I'm so grateful you hooked into my request! I found your incentives topic and started reading everything - there's a lot there! So I'm printing it now and I'll dig into the ideas when I have more time. Our PTO, like most others I'm sure, has felt like we're just the cash cow. I'm optimistic that we may have an opportunity to provide more than just financial assistance to our building.
Thanks for your responses. I definitely want this to be a school-wide option, and want contests only if it encourages everyone to do their personal best.
Renee, I am very new at this web site, and perhaps because of that, I was unable to find your post on incentives. Could you point me to it? I would love to take a look.
My only suggestion is to involve as many kids as want to be involved. Our school has a "battle of the books" where the class votes (with strong persuasive assistance from the teachers) on the "best" readers and then those kids are given a reading list. Later in the year these "teams" compete against the other "teams" in the same grade level - it's set up like a game show. It's great for those kids who are good readers, and I'm not complaining because my kids have been chosen to participate. However, I like to look at the big picture and there are so many who get upset, thinking it's a popularity contest, feelings get hurt, friendships suffer. I know that we need to teach our kids about strengths and that not all kids have the same strengths, the world would be a boring place if we were all the same (soap box, I know) but my suggestion is just to keep in mind the masses as opposed to the competition of the game plan if your goal is to increase literacy and comprehension.
Last night I proposed to our principal that the PTO organize and sponsor book clubs in our K-4 building. He loved the idea so much that he wants me to get info on what it would look like and how we could possibly do it. I have printed 2 back-issue articles from PTOToday, which are helpful, and I'm hopeful that some of you may have experience, ideas and advice you can pass along.
The principal sees this as a vehicle to improve parent involvement (we would ask parents to facilitate, or at least monitor, the discussions) and to increase fluency (he wants to give prizes for number of books read). I see it as a vehicle to improve comprehension (through discussion) and passion for reading (kids keeping each other excited). We would form clubs based on reading level and subject matter (e.g., Harry Potter, American Girls, mystery, etc.).
So we're excited but also realize it will take a lot of effort and organization to get it rolling. Any suggestions for us?
