2016 Read-A-Thon ***February 29th to March 4th
2016 Read-A-Thon ***February 29th to March 4th
to benefit the Muddy Brook PTA
PTA’s annual Read-A-Thon encourages students to become better readers by tallying their reading for 5 days. Improving literacy skills is essential for scholastic success, especially in the early years of a child’s education.
We’ll introduce the Read-A-Thon to students on Friday February 26th with an
all-school assembly. The Read-A-Thon will coincide with MBE’s Read-Across America celebration.
From Monday to Friday, February 29 to March 4th, students will read every day and keep track of groups of minutes read by filling in their Reading Tally Sheet. Each student should begin by setting a daily goal and a total goal for minutes read or minutes read to. Parents and older siblings may read aloud to the student. This counts toward minutes read. Please note, that reading during school hours will be included in the Read-a-thon reading minutes. See “Other Guidelines” for additional instruction.
The Read-A-Thon is also an optional fundraiser for the Muddy Brook PTA. We encourage students to find sponsors to pledge money toward their reading accomplishments. Pledges can be based on number of minutes read, or a general pledge amount. The money raised allows the PTA to provide financial support for enrichment activities such as field trips and in-school workshops such as the 2nd grade Flying Cloud program, the 4th grade Berkshire Theatre Festival residency program, and field trips to the Mahaiwe Theater, to name a few. Sponsorship is not required to participate in the Read-A-Thon.
The completed Reading Tally Sheet, Sponsor Form, and pledge money must be returned to your child’s teacher no later than Wednesday, March 9th. All readers will be recognized with a certificate of participation.
Thank you for participating in our Read-A-Thon. If you have any questions, please email Patty Melville at or Susan Higa at [email protected]
Have fun reading!
Recommended Times/Books
Listed below are the daily recommended reading times for each grade, in order to make setting a goal easier. Please work with your student to set a daily reading goal given his or her reading level. If you have questions about what is appropriate, please contact your child’s teacher.
Reading Units for Tallies: Read-to-self or read aloud
Kindergarten and First Grade: 10 minutes = one unit
2nd and 3rd grade 20 minutes = one unit
4th grade 30 minutes = one unit
Reading Strategies
For students in the younger grades, listening to adults or older siblings read aloud counts as reading time. When reading with your student, ask recall questions about characters or details of the story in order to build his or her reading comprehension skills. Talk about the story and relate it to your child’s everyday life when possible.
For the families with older students, consider having them read quietly in the same room as other readers. Or, try reading out loud as a family one night a week while rotating readers. Help strengthen your child’s reading skills by asking questions about his or her reading in terms of comprehension, recall of details and discussing the book’s theme or ideas.
Encourage and praise your student as they participate and engage in reading anything that is appropriate for their reading level, and in any language that is comfortable for them.
Other Guidelines
Reading time should never take the place of family time, homework, play-time, activities or SLEEP!
Students should have “eyes on story or print”. For example, it is valid for a child to listen to an adult or older sibling IF the child is following the print and pictures, and it is acceptable for a child to read along with a book on tape or CD if the eyes are following the print or pictures, (Sitting in the car listening to a book on CD alone would not be acceptable).
Click here for a copy of the Read-a-Thon Sponsorship Form and the Read-A-Thon Tally Sheet
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