Website: www.bookadventure.org
By: Isabel Kelly
Good writing starts with immersing students in good literature. A goal in my classroom is that students look for books as a way of recreation. It makes my day when I see students on their own talking about books, discussing what they like about a particular story, and recommending books to each other.
When browsing through a ìReading Teacherî journal (September 2006), I found www.bookadventure.org in an article titled ì25 best internet sources recommended.î This was the description that caught my attention:
Book Adventure is a FREE reading motivation program for children in grades K-8. Children create their own book lists from over 7,000 recommended titles, take multiple choice quizzes on the books they've read, and earn points and prizes for their literary successes. Book Adventure was created by and is maintained by Sylvan Learning.
In my classroom, I have always had a system for students to check out books that they read for fun. They can check out any book they want and keep it for as long as it takes them to be done with it. I have a sign up sheet where students write their name, book title, and the date when they check the book out. When they return the book, they hand it to me and I cross their name off the list.
Book Adventure takes the checking out books for recreational reading to a new level. Once a teacher signs up for this free site, students in his/her class are able to select books according to their grade, interest, and reading level. After reading their selected book, students go to ìQuiz-o-Maticî and answer five reading comprehension questions about the book. Students get points for answering the questions correctly, which they can turn into prizes. Some of the prizes are provided by the website. Teachers can also set up a PIP (Personal Incentive Plan). This is a personalized certificate that the teacher and the students can create. It states the number of books the student has to read to earn a specific reward, and the type of reward they can earn, like free recess, reading with the teacher, earning a book, etc . . .
The beauty of this site is that once students are shown how to sign in and search for their books, they can do this independently. After entering their grade, level of reading, and interests, the website will post a list of possible books the student may be interested in reading. Students can then print this list and keep it with them to use as a guide when they check out books from the library ñor when they buy their own!
This is a wonderful site to give students ownership in the process of selecting books they want to read for enjoyment. It also provides an incentive program for teachers to motivate students to read.
Registration sets up your Book Adventure account. Once you've registered, you must then create Class names so that your students can register as School Students.
To begin, complete this New Teacher Registration form to create your unique user name and Book Adventure account. Be sure to click SUBMIT when you're done. Also, you may call toll free 1-877-FOR-KITS (1-877-367-5487) to receive your free