Miss Thrifty

As an English teacher, I am an advocate for independent reading for students and adults alike. With the assistance of a reading program, ACCELERATED READER, it makes it easier for me to promote the long, lost concept.

AR is a program that schools can elect to use. AR will do an initial diagnostic test on each student. It is a computer adaptive test, meaning the test starts out difficult and adapts based on students' answers. At the end of the test, AR will give results based on grade equivalency and will also give a reading range. Students will then pick out a book within the reading range, that has an AR quiz, to read independently.

The beauty of this program is that classics and modern day teen novels are all on the list. For example, my students are reading books such as The Giver, Frankenstein, and The Child Called It. The Twilight series books are available and so are Harry Potter books too! Look up any book to see if it has a quiz at www.arbookfind.com. With any reading initiative, of course there is resistance from those who don't like to read, but I have never before seen students reading sooooo much and enjoying it. I love this program! (I can do another detailed post on AR if you'd like.)

Anyway, onto the thrifty part! I want to continue building my classroom library, but it's difficult to buy for the class on a teacher's budget. I have found a way to shop and stay within a strict budget!

There was a festival on my local town green and inside the church they were holding a book fair. I went in with $10 hoping to find a bunch of good picks, but expected to leave with nothing... Well with a little digging (and ducking from church basement pipes) I found about 8 great finds! They include:

-Gawain and the Green Knight
-Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
-Bridge to Terabithia
-Hot Mess:Summer in the City
-Last of the Mohicans
-The Horse and his Boy by CS Lewis
-Radiance by Alyson Noel
-And a Stephen King Novel!!

I got all this for (drum roll please) .... $3.50!!!
Hardcover Children Books were .50
Paperback Children were .25
Hardcover Adult Books were $1.00
Paperback Adult Books were .50
Old Hardcovers (for decorating obviously lol) were $2.00

If you're in the market for books, I highly recommend scoping out a book fair near you! Check your local paper for upcoming listings!! I know what I'll be doing November 3rd and at least I can say I went to church that weekend; I do strive to be the best role model I can be for my students ;) lol