Dept.+Meeting+Info

**1. Why do we want our students to read over the summer?....PURPOSE **
I also think we might want to include some stats from research here. Maybe some stats from the article Cathy gave us on the benefits of Free Voluntary Summer Reading.
 * for enjoyment
 * to maintain a reading life all summer long
 * to pursue interests ....to learn

"the long summer vacation breaks the rhythm of instruction, leads to forgetting, and requires a significant amount of review when students return to school in the fall" (Cooper2003,2)

Research findings consistently reported that (I) student learning declines or remains the same during the summer months; (2) the magnitude of the change differs by socioeconomic status (Malach and Rutter 2003).  //The Power of Reading// (Krashen 2004) summarizes research about Free Voluntary Reading (FVR). Summer reading is a type of FVR called extensive reading, whereby students read independently and there is (or should be) minimal accountability.

Other benefits of FVR address aliteracy, or the lack of motivation to read. .....reading is a "flow activity" indicating that free voluntary reading is enjoyable.

Studies support the finding that those who read know more.

Barnstable High School's guidelines for summer reading: "People who say they read more read better" (Krashen 2004). therefore the primary purpose of the summer reading program is to encourage students to read more. To encourage students to read more, the primary purpose of summer reading is reading for fun. Summer reading offers choices because choice is an important element in reading engagement (Schraw, Flowerday, and Reisetter 1998).

**2. What else do we want/expect from students?**
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO WOULD DEPEND ON WHAT TYPE OF CELEBRATIONS/ SHARING WE COME UP WITH. SOMETHING GENERAL ENOUGH TO FIT ALL THE CELEBRATIONS BUT ALSO SPECIFIC ENOUGH SO THAT THEY HAVE TO ACTUALLY READ THE BOOK TO DO IT. - DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?) We talked about possibly including a summer reading log for students to track their reading with some space to record their thinking - knowing that they would be called upon to share in some way in September. I think it is important that we make clear this is a tool so that it does not become THE ASSIGNMENT.
 * For students to think about sharing summer reading with peers and preparing for this if appropriate
 * To encourage and foster partnerships/groups or some other social outlet for the reading lives of students

Results suggest that schools can encourage children to read more by also requiring them to complete a short writing activity based on their summer reading activities....and students who fulfilled teacher requirements by writing about their summer book are predicted to read more books than their classmates who did not complete these activities (Kim 2004 185)

Reading response projects can accommodate multiple intelligences (Gardner 1993) and thinking styles (Sternberg 1997) by providing options fo reading responses that are graphic, visual and auditory, as well as written.

**3.What are some ways to celebrate summer reading in Sept.?**
We talked about coming up with a list for teachers with ideas of how to share/celebrate summer reading. I think this is a great idea and might help our presentation if we had say 10 (or 15 or 20…) ways to celebrate/share prepared for next week and ask everyone for other ideas? ((SPEED DATING, VIDEO MESSAGES, READING SOCIAL, BOOK TALKS, SOMETHING WRITTEN/ ARTISTIC TO DISPLAY IN THE LIBRARY - THESE MIGHT NEED SOME EXPLANATION BUT THEY ARE MY PRELIM. THOUGHTS ABOUT WAYS TO CELEBRATE))

I don't think we should really get into possible celebrations yet. We have time for that and I think we want to stay focused on one goal.

Some teachers who are not feeling comfortable with the "openness" might need to know where we are going with this in September b/c they can't give a "test" per say, so on second thought maybe we do need to provide some celebration ideas as a model and then give them time to brainstorm others.

Maybe it is a good idea to name some basic celebrations and let teachers know that we will follow up at our next meeting with other ideas - putting together a book, etc.?

**4. What are some books that might be recommended by teachers?**
Tara mentioned giving teachers time during the meeting to think about their list of books – I like this idea. It will get everyone talking and I hope excited about the list! ((AGREED!! CAN WE ALSO GIVE TIME FOR PEOPLE TO GENERATE SHARING/ CELEBRATION IDEAS? MAYBE BOTH AT THE SAME TIME?)) 