d better hold on to your book jacket because here we go!
