Reading Warriors White Knoll Elementary’s Reading Incentive Program

1. Reading WarriorsWhite Knoll Elementary’s Reading Incentive Program Presented by: Terri Catalano (Media Specialist) tcatalano@lexington1.net and Jennifer Ebert (Literacy Coach) jebert@lexington1.net

2. 9-4-08 Good Morning,I am excited to share with you a reading initiative on which Jennifer and I are collaborating.  You may recall that I have promoted reading and voting on the SC Children's Book Award nominees for the past two years;  the program we are coordinating this year is similar, but we are turning it up a notch - or BAM! as we add some spice to our program as Emeril does when cooking!You can see on the attached form the list of Children's Book Award nominee this year  - there are a lot of great books and I think our students will get excited about reading many of the titles.  On the bottom of the page are the instructions for how many books the students need to read to qualify as a Reading Warrior:  if they read 3 books each quarter for a total of 12 at the end of the year, they will receive a certificate at the awards assembly.  If they read at least 5 books by February they can vote for their favorite, along with students from across the state.To ensure that students are getting credit for books they have read, they will be required to write a one paragraph review on the WKES Shelfari homepage at one of the computers in the media center.  (http://www.shelfari.com/o1517623636/lists/IsRead#firstBook=0&list=6&sort=custom).  The review will give us accountability to ensure that students are reading and will allow them to practice some "real world" writing that their peers can use for suggestions when choosing a book to read.We want to add a fun classroom component also.  We are making poster size charts for each of your classes with the titles of the 20 books across the top of the chart and spaces for you to write the names of your students down the side of the chart.  Each time a student completes a book and writes a review on a media center computer that is posted on Shelfari, we will send them back to your class with a note that indicates they have earned a star.  At that time, you, or your student, can put a star in the spot that shows the name of the student and the book that he/she read.  By using this chart, your class will have a constant visual representation of their participation in this exciting program.Each week on the morning news, Jennifer and I will present a "reading minute."  This feature will vary from week to week but will address something about reading or the Reading Warrior  program.  For example, one week we might booktalk one or two titles to generate interest.  One week we may draw one or two random names from all the students who have posted reviews on Shelfari and the student and his/her teacher will win a prize.  Another week we might do a short read aloud that highlights a special day, such as a Halloween read aloud.  The objective of the reading minute will be to get students excited about reading and specifically to participate in our year long Reading Warrior program.We will introduce this program to students tomorrow (September 5) on the morning news and we will bring the posters to your room today and tomorrow.  We hope you are as excited about this as we are (ok, we will settle for mildly interested!)  Bottom line - we are coordinating the program, our students will get excited about reading and You Might Win A Prize!Thanks so much.  Please email us with any questions.Terri and Jennifer

3. South Carolina Children’s Book Award Nominees 2008-2009 • Archer’s Quest by Linda Sue Park • Big One-oh by Dean Pitchford • Bringing Ezra Back by Cynthia DeFelice • Clementine by Sara Pennypacker • Melvin Beederman Superhero: Curse of the Bologna Sandwich by Greg Trine • Dexter, the Tough by Margaret Peterson Haddix • Drita, My Homegirl by Jenny Lombard • Earth Dragon Awakes, The San Franciso Earthquake of 1906 by Laurence Yep • Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson • Free Baseball by Sue Corbett • Gossamer by Lois Lowry • Homework Machine by Dan Gutman • How to Save Your Tail by Mary Elizabeth Hanson • How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor • Jack Plank Tells Tales by Natalie Babbitt • Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo • Pompeii: Lost and Found by Mary Pope Osborne • Room One: a Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements • Roxie and the Hooligans by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor • Winners Walk by Nancy Ruth Patterson Do you want to be a Reading Warrior? Read at least 3 CBA nominee books each 9 weeks and write a one paragraph review on WKE’s Shelfari homepage. Read at least 5 CBA books to vote for your favorite in February. At the end of the school year you if you read at least 12 CBA books and write a review for each one, you will receive a Reading Warrior certificate at the Awards Assembly. 9 Week Quarters Aug. 20- Oct. 24/Oct. 25 – Jan. 15 /Jan. 16 – March 26/March 27 - May 22

5. Dear Teachers, Your student has read another book from the Children’s Book Awards list and he/she has written a review on Shelfari. Please allow him/her to put a star under the title they just reviewed on your chart. Thank you! T. Catalano and J. Ebert

6. Shelfari- Room One by Andrew Clements (3rd grader) Roxie and the Hooligans by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (4th grader) Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson (5th grader) How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor (teacher review)

7. Spotlighting our Reading Warriors Knightly News: WKE has a “news” show program that airs each morning at 7:40. Here we highlight some Reading Warriors who have posted reviews on Shelfari. We usually have them come to the media center after the news show to get some sort of prize: poster, book, bookmark, etc.

8. Gains we have made: We took names from Shelfari reviews and used their MAP data from Fall to Winter to see if these students have increased in their MAP scores. We found gains with most of those students who have participated in our Reading Warriors reading initiative. Our average gain is 4.4 points from Fall to Winter.

9. What We Are Visioning... • That our students have created a love of learning for themselves • That our students enjoy reading • That our students’ scores will strengthen due to part of our Reading Warrior incentive program The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. -Dr. Seuss

10. Readfest – March 21, 2009 Lexington High School 10:00-1:00 12-2-08 At this year's READ FEST on Saturday, March 21, there will be a Book Award Bowl to test readers' knowledge of this year's SC Book Award Nominees!  Teams of 6 students will compete with other schools, "Family Feud" style, answering trivia about the books they've read collectively.  I would love to have a team of our students participate in this competition. We can have a run off if we have several teachers/teams of students interested in participating.   The more nominees the students know, the better prepared they are to participate.  I'm looking for a team to participate in the SC Children Book Award competition.  Let me know if you'd like to be involved in this exciting opportunity to encourage reading!  Thanks! Terri