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What is March Reading Madness?
What is March Reading Madness?
It's a fun way to share the joy of books and reading with our class, school, and world. Sixteen books are competing to be the champion! Which one will come out on top?
How do we participate?
Read/listen to as many of the 16 picture books as you can. Talk about them. Share your favorites and vote. First round voting closes on Friday, March 18th. You may want to have your students make their own picks for the month prior to voting. You can print brackets for your class or share one digitally if you'd like your students to do this. Please don't worry if you are unable to get to all of the books before the voting starts. Take a look at the book resources for book summaries, author websites, discussion guides, and other activities.
How and when do we listen to the stories?
You can choose to do this however you'd like. The 16 books have been read and recorded by some special readers, some of whom are familiar faces. Teachers and students can access these books at this website (this link will also be shared on the media center page, the eResources website, and on the Library/Media Google Classrooms. Students can listen to the stories independently, as a class, at home, during school, whenever and as often as they'd like. Please note that both you and your students will need to be logged into your stjoebears.com account in order to view the recordings.
We should have either multiple copies or access to eBooks for each title available should you decide you'd like to read the book aloud to your class.
Two books are available on EPIC. Use the links here to access those books.
There are 7 books available in eBook format. Here's how you access those:
Go to Lincoln's Destiny Discover page and log in with the following credentials:
Username: sjreader
Password: Bears123
Once you login to Discover, check under "My Stuff" and click "Checkouts." You'll find these books there.
Every Night is Pizza Night
Everything Naomi Loved
This Very Tree
Sharice's Big Voice
Hardly Haunted
Once you login to Discover, check under "My Stuff" and click "Assigned." You'll find these books there.
A Walk in the Words
My First Day
How and when do we vote?
Voting will occur on the following dates and can be done either as a class or individually. The links to the voting form will be found on the home page. The individual voting form will also be included on the media center page for students to access.
Round 1 (Sweet 16) - Voting must be completed by NOON on Friday, March 18.
Round 2 (Elite 8) - Voting must be completed by NOON on Thursday, March 24.
Round 3 (Final 4) - Voting must be completed by NOON on Monday, March 28.
Round 4 (Semi-Final) - Voting must be completed by NOON on Wednesday, March 30. We will determine our school/district winner, but will have to wait until after spring break to see how the results play out with the rest of the world.
What are some ways to get students talking about books?
You could use some Kagan Structures. Thanks, Kristen, for sharing all of these great cooperative learning ideas.
Timed-Pair-Share
At the perfect point in a read aloud or video, pause and pose a question to the class related to making a prediction. Ask students to first think about what might happen next, then turn to their shoulder partner to share in a Timed-Pair-Share (examples of directions to share: 30 seconds each, person A goes first).
This structure works for almost any open-ended question with multiple "correct" responses that you might otherwise pose to the whole group and ask students to raise their hands. Instead of calling on one, call on everyone!
Timed RoundRobin
At the end of a read aloud or video share, pose an open-ended question to the class (could be something like, "What was your favorite part? Why?" or "Did you like this story? Why or why not?" or "Who was your favorite character? Why").
Tell students they will have one minute to share with their table team in a Timed RoundRobin. Ask students to first think (allow wait time), select as number (1-4) to go first, set a timer then say, "go".
Again, this structure works for almost any open-ended question with multiple "correct" responses that you might otherwise pose to the whole group and ask students to raise their hands. Instead of calling on one, call on everyone!
Talking Chips
Upon completion of the story or video, ask the students an open-ended question that lends itself to sharing an opinion. Table teams will then discuss their thoughts using the structure Talking Chips. Please note, any item can be used as a "talking chip", such as bingo chips, popsicle sticks, or pennies.
Jot Thoughts
This structure is intended to be used for brainstorming prior to engaging in new learning. Provide think time, set a timer for 3ish minutes, then say, "go". Students will take turns "saying it" and "writing it" on a slip of paper (or a post-it), not going in any specific order. The goal is to cover the table in the allotted amount of time.
Tips & Reminders
Remember that one of the tenants of cooperative learning is having a culture of trust and safety among the students in your class.
Be sure to model the structure with a fun, team building topic first to ensure success.
Are there any dress up days this year?
Are there any dress up days this year?
Yes, visit the student website to see all the dress up days and other events.
All of the resources you'll need can be found on this site and/or on the media center page under the heading, March is Reading Month Resources. Please feel free to contact Julia, Connie, Jen, Jo-Anne, or Mary with any questions you have.
All of the resources you'll need can be found on this site and/or on the media center page under the heading, March is Reading Month Resources. Please feel free to contact Julia, Connie, Jen, Jo-Anne, or Mary with any questions you have.
The most important thing to remember is to have fun and enjoy some great books!
The most important thing to remember is to have fun and enjoy some great books!
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