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Summer #Bookaday Challenge
We all know that teachers who read are more effective at engaging their students with reading, but our school year demands often limit our reading time. Summer vacations give us an opportunity to recommit to reading, explore new books for our students, and dive into the books that we can’t find time to read during the school year.
The books are calling. They are loud. The stacks of books around my house are becoming a safety hazard, and I just stubbed my toe on Bitterblue.
Don’t laugh. I know this has happened to every one of you.
Give us your beach reads, your professional development texts, your Game of Thrones series waiting to be read. It is time for my 4th Annual Summer Book-a-Day Challenge.
The rules (more guidelines, really) are simple:
Read one book per day for each day of summer vacation. This is an average, so if you read three books one day (Hey, I have done this!) and none the next two, it still counts.
You set your own start date and end date.
Any book qualifies including picture books, nonfiction, professional books, poetry anthologies, or fiction—children’s, youth, or adult titles.
Keep a list of the books you read and share them often via a social networking site like goodreads or Twitter (post using the #bookaday hashtag), a blog, or Facebook page. You do not have to post reviews, but you can if you wish. Titles will do.
The #bookaday community has become a vibrant group of avid readers, teachers, and librarians who share book titles all year and participate in ongoing conversations about books, reading and the young readers we support. Many participants tell me that they rediscovered their love of reading and walked into their classrooms and libraries in the fall with mountains of books and reading experiences to share with their new students after the summer Book-a-Day Challenge.
(I “met” Colby Sharp, my co-founder of The Nerdy Book Club, during last summer’s #bookaday event. Another piece of random Nerdy trivia.)
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what we read, or how much, or when. What matters is that we celebrate reading, share our book love with other readers, discover new titles, and enjoy ourselves. Consider it a public opportunity to fly your Nerdy flag all summer long.
I look forward to a great summer of reading.
Nerdies everywhere, may the reading binge begin!
Donalyn Miller is a sixth grade language arts teacher at Trinity Meadows Intermediate School in Keller, TX. She is the author of The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. Donalyn co-hosts the monthly Twitter chat, #titletalk (with Nerdy co-founder, Colby Sharp), and facilitates the Twitter reading initiative, #bookaday.
(A version of this post originally appeared this week on my Education Week blog, The Book Whisperer.)
I heart #bookaday.
Finally a binge that’s GOOD for me! I’m in, my post school summer starts June 19th. Better start stacking…
I already announced that I’m doing it…let the games begin!! My goal is 85 books total, and yes, I’ll be reading a selection of picture books to balance the adult reads I want to dive into. Now to figure out where/how I’m going to keep my list-there are so many options. Any suggestions?
Goodreads.com is really helpful. Places for already read books, books to read. Only problem, if you think it is a problem, is recommendation section keeps making “to read” section grow.
Cannot wait for summer #bookaday!
#Bookaday Woot!
I’m ready for #bookaday! I’m planning on reading ALL the picture books in the teacher resource area of my office plus Nerdbery Challenge of course! 🙂
My summer #bookaday starts June 12th and I can’t wait! This will be my second year joining the challenge 🙂 It’s going to be tough this summer because I’ll be finishing my Masters (done July 24th!!), but I’m keeping my goals lofty. I hope to meet some new #bookaday peeps!
I’ve been thinking a lot about #bookaday, and I’m torn. I would also like to get a decent chunk of a manuscript done this summer. But I do know that there would be very little as rewarding as having read enough books read to continue to refer my students to good ones. I actually ran out of books to suggest to a student today because she has considerably outread me!
I told my class about bookaday and asked if any ofthem would like to set their own goals for the summer and keep in touch about our progress. About half the class is on board, so now I have to figure out a way to keep them motivated (and maybe hook in the other half…)
I am so geeked for this challenge. Will start assembling my list immediately!
Colby said it best: I heart #bookaday. Totally changed my reading life. This will be my third year. The teachers tease me about it when we tell what we did over the summer, but they always let their students know about it!
Lots of to-do list items to cross off in the next 2 weeks, and then it will be smooth sailing into #bookaday !! I have my beach reads ready, some middle grade books I haven’t been able to get to, several YA titles, and a few professional reads. Should be a wonderful summer of reading. Can’t wait to see what everyone else is reading as well!!
I LOVE the idea of #bookaday. Our summer holiday doesn’t start until the end of July, but at least that gives me time to come up with some good lists 🙂
Oh, yeah! I’ll play #bookaday this summer, too! Mostly YA, but some great MG & picture books calling my name…
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I am so jealous to hear of those teachers who can start now. My summer vacation doesn’t start until June 27th, but I will join in the reading fun. Woo-hoo! Summer reading fun!
A binge where the purge is social! 🙂 I can’t wait for my #bookaday time! 7 more working days-BRING IT ON! 🙂
P.S.-Can I change my blog on the blogroll?? I created a new blog to simplify my life!
Shannon
http://www.irunreadteach.wordpress.com
I can definitely add the new one right now for you. You want me to delete the other one (Extreme Reading and Writing?) from the blogroll?
Thanks! Yes, delete the old one-I won’t be updating that one anymore. 🙂
Shannon
This will be my first year participating in #bookaday. I can’t wait to get started!
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Starting #bookaday today with The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo! An adult read I’ve started at least three times! 🙂