Independent Reading in the form of a 40-Book Challenge aka Reading Treasure Quest
There are several key components to 6th Grade curriculum that will support and enhance reading instruction. As students are expected to read “widely and deeply” across genres and disciplines, they must read inside and outside of the classroom. Daily reading, whether it be SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) programs or another reading initiative, is critical if students are to be expected to grow as readers and writers. But SSR isn’t enough. Students need an incentive to read outside of the classroom and they must be held accountable for this reading. One example of a program that is in place in Dr. Turner’s Language Arts classes is the “40 Book Challenge” adopted from Donalyn Miller’s book, The Book Whisperer. This challenge has been dubbed, “The Reading Treasure Quest” for Language Arts students in Dr. Turner’s classes.
This is just one type of reading challenge that is currently being implemented in some WCPSS classrooms with great success. As independent reading is a critical component of the 6th Grade curriculum, in each unit students will be provided with a list of several novel titles that would be natural tie-ins to the unit themes. These titles are not meant to be exhaustive of possible titles that Dr. Turner could use in the classroom; they are merely a starting point. Dr. Turner may suggest these titles for students to read independently, or she may use them for literature circles during class.
Please click on the links below to download the documents students are required to use as part of the reading challenge as well as to see general definitions of the variety of genres students will be reading throughout the school year.
This is just one type of reading challenge that is currently being implemented in some WCPSS classrooms with great success. As independent reading is a critical component of the 6th Grade curriculum, in each unit students will be provided with a list of several novel titles that would be natural tie-ins to the unit themes. These titles are not meant to be exhaustive of possible titles that Dr. Turner could use in the classroom; they are merely a starting point. Dr. Turner may suggest these titles for students to read independently, or she may use them for literature circles during class.
Please click on the links below to download the documents students are required to use as part of the reading challenge as well as to see general definitions of the variety of genres students will be reading throughout the school year.