Home Summer Reading Program

There are many organized summer reading programs available in most communities.  Public libraries, schools, camps and churches often have some version to promote reading for fun over the school breaks.

Want more than what is offered through formal reading programs or facing reluctant participants? Or maybe you are travelling but still want a way to keep those young minds active.  Adjust existing programs or customize your own home program for your kids to match their needs and challenge their range. The following idea comes from the Create Your Own Summer Reading Program By Laureen Miles Brunelli as posted on Work-At-Home Moms

You could do a similar summer reading program, making it more or less complicated.

• I created a spreadsheet with a column for the weeks of the summer and a row across the top with each child’s name.
  
• I created prize card with rewards like:
  • Get out of dishes free
  • 30 minutes computer, Wii or TV time during "non-electronic time"
  • 1 song from iTunes
  • Trip to the dog park (Mom and Dad, but not the pooch, grew weary of this one!)
  • Stay up late
  • Sleep in late
  
  
• Kids earn one point for each page read. We entered the number of pages read by each kid every few days. (It was an honor system, but on a separate page I kept track of the titles and the last page read to head off any exaggerations or confusion.) Kids could also earn bonus points when they finished a book, worked on summer homework or listened to an audiobook.
  
• On Sundays we awarded first- and second-place prizes to the kids who had the most points, letting them choose from the prize cards. And if everyone had earned at least 150 points, we went out for ice cream.
  
• I set both short- and long-term prizes to keep interest in the program from waning midsummer. I awarded weekly, monthly and a grand prize. The monthly prizes were drawings for toys, gift cards and other item valued at about $10. Kids earned entries into the drawings when they read 100 pages or finished a book. So even the third place weekly winner, four weeks running had a shot at the monthly prize.
  
• The person with the most points at the end of the summer won a cash prize. And we all ordered pizza and celebrated ourselves too.

Found on foreverforalwaysnomatterwhat.com

Track the kids progress and keep the program fresh by creating a visual space.  Post book titles, achievements, library due dates, reaction papers, etc.   Get the whole family involved and create a spot from Mom, Dad and grandparents too!

Remember that reading is not just about  books.  Count magazines, newspapers, graphic novels, fiction and non-fiction.

Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind by Judy Finchler

Ace teacher Miss Malarkey returns in a picture book narrated by a reluctant reader. Although comfortable within his small group of video-game-playing buddies, a boy wants to contribute to the schoolwide goal of reading 1,000 books in hope of seeing Principal Wiggins "dye his hair purple and sleep on the roof of the school." Trying one of Miss Malarkey's suggested books after another, he rejects them all--until she finds the perfect one to match his eclectic interests. Expressive cartoon-style illustrations, brightened with markers and colored pencils, create a series of lively scenes in which speech balloons record conversations and comments not found in the text. With an unstated moral, this is one volume that librarians won't soon forget. Short lists of recommended books, including a bibliography of adult books that recommend children's books, are appended. [Carolyn Phelan-Booklist]

Check out this Free Lesson Plan on Teachers Pay Teachers

It includes a written lesson plan, discussion questions, a reading survey, and a book list to use with the school library catalog. This is a great lesson for starting the beginning of the school year, as it allows you to see students' interest and gets them excited about choosing library books. It also will allow students to go the library with a purpose as they search for the books that they have included on their book list!

From Miss  Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind by Judy Finchler

D.E.A.R. Drop everything and read

Several of my schools run Drop Everything And Read programs where D.E.A.R. is scheduled once or twice every week.  The school falls silent except for that wonderful sound of pages turning.

Never heard of D.E.A.R?    Learn more about it here...

What is D.E.A.R.? 

image source: www.thedabblingspeechie.com 

From http://www.dropeverythingandread.com

D.E.A.R. stands for “Drop Everything and Read,” a  celebration of reading designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority activity in their lives. Because, what’s more fun(damental) than reading, really? 

Drop Everything and Read-where dropping things (chores, errands, paperwork, staplers . . . okay, maybe not that last one) and reading books is highly encouraged! 

Our assertion around here is that reading, whether you’re on your own or cozied up on the couch with your kids, is so much more fun and rewarding than just about anything else (especially, chores!). So, we’re telling folks of all ages to “drop” what they’re doing and pick up a book, instead.

D.E.A.R. can be an individual home activity or , as I often participate in, a school-wide activity.  


How Does it Work?

Very easy to organize, D.E.A.R. is a great way to get both staff and students reading! Once a week (or more often) an specific time is set aside where the whole school will clear their desks off, or find a comfy spot on the floor to take their book and read quietly. Every student in the school brings in their own reading material or a book from the school or classroom library  An announcement is made over the P.A. letting the school know that D.E.A.R. is about to  begin.  The whole school will stop, drop what they are doing and to read, for pleasure, for 20 minutes.  A follow-up  announcement lets students know when it ends.

Alternatively, classes can schedule their own D.E.A.R. time, close the classroom door and enjoy a book for a while. I prefer the school-wide version because it usually illuminates the chances for interruption.  Since the whole school is involved, there are no classes moving in the halls and no visitors knocking on room doors.  P.A. interruptions are usually suspended during the 20 minutes.

It is a great way to take a break from an intensive lesson or to calm everyone down after recess or ease into the day.

Many Public Libraries, School Libraries and Library Systems hold annual D.E.A.R. events advertised with posters, bookmarks, book fairs and t-shirts.

Poster used by Library Resource Centre Managers in North Lanarkshire.

from the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians' Association