Happy
Birthday! In your classroom you probably
celebrate 20 or more birthdays every year.
Why not celebrate reading and books at the same time? The Birthday Celebration Book Club is the perfect blending of birthdays and books.
The idea is simple and can be adapted to work in any classroom. Basically, students donate a book to the class or school library as part of their birthday celebration. A special nameplate is added to the book with the child's name and date of donation. Then the child gets to be the first one to check out that special book.
You have several options of how to make this work in your classroom.
-You can have a set of new "Birthday" books from which the student gets to choose. This way you know your library will get books at an appropriate level, content and interest. If I do this option I set one price for the books, say $5 for soft cover books or $15 for hard cover books. This will usually cover most of the costs incurred when you purchase the books.
-You can have a list of appropriate books and the student's parents can purchase one of the books from a bookstore.
-You can give the student a coupon that can be used during the next class book order. When the book arrives a name plate is added and the child gets to check it out first.
I want to make sure this Birthday Celebration Book Club is available for all students. If I know a family isn't able to donate a book for their child I'll let that child choose a book at no cost.
Don't forget to snap a picture of the child with their new book! You can add their picture to a class display near your library.
This picture is from the Tarwater Elementary library in Chandler, Arizona. Their Birthday Book Club is the inspiration for my blog post!
I've put together a little freebie to help you get started with your own Birthday Celebration Book Club. Click on the picture to download this free page.
Now
that you have these wonderful new books in your class library here are a few ideas
of ways you can use them during independent reading, with partner or small
group reading times.
Reading Chat Cards
Perfect to use during partner reading or independent reading time. Students choose a card to discuss or use one of the cards to write about in their journal. (Click on picture to see the Chat Cards in my store.)
Close Reading Discussion Cards and Organizers
This set of cards and organizers can be used in small groups or with individual students as they learn to dig deeper into the text while they read. (Click on picture to see the Close Reading packet in my store.)
Reading: Find the Evidence Task Cards
This set of task cards are designed to be used with your own fiction and informational text. Students use a text and then search for evidence to answer the questions. They're great for beginning research skills while reading informational text. (Click on picture to see the Close Reading packet in my store.)
