Friday, December 15, 2006

Get caught reading!

When I started our program, "Get caught reading!", I really had no idea the life it would take on. The SSR program is going well for the teachers who are following the three guidelines (student choice, teacher modeling, and non-assessment). I am seeing great successes with my advisory students.

The thing of it is this--the students are not just reading, but they are talking about reading. They are sharing books with friends and relating books to their lives and there is just an attitude towards reading that I have never seen before. They are excited about books. They are coming to me for more books. I am dealing books as though they are a narcotic.

So I decided to award the students who were doing well with a free t-shirt. The front says Bulldogs and the back has an awesome graphic of a dog and books with a caption that reads, "I dig books!" These t-shirts are a hit. Sure its a free shirt. But they want their shirt. No one wants to miss out on their new shirt. Its awesome. It just makes me excited and renews my spirit. These kids renew my spirit.

Oh and just so you know--we had over 75 kids read more than 6 books in the first semester! That is sneaking up on 10% of our student body!