I’m thinking it’s a good idea to let you all know, from time to time, what books students are requesting.
Why? (1) It’s gives us a sense of what’s popular, plus it helps us understand what students care about, (2) It confirms that one of the best ways to build the Kindle Library is to have students request books.
Today, Brandon, a student in Kathleen Large‘s class in San Francisco, requested American Sniper, by Chris Kyle. On the book request form, Brandon wrote, “My advisory teacher was talking about this book and how he’s read it, and I felt really intrigued by the summary he gave on it.”
I got Brandon’s request, and within five minutes, I was able to purchase the book, thanks to generous donors, and deliver it directly to his Kindle! (The book also appears in the cloud for other students to access, too, plus it’s available on the online Kindle Library, too.)
I like Brandon’s choice for several reasons: (1) He heard about the book via a teacher’s recommendation, (2) It’s nonfiction, a growth area for the Kindle Library, (3) The movie version of the book is coming out in full release on Jan. 16, directed by Clint Eastwood. (My experience is that students like reading books that have been or will be movies. It helps them with their reading process, plus it helps them talk about the book after they’ve finished it.) It’s pretty clear that Brandon’s choice will be popular with many other students, too.
Today, Kathleen launched the Kindle Classroom Project in one of her classes, and the response was extremely positive. I spent about $150 on titles — both for new books (like Brandon’s) and for additional copies of existing titles (for books where more than six students are reading it simultaneously). It’s a great feeling.
It makes me especially happy that Brandon and his peers got the message loud and clear that the KCP is totally and completely about choice, independent reading. This is a testament to the quality of Kathleen’s teaching. Together, we’re promoting reading, and we’re promoting readers. There’s a bit of a small movement happening here in SF!
(I really like the huge Donate Now button.) Let me know your thoughts or if you’d like to help out!