the media window

We’re gearing up for this school year’s Maud Hart Lovelace Award. At the end of March, those students who have read at least three of the twelve nominated books get to vote for their favorite one. They join students across Minnesota who are involved in this excellent reading promotion. Every year the number of students who participate at my school has increased. Even though they only have to read three, many of the fourth and fifth grade students read more and some finish all twelve each year! Right away in the fall I try to have at least four copies of each title, one hardcover and the rest paperbacks. In the past I always created a PowerPoint book-talk that highlights the titles and present it to all of my fourth and fifth grade students. This year I hope to use a web page I created as my presentation piece for the students, so I’m excited to try it! After the presentation, they get to sign up on a sheet for three or more titles they are interested in reading. We then have a drawing to determine a fair order for everyone to receive the books over six months. Students track their progress on class lists that are posted in the media center. We finally decided on simple stars under the titles they read. It looks tidier than having them check it off themselves and it’s sweet how they enjoy the simple act of adding a star. I also invite the staff of the school to participate as well. They have their own star chart and the students will often check it to see which books their teacher or a para in their room have read. Depending on resources, we usually reward students who read all twelve books with a book or poster.
You can link to information about and reviews of this year’s titles here:

Here’s the list of nominated books for this school year:

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