April 2015

Welcome to Holmes Humanities Magnet!

To help you have a strong beginning at Holmes we encourage you to read books from the attached America’s Battle of the Books list. America’s Battle of the Books, ABB, is a reading incentive program for students in grades 3-12. Students read books and come together to demonstrate their abilities and test their knowledge of the books they have read. The competitions are similar in style to the TV series Family Feud or Whiz Kids, but the structure and format of the competitions may vary depending on the needs, resources, and personal preferences at various school sites or at the regional/state competition levels. Holmes has a school-wide competition and competes at the Regional level. Get a head start over the summer by reading some of these books and taking notes!

Mrs. Robyn Albaeck requires that students take a minimum of one Accelerated Reader test each grading period (5 weeks). ABB books can be used for these AR tests. There is also the Million Word Reader Club. Students can take ABB quizzes to join this elite group of students.

Students are asked to complete a One-Pager on a book of their choice to present to the class the first week of school. A One-Pager is a strategy for responding to a text.

The following are the requirements:

One 8 ½ X 11” sheet of paper, include:

  • Author and title of the book
  • Two or more direct quotes from the piece (Use “quotation marks” around the quotes.)
  • One or more drawn pictures/symbols (related to your quotes or to the reading as a whole)
  • A written personal response: a comment, a connection, or an interpretation (what you thing the story means) 3+ complete sentences
  • Add color and fill the entire page- no black spots. Use ink for your lettering (neatness counts!)
  • Your first and last name

Example on reverse.

I look forward to meeting and learning with you.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Robyn