The librarians at Harker are striving to make the summer reading activity more fun and more flexible. We believe that leisure reading is one of life’s most engaging, relaxing and educational experiences.
Here is a list of changes in the summer reading program in Gr. 1-12:
In Gr. 1-8, students will still be required to read three books during the summer. Depending on the grade they are entering, there will be between zero to two specific titles they must read. The remaining books must be selected from the booklist for their grade.
In order to earn a reading pin, students must read five books this summer.
The five must include any required titles plus additional titles from the recommended book lists. This is a reduction of books required for a pin in the past. Please note that we are not reducing our standards. We wish to include more children in the pursuit of reading books for pleasure.
To provide a wider selection of books, the booklists will list authors, not titles. In the younger grades, these authors will be tied to names of series, as so many of the early readers are published in this manner. Students may read as many titles from one series as they like. In the older grades, authors will be associated with genres, such as fantasy and mystery. This will guide them towards books they enjoy. Students may read any book written by the author on their list. Parents might want to guide their children in selecting a title for his or her reading level, as authors write for different audiences.
In Gr. 9-12, the librarians have designed a program called ReCreate Reading. In addition to the reading required by the English department, a student’s leisure book can be the same title that will be discussed by several students or one that will be discussed in a multi-title group. Advisors will lead the discussions. Preparation for this program is in full swing and is generating a lot of excitement. More information will be on our Web site in early May.
I know I’ll be ordering more reading pins this summer and I shall be delighted
to do so.
Enid Davis, Library Director
P.S. Check out our new database BookBrowse for your leisure reading needs!