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| Just a few of the fourth graders who signed out a "Rooster" book today! |
I've begun promoting the nominees for the 2015 Rhode Island Children's Book Award to our fourth graders, and I am so excited about all the wonderful choices! Once again I am challenging them to read at least five of the nominees. All of the students who do will be allowed to participate in the Rooster Games at the end of the school year! (Click here to learn more about the games!)
The nickname "Rooster" comes from the award sticker that is placed on the winning book; it features an illustration of our state bird, the Rhode Island Red!
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| These students are ready for the long weekend with "Rooster" books at the ready! |
One of the ways I've encouraged the students to check out these books is by showing them "book trailers". These short presentations are like the movie trailers you see at a theater, but these commercials are intended to entice their viewers to read! There are lots of them available online. Here are a few of my favorites -- click on the book's title to launch the video:
(warning: it's a very creepy trailer for a very creepy book!)
While there are lots of book trailers available online, not every story has one. I've attended a couple professional development workshops about creating book trailers, and this year I finally made a few of my own to promote some of the "Rooster Books".
One of the books, Gone Fishing, is a story told in poetry. I wrote a script that included one of the poems and then found some willing performers. Click here to watch the trailer for Gone Fishing!
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| Quiet on the set! Estelle, Mr. Bresciano, and Joseph bring the story Gone Fishing to life as I record their voices using my iPhone! |
I made another book trailer for Kelsey Green: Reading Queen using a fun, free online site called PowToons. Click here to watch my book trailer for Kelsey Green!
Every fourth grade student was given a red book mark with the list of books printed on it. They are encouraged to read as many as they can! Our library owns at least one copy of each book, but they don't have to borrow the book from the school for it to count. Rather than waiting for their turn on the "hold" list, the students can visit one of the public libraries, borrow a book from a friend/teacher/sibling, or even buy a personal copy. (Many of the students did this at last week's Scholastic Book Fair!)
It doesn't matter how they get their hands on the book...
what matters is that they're reading!
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