Monthly Book Raffles

I'm addicted to children's books. There I said it. I'm even more addicted to Scholastic Book Orders. The amount of personal money I spend on Scholastic books each year is not going to be disclosed here because my husband reads this and well... there's just some secrets you need to keep.

Last year I shifted the focus on parent-driven reading logs to student-centered ones. Meaning that I stopped the whole "your mom must sign your reading log each night" to a "you're learning independence" approach. Students are asked to read 20 minutes each night and quickly jot down "20" on their agenda's reading log.

For the first month I check it weekly, just to give feedback on how they are doing with remembering to fill it out. I give reminders before the end of the month to make sure that each night is completed (Honestly I only check for Monday- Thursday and if a few nights are missing, that is fine... they are only seven).

Then on the last day of the month I check to see who has completed their monthly reading and it's time for the Mrs. Rider Book Raffle. I pass out my raffle tickets and they write their name on it.

Then  I show off the five books up for grabs. These were the choices for October:

This is also a great way to teach probability... if there are ten tickets for one book and none for another book, which book are you more likely to win?

I keep a list of who wins each month to ensure that each student has a fair chance. I also will start to give out tickets for other reading incentives (finishing a series, finishing a long book, etc.) just so everyone is able to win a book at some point.

The idea behind this is to increase their love for reading. And who doesn't love a new, free book?