Kids Who Read Succeed

 

When the Leadership Team talks about goals for the upcoming school year, reading is always the #1 priority.  We talk a lot about how to keep kids engaged in reading, which we know is related to growth and achievement.  The thoughtful and creative ideas of Julie Warren, with input from the Leadership Team,  resulted in a schoolwide reading incentive program that will continue all year long - please see below for more information!

Individual Reading Incentive: Begins October 2nd

Each month, K-5 teachers will choose a Reader of the Month who demonstrates noteworthy growth, engagement, attitude, or other positive reading habits.  Teachers will be asked to fill out a form with specific feedback to the student, acknowledging the things the child has demonstrated to improve in their reading.  See the Reader of the Month teacher instructions for some ideas of things to look for. The selected student will get their picture posted (example of Reading Poster) in the atrium with the short description (form) of their outstanding reading behavior/accomplishment.  Jess will help with the photo and the poster.  The students will also get a shout out at the All School Meeting,  communication home (phone call or email), and lunch in the media center with a friend!  Please see additional details below, and/or see your Leadership Team representative with any questions.  We will introduce this to the students at the September All School Meeting.

Classroom Incentive

All students who complete their weekly reading log (whatever teachers currently have in place) will receive a weekly red ticket from their teacher. (Note: If you have a monthly reading log, students can earn 4 tickets at the end of each month). Students will write their name AND class code on their ticket and add it to the classroom container (which will be delivered to you before October.) We will combine the classroom collections and draw only ONE red ticket at the All School Meeting each month. The student who is selected AND their class will be able to get cozy and read in the media center, with a small snack of popcorn. The first class will be announced at November's All School Meeting.

The Leadership Team feels this is a good balance of individual recognition and motivation, as well as building a sense of "belonging" when students can earn a reward for their whole class. A big thanks to Julie for her idea, and to the Leadership Team for finalizing the details.  We believe this will be a great way to celebrate and encourage our readers at Willow!