• Silent Reading
• Character Letter
• Letter to Author
• Alternate Ending
• Student Recommendation
• Coat of Arms
• Six-Word Memoir
• File Folder Book Report
• Mobile Book Report
• Visual Story

Teacher Features

The following projects have been tried and tested, with great results. By sharing these ideas and projects, teachers have won free books for their classes. Want to find out how to win books for your classroom? Visit the Teaching Tools page.

Reading Race (Grades 7-8)

What is it? The reading race is a fun way to encourage students to read.

Supplies/Downloadables

• Reading Race Tally Sheet
• Footprint

Directions

• Set the number of pages each foot will represent.
  
  
• Determine the course and measure the distance.
  
• Assign the teachers to teams and give each team a color.
  
  
• Explain the race to the teachers and their role of tallying the pages in each of their classes They give you a grand total of all their classes each week. Set class schedules for bi-monthly visits to the library.
  
  
• The teacher will need to give each student a Reading Race Tally Sheet (see below) for the student to keep a record of the pages they read each week.
  
  
• After receiving the totals from each teacher, the librarian writes the grand total in the spread sheet, determines how many feet each team earned, and staples the corresponding number of feet on the wall in the hall.
  
  
• Throughout the race, each teacher provides the librarian with individual student names and the number of pages. The librarian then recognizes the students by writing his/her name and the number of pages read on a team foot.
  

Summary:

"After using Orca Currents and Orca Soundings in the classroom and library, 94% of eighth-grade students passed the state-wide knowledge and skills testing, and half of those students were commended. Of those students, 72% were a combined minority group and 40% of them were in a low socioeconomic status group."
Summer Creek Middle School, TX

Summer Creek's amazing results after 12 weeks

787 7th and 8th grade students read 1,138,756 pages
251 students read over 1,000 pages
Top 8th grade reader - 35,300 pages
Top 7th grade reader - 25,000 pages

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Stories in pictures (Grades 7-8)

What is it? A fun, visual and creative way to display reading comprehension skills

Supplies/Resources

• Cardboard or heavy card stock (for pyramids)
• Basic stationary supplies (paper, scissors, glue, felt pens etc)
• Old magazines
• Comic Life or another similiar comic book creator software

Directions

Each student read a book, fills out a guided reading sheet and then works on 2 follow up projects.

Project one: Create 3-D Triangles and decorate the inside of the triangle with a scene from the book. Make sure the student includes the title and the author their project.

Project two: Students summarize story and plot sequence using an online application called Comic Life. Each student makes a comic strip about the Orca book that she/he read. This a a great visual project. Displayed the comics, the pyramids and the book that was read- alongside a picture of the student that had created each project and showcased in your display case.