Traditionally, Bingo for Books are held as family nights at many of our elementary schools, including Fuqua, Farrington Grove, Terre Town and Sugar Grove. A "BINGO" is made with "sight words," and each child generally leaves with at least two books to have for their home library. With COVID-19 mitigation efforts, teachers had to think creatively. On November 18, Fuqua Elementary hosted it's 1st virtual BINGO for Books during the school day. Every student in the school was able to participate in this event. Each student was able to play 2 rounds of BINGO and win 2 books. Students were able to pick a book of their own choosing due to this mini grant. This event put books in the hands of students just in time for remote learning! During the virtual event students were encouraged to read their books at home with their family and take Reading Counts Quizzes during remote learning.
Hundreds of books were given to students. The overall result was satisfied students and teachers. Students were excited about their book choices and teachers were happy to see students excited about books. So many students were excited about the opportunity to pick out their own books that they took a long time to choose the books they wanted. Some students voiced that they have never been able to come to BINGO for Books before because their parents work and they were so happy to be able to play.
Rademacher's Readers
Katie Rademacher-Smith, second grade teacher at Davis Park Elementary, recently delivered four books to each of her student's doorsteps, and the children happily waved from a safe distance. Her "Rademacher’s Readers" mini grant seeks to improve reading fluency and build the personal libraries of families by providing every classroom student with weekly non-fiction magazines and two books every month.I Survived: The Children's Blizzard, 1888, was completed as a class shortly before schools were closed. In her conversations with families, she has used this story to remind students that significant challenges can be overcome, and to encourage families to keep a journal/scrapbook to document our current period of living history.
Mrs. Rademacher-Smith added, "Now more than ever, students need a variety of reading materials in a personal library. Several families have reported appreciation for these materials and told me how the current collection of books is being shared within their families during this time of togetherness. When I conceived this project, I had no way of knowing how important it would become. Thank you for sponsoring this project and allowing me to provide quality reading materials to my students."
