One of my tasks in this last week of classes is to pass out the students' reading folders and have them count how many books they finished this year. I don't ask them to estimate, but only allow them to count books whose titles they have listed in the folder. We make a ceremony of writing all the totals on the board and adding them up. This year I impressed the seventh graders by adding them faster in my head than they could using calculators. A student called me "Flash" and marveled that I'm even wearing a red shirt. (I'm not sure what any of that means, but I take my compliments where I can get them.)
The seventh graders read 444 books this year. (There are 24 students in the class.)
The eighth graders read 795 books this year. (There are 21 students in the class.)
I asked them to write down the favorite book they read this year. I'll come back after school is out and add links to the list, but I want to go ahead and post it so you can see that it's not necessarily about reading classics; it's about reading. I want these kids to enjoy reading. I consider it a success that every single kid found books they loved this year. (Or at least books that they'd finish and enjoy pretty well.) I read books with them, too - books I chose, books we discussed and took quizzes over - but these are the ones they chose themselves. I forced them to read, I say without shame, but I let them pick what they wanted. I celebrate and honor the reading they chose to do this year.
7th graders - 444 books
Favorites
Acid
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series
Percy Jackson series
She’s With Me
Ghosts
Charlotte’s Web
Looking for Alaska
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, two votes
Chasing Red
Captain Underpants series
Flight
Anna Dressed in Blood
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Twilight series, two votes
Big Nate series
Every Soul a Star
Hunger
Keeping the Moon
SAS Survival Handbook
Untwine
Finding Audrey
The Clique
The Red Pencil
8th graders - 795 books
Favorites
Bluford series
Lionel Messi and Maradona (autobiographies)
Counting by 7s
Saving Everest
Art Eyes
The Heroes of Olympus two votes
Salt to the Sea
The Lost Hero series
Amulet series
Alex Rider series
Gone series
Guyku
Nerve
Divergent series
Auggie & Me
Everything, Everything
Harry Potter series
Who Was series
Princess in Love
Good Omens
3 hours ago
1 comment:
The Flash (frequently just called "Flash") is DC Comics super-fast superhero. He dresses in a red suit. Id you are really interested, you can check out his character page on the DC website.
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