Summer Literature Groups With Students

Summer To Do List:

-Survive Heat (Double-check- BLAH- HATE THIS PART)

-Plant Garden (check)

-Add sod lawn to back yard (check)

-Swimming(not my favorite, but- check)

-Lazy (sorta- check)

-Ice Cream (Quadruple check- YUM!)

-Literature Circles with Students (check)

-Vacation with my family (check)

Whoa! Did you just say literature circles with students...DURING THE SUMMER?

Actually yes. Yes I did.

Thanks to an amazing parent helper I run a book club/literature circle/book talk (and any other name that has been used to re-purpose  and make money on) every other week. The students are given a book to read (with their input) and then have 2 weeks to read it, write in their book club journals (we asked for every 40 pages or less for them to make an entry), and be ready to discuss. 

Is it successful, with only a couple of students attending?

I would say yes. So only a couple of students are currently participating. That is a couple more that will read over the summer. The rest of my class from last year just doesn't know what they are missing. I also think would more come if they remembered. This parent helper, Mrs. M., brings themed treats for the book. 

For example, because we just finished The Lemonade War,  she brought lemonade to drink, lemon flavored candies to eat, and sherbet flavored Oreos as well. Then, she brought extra treats and for every extra book read during the two weeks, the students were given an extra reward. Mrs. M is also making mini-book covers of each book for the students to glue on their reading journals (an idea that I am going to use with my students this coming year in writing- more on that later when I have all the details worked out). So the students will be able to see all the books they read over the summer. (She even makes them for the extra books they have read during the two weeks).

What are you reading for this coming meeting?

We are reading: Among the Impostersby Margaret P. Haddix. It is book 2 is the Shadow Children Series. If you haven't read that series, then NOW is the time... Wow they are an amazing read. I am excited to sit down tomorrow with my students and Mrs. M and discuss this book. There are so many things that can be drawn out- bullying, being yourself, having pride, etc.

So, Mr. Hughes, where do you hold your book chats?

Good question. I am lucky enough to hold them right in my classroom. Yes, desks are stacked everywhere, and my room is a wreck, but we all just look past that for the time being and gather around a single desk in what ever chairs are around. I love it.

What if I can't use my classroom?

I would check with your local library and see if they will let you use a room or space there. I wouldn't dare hold it at my own home, not even in the small rural town where I live. I might know everyone here, but I will not take any chances.

Closing Thoughts...

Summertime really is a time for teachers to relax, formulate ideas for the next year, and reflect on how the past year went. However, if you are anything like me, I NEVER stop thinking about how I can be a better teacher. Some ideas work, and lots do not.  But, summer book talks are an easy thing for me (every other week for an hour is doable) and I enjoy knowing that at least a couple kids will be on level when they hit 7th grade next year.

What are your thoughts on this?

Later...

How Do You Keep Them Reading?

Summer is finally starting just around the bend (or in my case, today). If you are like me, then you are already worrying about your current class being successful next year, and hoping with all your might that your upcoming class will (oh please, oh please), dare I say it? Read! Ahhhhh! READING???? Yes Reading!

I have read study after study (plus MORE studies) about this problem. It seems that most experts agree that our kids and students need to read 4-6 books over the summer to help prevent the summer slide. This year, I created this for my students:

I knew that I wanted my students to read, but I also knew that just telling them to read everyday would be as exciting as asking them to write a 10 page paper on the ozone layer every day during the summer.

So, I sat down with my amazing wife and we came up with 30 activities/ideas that I felt would be interesting, fun, and above all exciting for my students to do.

I think things like getting to read junk mail to activities with the cereal box in the morning are easy to do, engaging enough students will do it and not realize the they are "reading".

I had the ideas- now I needed to decide on the best format to  make it engaging for my kids.

I envisioned a jar with the ideas on slips of paper- kind of like a "I'm Bored Jar", or something. But I wanted the design to be a little more eye-candy-ish. So I came up with some pretty cool looking cards that can be drawn one at a time. Then I decided that maybe not all kids would want a bunch of cards to try and keep track of (while others would LOVE them!). So, I then thought of a calendar format.  I didn't want to have the dates locked in, as that would make it less useful if a student skipped/missed a day.

Thus I came up with more of a format that LOOKS like a calendar, but is really just a grid of ideas. I typed up the instructions at the top and added a reading challenge on the bottom that is more like a traditional reading assignment I would give to my students during the school year.

My next goal was to provide the parents with some information about summer reading. So I wrote a parent letter that informed them of the need to keep their child reading, explained how to use the activities I was sending home, and encouraged them to contact me with any questions they may have had (preferably BEFORE school ended for the year.

And then, because I was planning on making this resource available to other teachers, I needed an instructions sheet.

So THIS is what you get:

I'd say that is a whole lot of easy-to-use for you for a way LOW price!

My students were very excited to get the activities. I sent the calendar home with them this year, as a test drive. I am very pleased with how it turned out, and I am excited to use it year after year!

Enjoy!

Later....