The 40 Book Challenge

***This post has been moved over from a different blog site. It was originally posted on 9/20/14

I have asked my 5th graders to read 40 books this year. That's right, 40 books!! They have accepted the challenge with enthusiasm! 

Essentially, the 40 book challenge is more a celebration of reading than an assignment. The kids have a reading notebook in the classroom.  Attached to the front cover is a graph that shows the genres that they can choose from and has a dashed line in each column to signify how many books of that genre they should read. The required number of texts in each column adds up to a total of 30, leaving 10 books that can be selected from any genre. I don't count pages or require kids to read books at a certain "level." The books in my room are within the range of abilities that I expect my students will have. Anyone above or below may require a little extra support, but they are welcome to choose books that interest them. I believe that it is more important for kids to read, than to read something that doesn't interest them just because it's at their "level." 

They also have a book list glued into the notebook, so that they can record the titles of books they finish, along with a star rating and the genre of the book. I've been trying to remind them to record books they finish in both places. Most of them have finished at least one book already. I'm not grading them on it, and I'm not worried if they don't get all 40 read this year (but I am not telling them that!). If a student in my class reads 22 books this year and that's more than they've ever read before, that's cause for celebration! I am checking in with students 2-3 times a week and conferencing with them about what they are reading. The first time I did a check-in (called "status of the class") I found that I actually already knew what book all of my students were working on! They are talking about books all of the time, we are starting "book talks" (like a commercial for a book) and they are sharing and trading books as they finish. I have been thrilled with how well it has been going so far.

The challenge was inspired by my reading of The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.  Check out her blog here.


Sara D.