Sunday, September 22, 2013

Raider Reader Reviews (for the middle school)



Be a part of the RAIDER READER REVIEWS in the Walt Fortney Learning Center.  This year we will be keeping track of our reading progress by graphing the amount of books we check out every month and creating a colorful paper chain to track the books we have read over the school year.

In the few short days we had in August, students and staff checked out 513 books... That's amazing, considering we only had 2 full days of school in the beginning, due to the heat wave we experienced.

Q.  How do you participate?

A.  That's EASY!!!  Just pick a book and read it, when you have finished reading the book, fill out a "Raider Reader Review"

Q. Where do I find these "Raider Reader Reviews"?

A. In your Raider Round Up Advisory Rooms.

Q. When can I fill the form out?

A. In the morning during Raider Round Up, on "TURN THE PAGE TUESDAY".  Your Raider Round Up Adviser will have the forms available to you.  Your advisers will also collect your reviews and turn them into the "RAIDER READER REVIEW GUILD" to be tallied.

Q. What do I need to put on the review?

A. The Title, The Author, Date Read, Who the Reader is (that's you), your rating of the book and a brief reason why you gave it the rating you did.  There are 5 stars on each review.  "1" is low and "5" would mean you really liked the book and would recommend it to others.

Q. What if I do not like the book I'm reading?, Can I stop reading it and pick a new one?

A. You sure can ... But don't forget to give it a REVIEW first!  The Raider Reader Review Guild wants to hear all about it and every book counts!  No matter how GOOD or BAD the book may be.  Just simply say something like "I stopped reading this book because ... And give your reason why.

Q. Where can I see the progress of the books checked out?

A. We will keep track of our reading progress through a color coded paper chain of some sort.  Each Grade will have a particular color and in order for us to create a Rainbow of colors, the staff at Anamosa Middle school will also be participating in this friendly reading competition.  

A list is shown below:

Blue = 5th Grade
Pink= 6th Grade
Yellow = 7th Grade
Green = 8th Grade

Red = Administration
Orange = Teachers
Purple = Para Educators
White = Cooks, Janitorial, Maintenance, IT, and other Staff

Q. Will there be prizes? 

A. Yes, we have not worked out the details yet, but yes there will be prizes for the top readers.  Teachers I'm not sure how to approach this ... tell the kids and use it as a carrot to dangle in front of them or keep it a secret until the end of the year)  Suggestions would be greatly appreciated... Maybe each grade level could create a goal of books they want the students to achieve for each quarter and maybe we could approach the foundation or the PTO for trinket type prizes along the way for certain amounts of books read and reviewed and the the end of the year t-shirts for the top reader(s) in each grade level, at the end of the year, that has something cleaver about reading books.?????  Maybe have a special snack day at the end of each quarter to celebrate ... Which would give even the lowest readers something to look forward to or want to strive for.  This way everyone feels like they win and gives each student a boost of confidence to maybe strive for the bigger prize?!?!?!

Q. When does this fun adventure kick off?

A. October 1, it just so happens to be on a Tuesday and the beginning of a fresh new month of school.

Q. Where do we turn in the Raider Reader Reviews?

A. I will have a box in the teachers lounge and you can place them in there and if we don't tally any results from your group, we will come check on you.  I plan to make this Kevin's job to help make copies of the Raider Reader Reviews, and place them in your mail boxes each week.  Kevin and I will also do all the tallying and chain making.  It will be a great life skill for Kevin.  He loves to role play "work/job".  If you ever have questions along the way, please feel free to email me or track me down.  I'm an open book (no pun intended) :D

Q. Why are you asking us to do this?

A. On a personal level, do you ever have those moments in life, when you don't understand your purpose in life, and then something happens and it all of a sudden makes sense!?!?  One morning I woke up and said "I NEED to make a difference" and shortly after I became a Special Education Para Educator to a young man named Jacob.  No one here knows Jacob, but if you ~ he would have made you smile... he truly was a miracle child and LOVED to make a difference by donating to just about every cause he ever learned about.  Sadly, in February we lost Jacob at the young age of 15, from 22q Deletion Syndrome and the MRSA that had consumed his little body.  Even in his death, this little miracle (he was only three feet tall), continued to give by donating his eyes to someone in need and his body to Science for research.  Jacob's mom always told me I made a difference in life, because he hated to go to school until I became his Para ... We were like two peas in a pod, (my second son) and my heart misses him every day.  Every time I see a butterfly it reminds me of the life lessons he taught me!  As Teachers, you understand this.  Many of you are teachers today, because someone made a difference in your lives.  Truth is my kids, Jacob and Kevin are the ones that make me want to strive to make a difference.  October 1st, would have been Jacob's 16th birthday, all of us who knew him thought we were the ones teaching him, but in reality he taught us so much more.  so in honor of someone who loved to read and taught himself how to read by reading NASA documents, I ask you to do this Jacob "KDot" Kane style and go forth and continue to make a difference in the lives of those you come across.

Again, my intent for this is to not pile more work onto your already long work week... But to have fun with it and to just encourage the kids to READ, READ, READ and yes do their homework too!

With that, I will leave you with a favorite quote of mine... Fitting for this particular adventure.

The more that you read, the more things you know, the more you learn, the more places you go ~ Dr. Seuss

Imagine the places they will go once they LOVE to read, instead of HAVING to read.  So lets have some fun!!  OK ~ one more quote ~

You're off to great places, today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way! :D

Thanks All ~ I LOVE working with you all!!

Jade

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