How I Use Scholastic Book Clubs

Bonus Points, Bonus Points, Bonus Points…Being a Scholastic Book Club member offers lots of bonus point opportunities.

http://clubs.scholastic.com/

Become a new member and earn 350 Bonus Points. Please use my referral code 511467482. 

Each book that is ordered has a point value attached to it. You accumulate the points and "cash" them in on anything in their inventory.

I use my funding or bonus points

* To purchase hardcover books. They have the latest and greatest

* To purchase paperback books with CD’s (very cheap)

     - Great for days when I’m sick and don’t want to talk much.

     - Great for teachers to use at listening centers in their room.

     - They have seasonal sets of books with CD's. You get a small discount when buying the pack.

* They have fabulous teacher guides that I purchase for our professional library.

 What Scholastic Book Clubs offers for teachers

• Some teachers may not get enough, or any, orders when they send the flyers home. So by placing an order through me they can still get books they want for their classroom.
• I pass flyers out to our intervention teachers, resource teacher and school guidance counselor. I ask them to return their order to me by a certain date.
• When the books come in I organize each persons order and pass the books out. I also submit a total to our bookkeeper.

 What is offers for parents

• Parents can submit orders online using your special teacher code.
• You can go in your teacher account and set up the flyers you want parents to shop from.
• By doing this they have access to more books to purchase.
• Their credit cards get charged when you log in and request the order to be shipped to you.
• They get free shipping.

Anytime a parent places an order on the web you get a $3 book voucher. Send out a letter to the parents and share your code. You get bonus points for orders placed on the web too. This is a great way to get orders because not all teachers participate in the book clubs.

If a book is ever on back stock and it ships later then you usually get a $3 voucher for the inconvience.

I have even created my own parent account and I go in and buy books for my boys. School gets $3 J

Become a new member and earn 350 Bonus Points. Please use my referral code 511467482. 

"To the Book Fair and Beyond"

I had a great time with this years book fair theme..."To the Book Fair and Beyond"! Thanks to a great EA and some parent volunteers I was able to replicate some of the decorations on the guide. What an entrance!

Styrofoam plates that were spray painted silver then stapled together. Alien was photocopied from the Book Fair online toolkit.

Oriental Trading product hanging down from the ceiling over one of the product tables.

Oriental Trading never lets me down. www.orientaltrading.com
I got some great space themed decorations from there including planets, space bouncy balls and planet note pads. I will have various contests during Family Night.
* McDonald's lunch with our principal
* Announcements every morning for 1 week
* Space Bouncy Balls
* Planet Note Pads
That night you get a ticket for every BOOK that you buy. You then go over to a table and write your child's name and teacher's name on the back of the ticket and drop it in the bucket of the contest you want to try to win.

I also have a contest that doesn't require a purchase. I usually pose a trivia question. The first student I find that answered the question correctly wins $25 worth of free books from the Book Fair.

We also sell food that night so that families can come eat. Typically it's pizza and then I have teachers donate drinks, desserts and paper products. We also sell popcorn. It's a great way to encourage the families to come. I sold out of 8 pizzas within the first hour and probably could have sold a few more. We were open from 5:00 - 7:00 pm and the whole book fair was moved to the gym.

Blog name change

I have decided to change the name and address of my blog since there was another blog with a very close url. I am now "What Kids Are Reading" and the address is
http://www.whatkidsarereading.blogspot.com/

My "Back to School" Library Books

So after 10 years of teaching I have my set of library favorites. Here is a list of books I do with each grade level. They are good "intro to library" books that allow the kids to learn about the library and our procedures while listening to a great book.

Kindergarten
- During the first class I always read the Library Dragon by Carmen Deedy.
I substitute the school and teacher name in the book with our school name and the name of the classroom teacher.
- Mr. Wiggle's Book by Carol Thompson
I have a "Yes" and "No" box. I have various pictures or items that I pass out to the students. They come up in front of the class and we decide if it's good or bad for a library book.
- The Shelf Elf by Jackie Hopkins
I like to tell the kids that the shelf elf hides in our library and watches the children as the check out.
- We're Going on a Bookhunt by Pat Miller
I love the cards and guide that I bought with it. I have done a remake of the song and I teach the kids and dance and we stand up and sing. We check out books for the first time that day.

First Grade
- Manners in the Library by Carrie Finn.
- The Shelf Elf by Jackie Hopkins
- What Happened to Marion's Book? by Brook Berg
- A Book for Cheser by Elizabeth Bennett
- Stella LouElla's Runaway Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst.
- The Library Doors by Toni Buzzeo
I got a teacher's guide with this one so I like teaching the kids the signs that go with it.
Each book is a separate library class. I am expanding on the information included in the stories.

Second Grade
- Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? by Lauren Child.
I LOVE this book. The things that Herb did to his book are very realistic and start a good conversation with the students. It's also good for identifying fairy tale characters.
- Library Jeopardy
I found  template on the internet and we play that for our second class. It's a fun way for the kids to learn some basic library rules and things about me.
- Beware of the Storybook Wolves by Lauren Child
Another cute one with Herb in it.

Harry Potter Photo Prints

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two hits theaters and will wrap up the 8-movie series. Millions of fans are buzzing about the final battle, and to help share in the excitement, Uppercase Living is offering three exclusive Photo Prints™ of the movie’s heroes: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Now you can add larger-than-life décor to your library or "Potter Parties", and on the bedroom walls of the littlest fans in the house. These prints will only be available until August 31 at 11:59 p.m., so don’t wait! 

The new adhesive features a patented technology that adheres well once applied, yet peels off easily to minimize the risk of wall-damage sometimes associated with prints of this size. 

http://shannonm.uppercaseliving.net/ShopLanding.m
Click on "Special Offers" to order the three prints.

Harry Potter Item # 700121

Size: 47"x 13.5"

Price: $49.95

Ron Weasley
Item #700122

Size: 47"x 15.5"

Price: $49.95

Hermione Granger Item #700123

Size: 47"x 11"

Price: $49.95

Downloading eBooks from the public library

You will need to see if your public library has the R.E.A.D.S. system. You also need a public library card.

You will have to create a R.E.A.D.S. account. You might have to choose your local library type in your library number on the back of your library card.

You will need to download Adobe Digital Editions on your computer. You can get it here
http://reads.lib.overdrive.com/84D8F863-66E9-4684-94C2-807DA3717A10/10/337/en/Help-QuickStartGuide.htm
Scan down on the page and it's under Step 1.

Once you haev downloaded the program you  can browse the books. The Nook supports
* e-Book - EPUB files
* e-Book - PDF files

When you are on the main R.E.A.D.S homepage you can see those choices in a dark blue box on the left.

I will usually click on one of those so I don't waste my time looking at audio books.

Once you finds a book she wants she can click on "add to cart". I also put a hold on a lot of books to because you have to wait in line for them. They will e-mail you when it becomes available.

To download on your computer...
Click on the "My Cart" tab on the top.
Click "Proceed to Checkout".
At the top choose 7,14, or 21 days from the Lending Period drop down box.
Click "Confirm Checkout'.
Click "Download".
Save the file on your desktop.
Once it's there you can open Adobe Digital Editions and drag the book into it.

To get it on your Nook...
Plug in your Nook to the computer using the USB cord that came with it.
You'll have Adobe Digital Editions open and on the left under the Bookshelf you'll see "Media"...that's the Nook.
Drag the book over to that file and it will download it on your Nook.

There is also a Facebook group called,  "I have a Nook and I'm willing to share books". I've borrowed 4 of my books that way. People post what they have to share under the Discussion board there. If you are the first person to post that you want the book and you send that person a message then you'll typically be the one who gets it.

I've also sent a form and $15 to join the Philadelphia Free Public Library. (Not free to TN residents). They have a boatload of ebooks. It may have been money I didn't need to spend because I have found enough through my local library.

Be on the lookout for "Free Friday". B&N offers a free eBook on Friday's. Titles will vary. They also have a section of eBooks that cost under $5. Some titles change each month.

Grant #2 - "We're Nooked on eBooks"

The students are getting 6 Nook Colors from Barnes & Noble! I got mine for Christmas 2010 and I absolutely LOVE mine. I find that it is more convenient than carrying a book with me everywhere I go. The Nook fits nicely in my purse. I also set it up on the treadmill and read while I run. Makes the time go by much faster.

With the grant money I will also be purchasing some science and math related eBooks. Another good think about Nook's is that if you buy 1 book you can share that book across 6 Nooks. So I get to buy the book once and all the Nook's will have access to it.

Other great things about the Nook Color
- You can borrow books from the public library (with your library card).
- It's in COLOR - children's books still show the gorgeous illustrations.
- You can get Apps on it now.
- "LendMe" feature. You can share the eBooks that you purchase with other Nook owners. Actually you can also lend it out to a Kindle owner but I'm afraid they can't return the favor.
- The screen can be turned either horizontal or vertical.
- "Read and Play" Interactive books
- Exclusive "Read to Me" feature which reads the text to your young child or beginning reader.
- Build in Wi-Fi
- Lighted display screen that you can adjust. This is very handy for reading in bed at night.
- Adjustable text size.

I'm excited to bring these features, and Nook Colors, to my students.