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In a world where screens compete for our attention at every turn, there’s something truly magical happening in schools across the nation. It’s called the “One School, One Book” initiative, a breath of fresh air for teachers and families. This program isn’t just about reading, it’s about igniting a passion for stories. Community reading creates a strong sense of togetherness among students, parents, and teachers. So, grab a comfy chair, because in this blog post, we’re diving into the world of “One School, One Book.” We’ll uncover what it’s all about, the benefits, and how you can host one at your school. I’ve even got some fantastic book suggestions for your K-5 community! What’s the Buzz About “One School, One Book”? So, what’s this whole “One School, One Book” thing all about? At its core, it’s about building a vibrant sense of community through the sheer wonder of a
One of the many tasks I am given as a school librarian is to help foster a love of reading in our students. Reading is such a passion of mine because of the adventures I can go on and the lessons I can learn. All students should have access to positive reading experiences, whether it be in partners, small groups, or independently. For many years now, the Accelerated Reader program has been a popular program to add some accountability to independent reading. But it can cause stress for some students, and for others the requirement of hitting a goal takes all the fun out of reading. So let’s talk about five accelerated reader alternatives that are fun and effective. 1. An Epic! Alternative to Accelerated Reader Epic! is one of the first alternatives for the Accelerated Reader program I recommend due to the eye-catching and easy-to-navigate site. Students receive
As the school year winds down, we want to empower our students to continue learning through the summer. Summer reading programs are a great incentive for students to read during the summer months. And while this is a wonderful way to help avoid the summer slide, I also believe that summer reading is a great way to help kids fall in love with reading. Here are 9 free summer reading programs that will have your students staying on top of their reading all summer long! 1. Local Libraries’ Summer Reading Programs Discover the amazing wonders that your local library has to offer! Many libraries will have summer reading programs for different age ranges. You may even remember participating in one when you were growing up! The summer reading programs at your libraries are free to sign up for. The milestones of the program may vary from library to library.
Summer break may be filled with sunshine and free time, but that doesn’t mean reading has to take a vacation! Summer is the perfect opportunity to help our kiddos fall in love with reading. At the very least, they should keep their skills fresh until school starts back up. We know the summer slide is real, but with a few intentional strategies and a sprinkle of fun, summer reading can become a highlight of the season. Make Summer Reading Exciting With a Challenge Kids love a little friendly competition! A challenge is a great way to keep our kiddos motivated while they’re away from the classroom. You can keep it simple by encouraging your students to read a set number of books or mix it up with a bingo-style reading challenge. My Summer Reading Packet includes several fun options like “Read under the covers,” “Read a joke book,” or
It’s getting to be that long stretch in the year in which students start to become unmotivated after winter break. Summer break seems so close, everyone can almost smell it, yet it’s still pretty far away. Keeping students motivated at this time of the year can be difficult. Keeping students motivated to read can be hard during any time of the school year, but the second semester always seems more difficult to keep that incentive to read going, in my opinion. What can we do about this? Do you use any reading incentives with your students? I find that motivating students to read by doing different unique reading activities and offering them some choices will often get them more excited to engage in a book. All students have a different love for reading and that’s okay. However, all students need to be reading as we know-even if it’s not

Staying Cool in the Library is my blog, where I share my passion for fostering a love of reading with children. As a librarian, I believe reading should be fun and accessible to all students. That’s why I share engaging and interactive lesson plans, creative ways to build exciting library collections, and resources to inspire even the most reluctant readers in any classroom or library. Check out my blog posts and products in my store, and join my email list below.

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