Burr Intermediate Reading Challenge
What are you reading today?
We are ready to begin October with the Burr Reading Challenge! The Burr Reading Challenge is a school-wide program aimed to promote the love of literature as well as emphasize the benefits of reading. The Burr Reading Challenge strongly encourages students to make reading a daily habit, reading for at least 20 minutes a day and reaching a goal of 25 books a year.
Please encourage your child to participate in the Reading Challenge by taking him/her to the library and setting aside a quiet time for daily reading. You may read to your child, with your child, or he/she may read independently for 20 minutes a day. Students will be asked to complete a project related to a book they have read on a periodic basis. We are kicking off this year’s challenge with our annual favorite, The Paper Bag Book Review. Students will be given a paper bag supplied by a localsupermarket. Students will choose a favorite book to read, write a brief summary, and create an illustration advertising their book. The paper bags will be displayed at Burr for all to read and review during Children’s Book Week and American Education Week in November. The paper bag creations will then be donated back to the local Commack supermarkets for our community to enjoy. October will also mark the beginning of our annual Ronald McDonald House Read-a-Thon. The Read-A-Thon will run from October 25 to December 3. Please watch for our flyers describing the themes and activities.
We look forward to another exciting year in which we continue to experience the joy of reading here at Burr and share that excitement with our community through our philanthropic endeavors. Last year we raised over $2000 for the Ronald McDonald House. We also donated over 1000 gently used books to a Suffolk County Homeless Shelter. Children at the shelter were treated to a unique 'literacy shopping spree experience' in which they could choose several books from the donations for their vacation reading. Shelter administrators said that the smiles on the children were literally a mile wide that day! Burr Intermediate School also received honorary recognition as an Honor School in Reading from the the Suffolk County Reading Council Association.
To date, planned activities/events for the 2010 - 2011 Reading Challenge include:
| September | Burr Reading Challenge Rep Selection | |
| October | Pass It On – Read: Paper Bag Kick-Off Ronald McDonald House Read-A-Thon | |
| November/December | Children’s Book Week/American Education Week: Paper Bag Display A Book is a Gift You Can Open Again and Again Picture Activitiy |
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| January | Kicking off the New Year: Reading Resolutions | |
| February/March | Read Across America: Our Favorite Seussisms | |
| March | Experiment with a Book: Science Research | |
| April | Poem in Your Pocket - National Library Week | |
| May | Cook Up a Great Book National Children’s Book Week TBA Book Drive | |
| June | Summer Reading Library Program State Senate Reading Challenge | |
| Updated information will be distributed during the year. Please continue to encourage students to read, read, and read! Remember to ask, "What are you reading today?" | ||
Building Vocabulary Through Games! Have a Family Game Night!
With all the technology available to families, it’s a challenge to spend quality time together that doesn’t center around the computer or television. One of the best ways to enjoy a technology-free, fun evening is to implement a family game night. Instead of traditional activities, consider breaking out some word games to help players improve their vocabulary and have fund in the process.
Best Word Board Games for Family Game Night….A popular word game ideal for family game night is Scrabble®. Scrabble can be played with two to four players. Players are challenged to create words and build off of the words developed by other players.
A hidden benefit to this word game is it can be educational too. In addition to building vocabulary, it has also been shown to help with spelling. Players also put their math skills to the test when adding points from the tiles to determine the word score. Even young players can play this word board game. Simply have a child team up with a parent or older sibling and work together to develop words.
Another fun word game for family activity night is Boggle. This fast paced vocabulary game challenges players to come up with as many words as possible under a set time limit. The larger the word made, the more points a player receives. This is a great activity to break out when there is not much time to play.
Why start a family game night?
- Family time of course
- Game play teaches sportsmanship and good healthy competition.
- Playing together promotes communication.
- Family game night is inexpensive. Traditional parlor games are free!
- Family game night creates life long memories!
- It’s just good old fashioned fun!
Additional Suggestions: Upwords, Charades, Pictionary, Mad Libs, and Password!
