Magazine and focused literacy subscriptions help support and enhance early literacy skills in an elementary classroom. Adding a variety of high-interest reading material to a classroom library allows students the flexibility to choose additional reading material that fosters a love of reading. By subscribing to magazines, students have the option of additional reading material for fun in the classroom.
By supplying the classroom library with additional high-interest reading material and focused literacy instruction, student reading skills will improve. Giving young readers a variety of texts to read will strengthen their comprehension abilities and learn critical thinking strategies (making connections, inferring, visualization) to improve their literacy base. Magazines remain in the classroom for multiple years for continued reading support and can be used later for art projects when the magazines are out of date or worn out.
Students will show improvement in their reading fluency and comprehension by practicing their literacy skills on a regular basis. This program also allows for students to read with buddies that may be at a different reading level but have the same interest. This approach eliminates the level's stigma associated with many reading groups and gives early readers a chance to share a common text in the classroom.
Subscriptions will be ordered prior to the beginning of the school year, so magazines and focused literacy subscriptions will be available for students starting in the fall semester. A monthly subscription creates excitement and anticipation of upcoming issues to read and share with friends.
This is a classroom-only subscription, but any student visiting the classroom (cross-grade buddies, team crew) is welcome to read the magazines while in the classroom with our own students. The magazines may be shared during subsequent years with other classes that need magazines for art projects.
In the past, I have used funds raised by the classroom during walk-a-thons. I would love to use those funds for other classroom enhancements for learning.
Storyworks Jr is a monthly subscription from Scholastic.com. Each child will receive their own magazine with focused literacy skills that will be completed as a class, in small groups, and with buddies. Each subscription is $8.49 per student/year.
All other subscriptions are for one magazine that will be shared by all students in the class.