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I have been asked to explain what my Weekend Challenge is, and I'm happy to oblige. Independent reading is not graded in my classroom, but I honor 10 inviolable minutes of SILENT reading at the beginning of every class. We set the timer, sink into our books, and read. It is by reading daily that kids keep their momentum, keep their plots moving, and--often--keep their interest high enough to motivate reading outside of class as well. (But I'll save all that for another blog--)
The Weekend Challenge started spontaneously when I noticed kids with 30 or 40 pages left in their books and asked them if they thought they could finish over the weekend. That's it. Kids love a personal challenge, and I've only rarely had a student reject my challenge. My prizes for finishing the book vary, usually pushing the limits of the Healthy Kids Act.
The Weekend Challenge started spontaneously when I noticed kids with 30 or 40 pages left in their books and asked them if they thought they could finish over the weekend. That's it. Kids love a personal challenge, and I've only rarely had a student reject my challenge. My prizes for finishing the book vary, usually pushing the limits of the Healthy Kids Act.
But last week when I began asking kids if they could finish over the weekend, hands kept popping up. Before I knew it I had ten volunteers, some with hundreds of pages to read! I told them I'd never had that many before, and announced that if ALL TEN met their challenge, we'd have breakfast pizza. At that point three more kids jumped up to join the team. (Funny that by joining they actually lowered the chances that all would finish...but the idea of being part of a group earning the class a treat outweighed their mathematical reasoning.)
We then set up a group text and email contacts to use for reminders and motivation. I also emailed the parents and told them that their children had accepted a weekend reading challenge and would need a reminder and a quiet place to read.
All 13 (plus I) finished books by Sunday night. I'm always looking for ways to high-five my kids for reading. I'd love to hear ideas from the rest of you!
This is totally awesome, Allison! I love this challenge. Personal challenges and group challenges are so powerful. I wish I could hang out in your room! See you Thursday! P.S. I have several blog entries in the hopper in different stages. Perhaps I'll crank one out soon. I do so love the way our group pushes each other. Hopefully we can bring more people in. Let's issue a challenge! :O)
ReplyDeleteJP
Wow, this is awesome! Thanks for allowing your students to read in class. The weekend challenge is a fantastic idea and cheers to all of you who finished the books!
ReplyDeleteFabulous! Your positive tweets about classroom reading has inspired me to bring free reading into my own classroom this year (although we devote one whole class period at the end of the week rather than spread it out each day, which works better with 44 minute periods and for daily continuity of instruction. Plus, it gets students 'hooked' on what they're reading so they read more over the weekend). The students are in competition with themselves to see how many books they can read in a grading quarter, and I provide some little prizes along the way to those who complete multiple books. I hadn't thought of adding unexpected weekend challenges, but this is a great idea for the upcoming Columbus Day weekend (a three day weekend for us). Thanks for sharing!
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