Never a big fan of the mandatory summer reading assignment, I was pleasantly surprised by the Bethpage plan. Choice is provided; very important. The titles are excellent. Teachers are available to provide help to students on specific days during the summer. (Also a State ed requirement). The librarians even made videos about each book. That's a plan I can support, and the letter from the Assistant Superintendent was informative and well written, especially as its audience was parents. [I actually would love an alternative assignment to be the creation of a video advertising the book to next year's students.] Also got me thinking about creating authentic "Read" posters for school libraries, featuring various members of the Bethpage community. Ideally, we can create a culture for students which encourages and celebrates all types of reading and writing so that reading over the summer would be taken for granted.
So far, I have procured one book for each grade level, but I need at least a second. These titles might actually be good to consider for mentor texts next year, or maybe literature circles. That way, students will already have familiarity with some of the texts.
