Book Adventure

Miklenne Guzman

ED638 Intercession 2017

Dr. M. Rivera

IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #2

            Book Adventure (http://www.bookadventure.com/) is a free online reading program for elementary and middle school students that is sponsored by Sylvan Learning. It motivates children to read by allowing them to search for books, find and read the physical books at a library or at home, take an online quiz about the book they have read, and earn points for prizes for their reading success. It also offers many things for kids, teachers, and parents that will motivate young readers.

            In the Kid’s Zone, children can easily find books based on the title, author, ISBN or they can be provided with various book titles by selecting a grade level, difficulty, and subject. A list of book titles will then be provided with all the necessary information needed to physically locate the book. If children find multiple books, they can save the selected books to their booklist to be accessed and viewed at any time. The Quiz-O-Matic feature allows students to take a quiz on the stories read to earn points for prizes. The quiz is a great way to check for reading comprehension and the answers are shown for clarification. The children can also access printable awards, online and printable games, and resources. Lastly, they can choose their prizes from the Prize Library when they have accumulated points from completing the quizzes.

            In the Teacher’s Lounge, teachers can create classes, contests, and booklists to be shared with students. When creating a class, teachers can edit the class information, customize each student’s quiz setting, and write letters to parents to share how individual students are doing with the quizzes. A contest can also be created in which selected individuals who have the pin number and contest name are able to participate and get points. Teams are also a great way for group collaboration and teamwork. There are also many resources that the teachers can view in reference to booklists, awards, information about learning development and disabilities, organizations, and other reading resources for the classroom.

            The last major feature is the Parent’s Place. Parents can easily monitor and track their child’s reading progress, quiz results, prize selection, and assist in selecting their child’s next book. It also provides parents with the similar resources that are provided for teachers.

            I would recommend using Book Adventure to encourage children to become independent readers. It allows them to take control and engage in the selection process of books they are interested in. Then they become motivated to receive incentives for reading and answering comprehension questions. I also recommend it because it infuses both technology and reading. The children become exposed to physical books in libraries while still using modern technology to assess. The overall motivation Book Adventure provides for children can create a lifelong love for reading.