OUR READING CORE
We love reading at our school! Through your junior years you will have a lot of time to read. Independent reading takes place each year. Know this, once you turn the key on your reading your learning gets a rev up. All it takes to get started is a visit to the library in real time or online. Best of all, you can read for free!
Active Reading
To become the best reader you can be you need to read, both on your own and with others. As Dr. Seuss most famously rhymed, 'The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go'. At school the following reading activities will take place throughout the year:
- Reader Notebook entries
- Reading conferences
- Independent classroom and library reading time
- Reading exit ticket tasks
- Using book talk bookmarks
- Reading texts together as a class
- Homework reading
- PAT-R support measurements
Classifying What We Read
As readers it is useful for us to understand the genres of the books we read. There are many genres and it can be hard to remember them when someone asks us to identify the genre of a text we are reading. It can also be tricky to not confuse a theme for a genre category. We are going to view the following videos to revise our knowledge of genres.
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Your Personal Reading Log Challenge
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Independent reading time will take place in your English classes during the year.
Getting hooked on reading will bring you lots of rewards, for example:
Being the strongest reader you can be helps you earn more $$$$$$ in the future. Statistics say it is so!
- This reading time is designed to develop your reading skills.
- Sometimes you will get to read self-selected texts.
- Sometimes you will read teacher prescribed texts.
- You will develop a reading log as you move through the year.
Getting hooked on reading will bring you lots of rewards, for example:
- - book vouchers
- - maybe some sets of house points
- - some students manage to join the hundreds reading club
- - you get smarter and smarter and...
Being the strongest reader you can be helps you earn more $$$$$$ in the future. Statistics say it is so!
SHOW ME THE MONEY!
- Concentrate on reading during independent reading time
- Participate in reading conferences and set goals
- Use your PRC account to log your reading
- Verify the reading you have logged
Reading Conferences
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Reading conferences are an important tool to help students understand themselves as readers. Participating in a reading conference gives students a chance to discuss how they are reading with a support person. Together they can set a specific goal that will help a student build on their reading skills over time. Reading conferences for students can be done by teachers, parents/guardians, peer and elder students, elder siblings and volunteers. It is also a wonderful activity which students can do at school or at home.
Book Reviews and Trailers
The school library team offers students the opportunity to create and submit book reviews and trailers all year round. The 'Licorice Allsorts' blog features reading recommendations from school staff and student created book reviews and trailers.
While book reviews and trailers get created in class assignments at times, independent student development of them in response to texts of a student's own choice is a valid extension task. This work can be submitted to the library team to be uploaded as a 'Licorice Allsort' post. Students seeking extension in English are also encouraged to participate in the 'Insideadog' reading community through which they can enter competitions, nominate books to be considered in the Inky Awards for best youth literature and even apply to be on the Inky Awards judging panel.
While book reviews and trailers get created in class assignments at times, independent student development of them in response to texts of a student's own choice is a valid extension task. This work can be submitted to the library team to be uploaded as a 'Licorice Allsort' post. Students seeking extension in English are also encouraged to participate in the 'Insideadog' reading community through which they can enter competitions, nominate books to be considered in the Inky Awards for best youth literature and even apply to be on the Inky Awards judging panel.
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Book reviews can take shape in a variety of formats. You can access tips for writing a quick or longer 'Licorice Allsort' review by clicking this link. Shorter reviews for 'Licorice Allsorts' can be 20-50 words long and more in-depth reviews can start from 250 words with a maximum 750 words limit. When writing reviews ensure you include a spoiler alert if needed. Spoiler shock is not fun for anyone! Just look at poor Rarity.
To get used to thinking through key items discussed in a book review students can use the following scaffold to produce some reviews as journal pieces.
Basic Book Review by katieb555 on Scribd
Book trailers are a visual way for readers to honour and promote books they have loved reading. Lots of equipment and web tools are available for students to use to create their own trailers. Trailers can be created by students on their own or as a group. Their creation can involve writing, drawing, sourced images, video, sound and more. PhotoPeach and Animoto are two tools students have enjoyed using to create book trailers. With devices, cameras, programs and a healthy dose of imagination students have everything they need to create a book trailer at their fingertips. View the example embedded below for inspiration.