CLASSROOM LIBRARIES Establishing a Need

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Ada Stone
5 years ago
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1 STUDENT LEVEL READER S HISTORY CLASSROOM LIBRARIES Establishing a Need Abdi Grade 5 Abdi has just discovered books by Gary Paulsen and has truly enjoyed each book he has read. This year, he has already read: Hatchet, Dogsong, Dogteam, and the Tucket series. Prior to reading books by this author, Abdi rarely read a book. Alec Grade 5 Alec has read most books of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Now, he wants to explore a different genre. He thinks he might be interested in an autobiography or biography about a sports figure and his favorite sports are soccer, hockey, and baseball. Alejandra Grade 1 The parents of Alejandra only speak Spanish in their home. They want her to do well in school so she doesn t have to work as hard as they do. She loves to look at the pictures in picture books but reading is difficult for her. Arlo Grade 5 When Arlo s parents took him to the movie, 42: The Jackie Robinson Story, Arlo couldn t talk about anything else. Arlo struggles in school and reading is difficult for him. Rarely does one see Arlo reading unless it s from his assigned basal. Cheyenne Grade 1 Cheyenne just started reading. Her parents don t read to her at home and she doesn t have oral language opportunities as her single mom is working two jobs. Although she is embarrassed to check out picture books at the library, she said her little sister would like the Pete, the Cat book she saw on the bookshelf.

2 Cortez Grade 3 Sharks, sharks, sharks! That s all Cortez can talk about. He is fascinated by them. Cortez doesn t enjoy reading, but one day his eyes lit up when he read a magazine article about sharks! Destiny Grade 4 Destiny has not found a book she has enjoyed reading. As a result, she has never finished a book that she has read independently. Destiny is interested in sports and is a wonderful gymnast, great runner, and loves to play outdoors. Diem Grade 8 Writing is Diem s favorite leisure activity. She often writes notes to others and tries to write her own books. She has written some poetry that her mother thinks is worthy of publication; yet she has not shared them with any one in school. Although Diem is an avid reader, her recent voluminous writing prevents her from the amount of reading she has done in prior years of school. Edwardo Grade 3 Edwardo s teacher gave him the book, Shark Attack and Other True Stories by Deborah Morris, to read because she knew he enjoyed reading about real events. He was hooked! He now wants to read other stories like the one he just finished. Emily Grade 4 Emily does not like to read fiction but loves to learn. She enjoys math and science in school and someday wants to be an archeologist.

3 Esmeralda Grade 3 Esmeralda enjoys reading. She has read many books in the Junie B. Jones and Amelia Bedelia series, but she has not explored any other chapter books. Fatima Grade 3 Fatima is a girl that reads everything her friend recommends. Most recently, she has read the Tale of Desperaux, Because of Winn-Dixie, and Ninth Ward. She especially enjoyed the suspense of Ninth Ward and reading about Hurricane Katrina. Grace Grade 4 Grace is an average reader that reads slowly, yet is able to comprehend complex text when the teacher reads aloud to the class. She has always enjoyed reading but since it takes her longer than most students to read assigned text from the basal reader she has lost interest in reading independently. Her dad has introduced her to some graphic novels and thinks it would help to have her explore this genre to spark her interest in reading again. Isabella Grade 5 When Isabella reads, she word calls beautifully but rarely can tell you much about the text. Her parents are concerned because she has yet to find a book she loves. Isabella loves adventure and is intrigued with travel. Her parents took her to Disney World last year. She knows a lot about the state of Florida and was intrigued by the distance from Minnesota, the difference in weather, and the vegetation in the middle of winter. Jaden Grade 2 Jaden doesn t see himself as a reader and when conferencing with his parents they both said they never liked to read either. His family doesn t have books in the house and Jaden never sees his parents reading. Jaden daydreams during SSR time or spends his time shopping for a book that he probably won t end up reading.

4 Kamari Grade 5 When a friend passed the book, The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan, onto Kamari, he became hooked on reading. He has since read it three times! Oswaldo Grade 5 Oswaldo overheard some buddies talking about some of the Gary Paulsen books and he thinks he wants to find out if he might like them. He doesn t remember any of the titles, but is willing to read anything by this author. Phong Grade 6 Phong s friends Tai and Alec have started to read a few books from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. They have each told him how great these books are so he can t wait to read the one they both recommended: Last Straw. Riley Grade 2 Riley s mom works 12 hour days and rarely has time to help Riley with his school work. The teacher told her that Riley is behind in reading and needs to practice reading at home every day. With few resources, Riley s mom has been having Riley read the short magazine articles he brings home from school. Riley s teacher sends home a second grade magazine so Riley can practice reading with text more at his level. Riley likes the stories in this magazine and is slowly starting to read them without adult prompting. Shakir Grade 5 Shakir doesn t like to read books. He only cares about playing baseball! One time he read a story in his basal about a baseball player and he grew excited. He asked if he could take the basal home and read it to his dad who also likes baseball.

5 Simon Grade 4 Simon hasn t found a book he has enjoyed reading yet. He often sketches comic figures and enjoys comedy. One of his brother s friends saw his sketches and told him to read a graphic novel by Don Wood, Into the Volcano. Skylar Grade 8 Skylar is a great student with wide interests, wonderful communication skills, and an extensive vocabulary. She loves to talk about books with other students; therefore, she is looking for her friends Jazmin, Latisha, and Deiondra to all read the same book in order to talk about it during recess. Tai Grade 5 Tai has only read books from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Until now, he had never completed a book that he read independently. Since discovering this series, he cruises through a couple of these books each week. His parents love that he finally enjoys reading and do not want him to stop! Tashi Grade 6 Tashi reads everything she can get her hands on! She has hundreds of books at home. She loved the Harry Potter series and has read The Hunger Games. Her parents want her challenged and for her to continue to read things she enjoys.

6 Vu Grade 4 Vu just checked out the first book from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Lightning Thief. He likes the book and wants to find more books just like it. Zoe Grade 3 Although Zoe is a fluent reader, she has only checked out picture books from the library. When she shops for books in the classroom library, she spends most of her time just looking at them. Rarely does she select a book and often is seen fake reading during SSR time. She would rather sit at her desk and draw pictures of horses. Zuri Grade 7 When Zuri read his first 39 Clues book, The Black Book of Buried Secrets, he knew he wanted to read the whole series!

Reading/Language Arts Choices

5 th Grade Reading/Language Arts Choices Fifth Grade requirements: *Read one fiction book at appropriate guided reading level, one non-fiction book, and one book of choice. *Keep a log of reading over