Take Me Home Tonight: Books Are for Sharing!
Funded May 31, 2011First, let me again thank you for your generosity that helped make this dream project a reality for my classroom! The weekend book bags are a huge hit with my 4th grade students. Each Friday afternoon when I call names of students to come pick out their bags for the weekend, the anticipation in the air is tangible and exciting! Students eagerly take their bags home and each bag has been returned on Monday with an inspiring report about its impact on the students and their families. Here are a couple short quotes:
'My whole family loved reading the book together. We read it twice!' 'My mom and I read the Cat and the Hat. She read it in Spanish and I read it in English. She can only read Spanish so it was fun for us to read the same thing and talk about it.' 'I loved The Rain Came down. I read it to my little sister and then we played the game together. It was the best weekend!' 'I want to read more, but I don't have any books at home. Can I take a book bag this week?'
My students were reading before, but these weekend bags have helped many of them take the skills and joys of reading and apply them outside of school. Students who were struggling with reading in class because of both the frustration of limited skills and a lack of motivation are starting to blossom into more confident, eager readers as they discover books, subjects and authors they love.
One student in particular has gone beyond blossoming and turned into a full-fledged, library card-carrying READER! His reading level is climbing more quickly than I could have hoped as he fell in love with several authors he discovered. A reluctant, struggling reader is now devouring books to the point of hiding them in his desk and reading during class. Frankly, this is a problem I eagerly welcome!
Families are reading together. These bags are bringing families closer with a fun weekend project where students, siblings and parents alike are all growing into stronger readers. Hispanic families love the bilingual book bags that allow them to read the same books along with their students and have more meaningful conversations about the books. The love of reading is contagious and spreading far beyond our classroom walls!
Thank you for believing in my students with me. I look forward to seeing the continued inspiration of readers throughout our community through these book bags over the years.
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With gratitude,
Ms. Casaleggi