Embedded Files
Do you remember when reading was fun? The 40 Book Challenge is designed to put the joy back into independent reading. It is a vetted program based on The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller. We all know that reading touches every aspect of learning and the more we intentionally practice this discipline, the more successful we will be in all areas of life. Reading is EVERYWHERE!
The 40 Book Challenge is just that — a personal CHALLENGE. It is not a class grade. It is not a mandatory program. It is not meant to deflate student achievement. It is merely meant to push students, teachers, and families to embrace a culture of reading, to explore all genres, and to push beyond our comfort zones.
Families are encouraged to celebrate reading at home. Set aside your electronics for 20-30 minutes every night and spend time reading and talking about the books you are reading as a family. Recommend books to your children that were special to you at his/her age. Better yet, read them together as a family!
Discuss what you are reading. What happened in your book tonight? What was something you really liked? What surprised you? Were you able to make a connection about what you read to something else? Were there words you didn’t understand?
As part of our iteration of the 40 Book Challenge, students can earn badges showcasing their progress. Those badges may result in XP within our gamified class experience, and could even produce item cards and power-ups. Students can earn badges based on the number of pages, words, and books they've read, the various genres of books they've read, and for reading books in which the setting relates to our Ancient Civilizations curriculum.
Successful completion of the 40 Book Challenge will result in a custom "medal" in recognition of the achievement.
As an elementary school pupil, and even into those first years of middle school, Mr. Moriarty was a fairly active reader. He consumed as many of Gertrude Chandler Warner's The Boxcar Children books as he could get his hands on; R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books were all the rage; and despite never being a science fiction fan, Mr. Moriarty was a big fan of the works of Jules Verne. Then came the later levels of middle school, where reading began to take a back seat. By high school, reading any book — much less one assigned in class — was a rarity. For many, the books assigned were boring — or was taught in a boring way that turned us off as readers. It's a shame as some of those books were actually quite good when (re)visited many years later! It wasn't until adulthood that reading regularly began to resurface. Today, Mr. Moriarty has a long list of books he wants to read, and is often reading one or two books at a time, plus an audiobook while driving or out for a walk.
Reading is encouraged with his own children, and it has paid off tremendously in their reading levels, academic success, engagement with the world, confidence, making connections from books to the world around us, and more!
Page updated
Report abuse