Karen+Canby's+proposal

Mead Middle School
For the last 8 years at Mead Middle we have successfully run the Accelerated Reader program with integrity. Currently our entire student body spend the first 30 minutes of their school day in an “advisory” class where reading books of their choice in their zone of proximal is taking place. After each book is read the students take a computerized quiz and receive points, a percent correct score and an average book level. They are given these goals after taking a STAR test on line which gives them a book level and zone of proximal development based on their current performance. These scores are then converted by the teacher to give each student a points goal for the semester along with an average of 85% correct. Our staff has really supportive of this program and fully implements the reading time for our students. AR has served our school well for the past 8 years and now it is time to build in student responses to books that the kids are reading, which is where my project comes in. After taking an Adolescent Literature class last summer online where blogging was the learning format, I was hooked. It was my very first experience as a ‘blogger’ and I kept thinking all summer how much my students would love this format of ‘book talking’. Then the school year started and you know the rest; no time to develop something new and out of my comfort zone, along with a new full time 6th grade position on a new team with 60 children staring me in the face and a new social studies curriculum to learn. Needless to say, my project did not get off the ground but stayed on my mind nonetheless. I was so excited when cyber camp came across my desk this past winter, I jumped at the chance to sign up as I knew it would take me to new heights in this technological world and help me to complete the next step toward creating and implementing my Bulldog Book Blog for my 6th graders.
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//__**My proposal:** __//I would like to build a ** Orange Team Book Blog ** for my sixty plus 6th graders so that they have the opportunity to discuss the books they are reading, respond to other’s blogs about books, learn to summarize a plot with out giving away the resolution to the novel and also to clearly write about the non-fiction books they are reading. One of the learning activities my students have said they have missed about elementary is their book clubs or book chats. We do two major book clubs/literature circles each year in my class but it appears it is something they did a lot more of in elementary and really miss it. One of the things my students say they are most proud of at the end of the year evaluation that I give is the fact that they have read more books in 6th grade than they have ever read in a school year. This is a perfect opportunity for those very students to write about their reading, something they are very proud of.

This book blog will allow my students to:
 * //__Essential Learnings:__//**


 * Get their ‘fix’ of the book chats that they miss so much from their elementary days in an updated and written format
 * Learn how to properly blog and how to navigate a blog
 * Learn how to appropriately communicate with others through writing about books they love and are passionate about
 * Learn to respond to others’ blogs and opinions about books
 * Improve their summary writing for both fiction and non-fiction genres
 * Discover new books to read from reading their peers’ summaries, entries, and thoughts
 * Read books in different genres to expand upon thier understanding and appreciation of those genres that they might not otherwise discover

__//**Things to do:** //__Build a site on virtual campus - [|under construction] Come up with genres and sample books to start with Genres are complete, still need to add a sample blog under each genre Create sample blogs for each genre that kids can respond to for practice Ficiton done, need to keep reading and finish the rest Write directions to keep in the lab so that kids can access on their AR time in the computer lab. Create a lesson/flipchart on the idea of blogging and why we will be learning to blog, show kids where the blog is and how to access it on IWB. Create a rubric/guidelines on the expectations for blogging for students Review/do mini lesson on categorizing books into different genres Finish up site with icons/photos that the 6 chosen genres, and other necessary tweeking that needs to be done (make it cute!) Icons are inserted by each genre and site looks pleasing to the eye and is almost ready for use. Find some students who are quick learners about the blog and use them as 'helpers' during AR time if others need assistance on how to navigate site.

August: Start students in AR program and set up school's parameters for 'how to do' AR, teach lesson on what AR time is, how it is run in our classroom, how to choose a book based on your book level, how to take a quiz, etc. Read a book to the class and have everyone take a "sample quiz" and do a writer's notebook entry on the book in summary format without giving away the plot. (Pre-assessment, let's see where we are with this skill) Have students take orange team [|technology survey] developed on survey monkey to gather data about where they fall on the technology spectrum.
 * //__Timeline:__//**

September: Work with students on classifying books into different genres and teach how to write a book summary without giving away the entire plot to prepare them for entries on the blog. Practice summary entries in our writer's notebooks.

October : Show students their Orange Team Book Blog and all the sample entries under each genre, discuss the kinds of summaries written and take notice of how they do not give away the entire plot to the reader. Introduce blog to students and teach them how to log on and make an entry. Have each student add a response to one of my existing summaries and then have them look through and see what their peers had to say about the summaries too.

November: Expect that by Thanksgiving break each student will have written and posted one summary on the Orange Team Book Blog and responded to two other summary blogs on the site, not including the response that they did as a practice while learning to navigate the site.

December - end of third quarter (mid March): Each student should have 2 additional book summaries on the blog along with at least three responses to other summaries on their blogs.

Mid March - May: Each student should have a minimum of 2 additional book summaries in two different genres, different than the ones they have already posted to, added to the blog with three more responses to other's blogs in three different genres.