Tina Laramie IST612 Summer 2006

BEE a Reader [school read-a-thon] Age:

Pre-School to 5th grade (about 450 students)

Length of program: 1 month (May) or 25 days Description of program: The students will need to read for 10 minutes a day in the classroom. The time of day the reading is completed is at the teacher’s discretion. If the students are too young to read than the teacher can read to the class. Classes will have a poster decorated with a BEE and a roster will be attached. The roster with each child’s name on it will have a chart for tallying purposes. A responsible student from each class (with the help from the teacher) will record the students that participate that day. On Friday of each week the student will bring the sheet to the library for tally. Once students have achieved the times listed below they earn the incentive. 10 days @ 10 minutes = a pencil 15 days @ 10 minutes = 1 book coupon 20 days @ 10 minutes = 1 coupon for Old Country Buffet for free kids meal 25 days @ 10 minutes = 1 book coupon and completion certificate Each incentive, be it pencils or coupons, will be counted by responsible 5th graders and with help from librarian placed in teacher mail boxes for dispersal. The librarian will place the books in an accessible location for student perusal. The book coupons will be redeemable in the Library Media Center. When the student achieves the book coupon they may come to the library to select a book of their choice from the designated area. They will have to “pay” the librarian with their coupon. Implement program: Ask K-2 reading teacher and 3-5 reading teacher for assistance and input. Also obtain help for tallying and distribution by responsible 5th graders. Obtain support: The program will be optional for all teachers and their classes. There will also be different incentives. All classes should be able to find a way to participate. The principal will have a functioning Library Media Specialist that creates a dynamic program to share with the school. Advertise: Bee (person dressed in bee suit) from Old Country Buffet (restaurant in area) will come to school to kickoff the program. The Bee will be accompanied by the Library Media Specialist and the reading teachers. The three will go to each classroom to give a brief rallying speech on what the program entails. They also will distribute stickers and bookmarks to each child after the program is explained. To keep generating enthusiasm there will be flyers placed around the hallways and announcements made weekly. See sample of attached flyer.

Responsible: LMS, reading teachers, and responsible students from each class. Cost: $100 for 450 pencils Funded: Parent Teacher Association (PTA) will supply the pencils. Quality paperback books leftover from other years (some from former RIF programs and books that had been purchased in other years that had not been cataloged). Finally, Old Country Buffet will donate free kids meal certificates. Conclusion: Creating a tiered incentive program guarantees all students will get at least one prize. Some students who are conscientious and attend everyday are eligible to gain all four incentives. Evaluate the program: Written surveys with a few brief questions asking how the program worked. There will be a teacher survey and a student survey. Feedback from both sources will make the program better for the following year. Keeping a tally of how many books are given away will also be useful. Creating a brief report that entails these statistics would be compiled and shown to the principal to create support for the library program. Example Teacher questions: Are there ways to improve the program? Did you think it was successful? Would you participate again if this program was offered? Student questions (Focused on 2nd through 5th grade): Do you like to read? Did you like the Bee a reader program? Could you explain why you liked or did not like the program?

Library time: As each class comes to the library they will be introduced to a book about bees. Each grade level should find something that appeals to them. There will also be books that they can check out pertaining to the topic of bees. Websites to find out more about bees would be available and accessible. Older grades could do science related activities as well. Some different selections that will be available: Print Allen, Judy. Are you a Bee? Humphries, Tudor. Houghton Mifflin. 2004. Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus in a beehive: the buzz about bees. Scholastic 1999. Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus inside a Beehive. Scholastic. 1998. Dr. Suess. On Beyond Bugs: All about Insects. Random House for Young Readers. 1999. Gibbons, Gail. The Honey Makers. HarperCollins. 2000. Erikson, John. The Case of the Double Bumblebee Sting. Gulf Publications. 1994. Heinrichs, Ann. Bees. Compass Point Books. 2002.

Patricia Polacco. The Bee Tree. Penguin Young Readers Group. 1998 Stine. R.L. Goosebumps: Why I am Afraid of Bees. Scholastic. 2005 Nonprint NOVA. Tales from the Hive. Public Broadcasting Station, 1999. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bees/ includes video clips and fun facts about bees. Enchanted learning. Bees. 2006.http://www.enchantedlearning.com/themes/bees.shtml great activities and printables. University of Montana. Bee Alert. 2006. http://beekeeper.dbs.umt.edu/bees/ Bee cams and poems. Resource books: Stein, Barbara and Brown, Risa. Running a School Library Media Center. Neal Schumer, 2002.

Read for 10 minutes a day!!!