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#299. "Reading Picnic"

In order to get reluctant readers interested in reading on a
daily basis I give out colorful monthly "Reading Records."
The students fill in the amount of minutes read nightly and
any new words they come across. At the end of the month we
have a "Reading Picnic." The students bring their favorite
book, snack, drink, and sheet. We spend the whole day involved
in reading activities. The first 30 minutes are spent discussing
the favorite book with a partner and reading the favorite part
of the book (funny, sad, scary, etc.). Then we all get together
and each student tells the class about his partners book.
I also allow volunteers to read the favorite part of their
book to the class. After this activity the class is allowed to
socialize and share their books and snacks with each other. When
time is up I pass out drawing paper and have the students fold it
so that there are six sections. In the lower part of the
first section I instruct them to write the title, author and
illustrator of their book. The second section will state the
problem of the story. The next three sections will each include
a sentence that tells about an important event in the story.
Finally, they will tell about the solution/conclusion. They will
then go back and illustrate each section. We post these "Favorite
Books" in the hallway for all to see. As a final activity each
student writes a new ending to their book. I choose from a variety
of new activities for the next "Reading Picnic." Everyone enjoys
the day. I hope you do too!!