Fourth Grade Library Program

      The library program is another aspect of your child’s reading program—focusing  on both recreational and informational reading—with books appropriate for individual abilities and interests. Your child’s attitude and completion of library requirements are reflected in individual evaluations and report card grades.
Fourth grade students come to the library for one fifty-minute period each week. During that time:

1. I read to the students.

2. Students choose appropriate books to check out.

3. Students take comprehension quizzes in “Reading Counts!”

4. I talk with students about books for Genre Bingo.

5. Students read silently.

 

     Students should recognize and promote the library as an intellectual channel within the school—a place for exchange of information for the purposes of research, study, and recreation. We will work on these specific skills this year:

1.       Developing a working knowledge of the Dewey Decimal System as students look for appropriate materials for research, study, and recreation.

2.       Becoming confident in the use of encyclopedias, books, and other materials for research.

3.       Evaluating resources to fit one’s specific needs. 

     Recreational reading should be a part of the students’ daily activities. We encourage the exploration of many different types of literature through the use of Genre Bingo. Students read books at their level that fit the various categories and take comprehension quizzes on computer in the “Reading Counts!” program.  A bingo earns a small prize in the library; a blackout bingo earns a paperback book. Points accumulate in “Reading Counts!” based on the length and difficulty of the books, and small prizes are awarded there as well. Through these computer quizzes, our students are learning about their ability to understand and remember what they read. They are discovering that reading is much more than naming the words they see. It is becoming involved with and making meaning out of the text.

     The Mark Twain Award program is a third recreational program for fourth grade students. After reading and passing a quiz on a minimum of four of the twelve nominated books, students may vote for the book they think is best. Their votes, along with the votes of other children in Missouri, choose the Mark Twain Award-winning book of the year. It is not a requirement, simply one more option for children who wish to pursue it. There are many “Mark Twain” books in the library from previous years to read for the Genre Bingo squares. The Truman Award program is also available, although geared for middle school.
               
     We have talked about time management as an essential ingredient in a student’s life. Each must learn to set priorities and follow through on tasks. Students have silent reading opportunities during the day in their classrooms, silent reading time during library class, and reading time at home each day to accomplish their goals. We have talked about selecting books at an appropriate level, not choosing those that are too long and/or too difficult. I offer help to students in making those choices.

     The library reading program focuses on reading for pleasure, reading for meaning and understanding, and reading a variety of materials. The Genre Bingo and Reading Counts Quizzes help us to achieve these goals. The books for book reports count in the total; books read by the teacher and books read as the classroom novel do not count. Books of more than 250 pages may count as two books, depending on the novel.

     Your student should use the attached chart to determine the desired grade for the quarter and work accordingly. Please keep a copy of this chart for your reference.

FOURTH GRADE LIBRARY GRADING RUBRIC

                                                               

 

If any category falls in this line, the grade will be D	No books on the BINGO sheet	No quizzes	No books on the BINGO sheet	No chapter books on BINGO sheet
C Read across—all requirements must be met for this grade.	At least 1 book on the BINGO sheet	At least 1 quiz—may be either fiction or nonfiction	At least 1 book on the BINGO sheet—may be either fiction or nonfiction	At least 1 chapter book on the  BINGO sheet
B Read across—all requirements must be met for this grade.	At least 2 books on the BINGO sheet	At least 2 quizzes—1 must be fiction and 1 must be nonfiction	At least 1 fiction and 1 nonfiction book on the BINGO sheet	At least 1 chapter book on BINGO sheet
B+ Read across—all requirements must be met for this grade.	At least 4 books on the BINGO sheet	At least 3 quizzes—1 must be fiction and 1 must be nonfiction	At least 1 fiction and 1 nonfiction book on the BINGO sheet	At least 2 chapter books on the BINGO sheet
A- Read across—all requirements must be met for this grade.	At least 6 books on the BINGO sheet	At least 4 quizzes—1 must be fiction and 1 must be nonfiction	At least 2 fiction and 2 nonfiction books on the BINGO sheet	At least 3 chapter books on the BINGO sheet
A Read across—all requirements must be met for this grade.	At least 7 books on the BINGO sheet	At least 4 quizzes—1 must be fiction and 1 must be nonfiction	At least 2 fiction and 2 nonfiction books on the BINGO sheet	At least 4 chapter books on the BINGO sheet

 

                        FOURTH GRADE GENRE BINGO

NF FOREIGN COUNTRY (900s)	HISTORY (Nonfiction)	CLASSIC	SPORTS	FREE CHOICE
FREE CHOICE	PLANT OR ANIMAL NONFICTION	NF FREE CHOICE	2ND BOOK BY THE SAME AUTHOR	MARK TWAIN AWARD
HUMAN BODY (612)	FREE CHOICE	FREE CHOICE	MYSTERY	HUMOR
BIOGRAPHY	FREE CHOICE	FREE CHOICE	HISTORICAL FICTION	EARTH SCIENCE
ADVENTURE	F--ANOTHER CULTURE	ECOLOGY (Keeping Earth Healthy)	FREE CHOICE	SCI FI--FANTASY