The first session of Books and Hoops at Donovan Elementary School was a slam dunk! Fourth and fifth grade students learned how to warm up their reading minds and basketball skills. Every student left with a book, a library bag, and a huge smile.

Student Discoveries

By the end of the night, Randolph fourth and fifth graders grew as readers and basketball players. As readers, they added new “tools” to their toolkit during a 10 minute reading lesson. During the lesson, students learned to keeping track of character traits leads to predictable outcomes. 

Students broke into small groups to dive deeper into Athlete vs Mathlete: Double Dribble by W. C. Mack. Small groups gave students opportunities to push their thinking, record their thoughts on a graphic organizer, and practice sharing their ideas with a peer. Once small groups returned to a whole group, students shared ideas from the book.

Breaking the Press

We went from the backcourt where we worked on reading skills and transitioned into the front court for basketball drills. Students yelled and whooped once they knew were making the switch. Every student grabbed a basketball to warm up. We started off slow by learning new ball handling drills and moved on to dribble relays. We finished the night with shooting drills and a team huddle.

Every student played their heart out and left it all on the floor. By the end of the night, students earned their books and library bags.

Upcoming Session

The next session is Friday, March 31, 2017 from 6-7:30pm in the Donovan gym. The mission of Books and Hoops is to become a life-long reader. Buying lots of new books can be expensive so every reader is encouraged to get to know their library. To encourage students to get to know their library, every student who shows their library card will receive a special surprise. To be sure everyone has a chance at getting the special surprise, a librarian from the Turner Free Library will lead a library card drive.

Volunteers

Community volunteers, Randolph High School SAAC members, basketball players, teachers and a Randolph Police Officer all volunteered their time. The night was a success because the impact they left on each student. Volunteers played basketball and helped students learn new reading strategies. It was amazing having such a wide range of volunteers. It totally helped every student find their comfort level.

There are lots of opportunities to get involved with Books and Hoops. For more information consider donating a book or your time.