Each year before school starts, I lay awake at night dreaming up a reading incentive program. Our K-8 charter school has about 180 students. We have one class for each grade. The small size makes it possible to do a lot of fun things. I think they could be adapted to a school of any size.
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| One of my students chose to battle Darth Vader as Darth Vader. Highly successful reader and an accomplished Jedi. |
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One year I created "Book Wars." I created Jedi Levels of reading, customized to each grade level. The levels were challenging enough to inspire, yet attainable. Each student had a Jedi Level training sheet. I kept these training sheets in a binder. When students completed a book on their training level, they would record it on their own training sheet. When the sheet was complete, they had to pass Jedi Training. For instance, I would ask them about book locations in the library, the differences between fact and fiction, the summary of one of their books.
Then the fun! When a student completed their Jedi level, they come to the front of the class. I turned on the Star Wars theme song. As the song played, they were given a cape, a toy light saber and a mask if they wished. They could now battle Darth Vader. I had a life-size cut out of Darth Vader. We took their picture of them battling Darth Vader. I printed their picture onto a Jedi certificate, signed by the principal and me. Their certificates were hung on the wall.
This library reading incentive program was highly successful. The students were eager to complete their Jedi levels. We had students try for higher Jedi levels, after completing the Jedi level for their grade.
Having fun in the library again!
