Summer Reading Competition

The Final Four Challenge is over, but myON is ready with a brand new contest designed to encourage students to keep reading wherever they may be this summer. Students that read 10 books or more on myON this summer are automatically entered into a contest to win some great prizes including mini iPads and $100 gift cards. 

Our turnkey Summer Reading Toolkit is available in English and Spanish, includes time-saving themed resources, materials and templates to support your engagement and communication efforts. Click the link above or go to our Educator Resources website to find out more.

myON News

This summer be sure to check out a great new feature on your dashboard called myON News. Powered by News-O-Matic, myON News features 5 daily articles (Monday-Friday) drawn from current events and available in 3 different Lexile levels.

Daily additions are written in both English and Spanish and include multimedia supports such as audio, video and maps. Each article connects to digital books to allow further exploration and understanding. myON News is another great way to help your students keep learning and engaging this summer. Access myON News right from your dashboards. 

Find an introduction to myON News on our Educator Resources site (your ProDev password is required to access this information.)  

Summer Slide

Don’t let your students fall victim to the dreaded summer slide. Before school gets out make sure that you have a solid summer reading plan in place. Challenge Students to Read EVERY Day:  This is easy with the myON library.  Students have access to the complete library of awesome books through August. 31. Be sure to check out the suggested summer reading list for your soon to be 4th grade students - it's part of the Summer Reading Toolkit, located on our Educator Resources web site.* 

* NOTE: a login is required to access some areas of the Educator Resources site. Please check with your myON site coordinator or contact myON Project Manager Stacy Goebel if you need assistance.) 

Congratulations to All!

Congratulations to all the winners of the Read to the Final Four Challenge!

AND THE WINNER IS.....

And the winner of the Read to the Final Four Challenge is.....MARY C O'BRIEN ELEMENTARY!  Not only did they win the competition, but they also had 5 of their students win the individual contest! Congratulations to all of the students, teachers and staff at Mary C O'Brien for all their hard work!

End of the Road

The Read to the Final Four contest ends at 11:59 pm local time tonight! 
Be sure to check our website -- ReadtotheFinalFour.com – for final results!

As exciting as this contest has been, from Tip-Off until today, it’s part of a larger effort to help every third grader become a star reader.

In order to help kids continue to build their stamina and skills – along with a true love of reading – we hope they and their teachers will continue using myON the rest of the school year and all summer long. Their accounts will remain active until August 31 to be sure kids don’t miss a day of reading practice!   

Our Teacher Locker Room and Family Zone resource web pages will continue to be available until August 31, as well, with regular updates and tips to keep kids engaged.

We will always be your biggest fans as you coach students to their personal best in reading and learning!

Please join us in congratulating your team – and all third grade teams that are participating in this exciting literacy program!

6 Million Minute Readers

Arizona students have read over 6 million minutes since January! So proud of all our 3rd grade teachers and students! This is the last week of the competition. On Friday we will crown a champion as well as recognize the top readers in the state. Everyone did a great job reading and that makes you all winners! Don't forget that you have myON all the way through the summer. Keep checking back to this site over the next week for tips and updates to make the most out our your myON usage!

myON Questons

Do you have questions about myON or want to know how you can keep using it past the free trial period that ends August 31? We'd love to talk with you more about myON and what it can do for your school and your students. Please feel free to reach out to Terre Bommarito and she'd be happy to come talk to your staff and principals about it.



Terre L. Bommarito

Account Manager |  myON 

(C) 812.987.5385

Final Four

It's hard to believe that we are down to the Final Four Schools in our reading challenge! Congratulations to our top 4 schools! The race is on to find the champion!

The Final Four is Almost Here

Tonight at 11:59 we move into the last round of the tournament!  Which schools will make it to the Final Four? Keep reading to get those last few minutes in!  We are all rooting for you!

March Madness Scavenger Hunt

The Sweet Sixteen...the Elite Eight...the Big Dance! Yep, March Madness is in full swing!  Did you fill out your bracket yet?  Who do you have in your Final Four?

This is a great time to have your students practice using the search tab in their myON libraries with this scavenger hunt.  Make it fun and interactive while teaching the students how to search for books.

March Madness Scavenger Hunt
Use the search tab in your myON library to find some great books about basketball.

1.  Type Basketball in the search tab.  How many books will you find?
2.  Type in College Basketball and click the fiction button.  List 2 books that you find.
3.  Find one basketball book that is a third grade book. What is the name of the book?
4.  Can you find any basketball books written in Spanish? If so, write the title of one of the books.
5.  Search and find the book "Wacky Basketball Trivia". What is the recommended grade level
     for this book? Who is the author?
7.  Find the book "The Final Four".  Save it to your favorites.
8.  Look for a fiction book about basketball.  What is the audio time of the book?  What is the page
     count?  What is the average rating of the book?
9.  Use the story type search button to see if you can find books about basketball in all 4 types of
     books (short, medium, long and epic).
10. Find a book about basketball that is on your Lexile level. Read the book and when you are        
      finished write a review and take the quiz.

Your Elite Eight

Way to go Idaho....I mean Arizona. You have now read over 5,400,000 minutes.  If you are doing the math that is 90,000 hours, 3,750 days, 535 weeks and 10 years of reading!  INCREDIBLE! AMAZING! AWESOME SAUCE!  Everyone of you have bragging rights on this!

Now....drumroll please.......here are Arizona 3rd graders Elite Eight!  Congratulations!!!

Another Million Milestone

Another milestone has been reached! Students in Arizona have now read over 5 million minutes!  That's incredible! The next round ends on Tuesday, March 7, but every 3rd grader can keep reading great books on myON until August 31!

Special Events in March and April

Family Fun Weekend March 31-April 3 

 

Final Four Friday on March 31 features open team practices followed by a must-see All-Star Game (free to the public). Final
Four Fan Fest, from March 31- April 3, includes basketball clinics, autograph sessions, giveaways, games and more (ages 12 and under admitted free).  March Madness Music Festival, a 72-hour event, runs from March 31 - April 2 and is free to the public.

Dribble Around Phoenix:  This event on Sunday, April 2, is FREE, for youth 18 and under! Pre-registration is required. For more info on these and other Final Four events go to http://www.ncaa.com/final-four

How Sweet It Is!

How sweet it is to be one of the top 16 schools in the Read to the Final Four Literacy Challenge! Congratulations to all schools that made it into round 3! 

Literacy Tools

Have you signed up for this week's Wednesday webinar yet?  It's not too late!  This week we will be talking about literacy tools and how to use them in the classroom.  To register for this informative webinar email sgoebel@myon.com for a link to the webinar. It starts at 3:45 and will last about 45 minutes. During this live webinar you will have the opportunity to see the tools in use and ask questions about them.

Here is a preview of the literacy tools that are available on myON.

SWEET 16

Round 2 ends tonight at 11:59 pm? Will your school be in the Sweet 16? You need to be in the top 4 in your region to move on. 

Weekly Webinars and Webinar Change

Don't forget to sign up for the weekly webinars on the ins and outs of myON.

Wednesday, February 22:  Using Literacy Tools in the Classroom

•             What literacy tools are available?

•             How do they work?

•             How can I incorporate them into my classroom?

Wednesday, March 1: Ins and Outs of myON

•             How do I set up groups?

•             What kind of reports can I run?

•             How do contests work?

•             Other things you want to know about myON

Wednesday, March 8:  What are Projects and how do they work?

•             Creating projects- reading, writing, graphic organizers, all purpose tasks, etc,...

•             Assigning projects to students, classes and groups

•             Finding/sharing projects using the cloud

Black History Month

Black History Month Favorites on myON

CONGRATULATIONS TOP 32!

Congratulations to the 32 schools that have moved on to Round 2! You guys are ROCK STAR READERS!

AZ 3rd graders have read almost 3 1/2 MILLION minutes which is 58,333 hours, 2,430 days and 6.65 years of reading! 

Every student, teacher, school and district in Arizona that has participated in Read to the Final Four should be so proud! There are only winners when kids are reading and boy are they reading! 

Live Webinars

Wednesday Webinar Series starting February 15 at 3:45pm. 

Your students have access to myON until August 31 so be sure to take advantage of these FREE webinars. Each webinar will be about 45 minutes long and will cover all things myON.  The sessions will be a hands on interactive time that will allow you to explore myON with your Project Manager and ask any questions that you might have. To register for one or more of the webinars below, please send an email to sgoebel@myon.com with your name, email and webinar you'd like to register for. You will then get an email with the link to the webinar.

Wednesday, February 15:  What are Projects and how do they work?

• Creating projects- reading, writing, graphic organizers, all purpose tasks, etc,...
• Assigning projects to students, classes and groups
• Finding/sharing projects using the cloud

Wednesday, February 22:  Using Literacy Tools in the Classroom

• What literacy tools are available?
• How do they work?
• How can I incorporate them into my classroom?

Wednesday, March 1: Ins and Outs of myON

• How do I set up groups?
• What kind of reports can I run?
• How do contests work?
• Other things you want to know about myON

Good Things Come in Threes

There are a lot of good things that come with the number 3.

3 Flavors in Neapolitan Ice Cream                  
3 Colors on the USA Flag
3 Little Pigs
3 Day Weekends
3 Point Shot in Basketball
3 Ring Circus
3 Ships of Christopher Columbus
3 French Hens
3 Holes in a Bowling Ball
3 Legged Race
3 Sides of a Triangle
3 Wise Men
3 Times a Lady
3 Books in Lord of the Rings
3 Wheels on a Tricycle
3 Musketeers
3 Ring Notebooks
3 Goals in a Hat Trick
3 Babe Ruth's Number

But the very best thing about the number 3 is that..........

 ARIZONA 3RD GRADERS JUST READ 3 MILLION MINUTES!

Student Data

Are you curious about what your students are doing on myON? Teachers can view student information from their dashboard. To access student data click on the classroom tab at the top of the dashboard. Next choose the student tab and then click on an individual student's name. Directly under the Lexile score you will see a long bar that will allow you to choose what information you are viewing (books read, groups, Lexile benchmark exams, quizzes and student information). In the picture above the teacher is viewing books read. On the side bar you will find the student's interest inventory. The bigger the word, the more the student likes that genre. This will guide you when helping students choose books that interest them. 

Keep checking this blog for more myON tips and helpful resources!

Accelerated Reader

Are you a school that uses the Accelerated Reader program? Did you know that myON offers supports for AR? By using the advanced search filter (ATOS tab) you can find titles within the Accelerated Reader program as well as information like ATOS level, quiz number and points. You also have the ability to enable a direct link to the Accelerated Reader quiz once the book has been finished by the student. The students will find the link on the book quiz page. (See bottom picture)

If you are an existing Accelerated Reader customer and would like to enable AR for your students, you must enter your unique Renaissance ID number (RPID) on the building or district administrator site. Click HERE for instructions on how to link AR with your myON account.

The Second Million

Today Arizona 3rd graders hit the 2 million mark!  That's over 2 million minutes read on myON in just 3 short weeks! I'm not going to lie. The second million tastes even sweeter than the first! 

Round 1 Has Begun!

A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to all of the 68 AZ schools that have moved on to Round 1!  You guys rock!  Don't let up now. We are just getting started and the competition is fierce! Round 1 goes until 11:59pm on February 7. Only the top 8 schools in each region will move on to Round 2. Please note that the time does NOT reset each round. It is cumulative throughout the contest.

We are so proud of every 3rd grader and school that has been reading! Way to represent Arizona! Even if you are not one of the top 68 schools to move on there are still plenty of reasons to keep reading.

Reason 1- There are no losers when kids are reading!
Reason 2- The top 5 readers in every region still have a chance to win!
Reason 3- Everyone has access to myON until August 31!  That means that there are still plenty of great books that haven't been read!
Reason 4- Last year in Houston they read over 9 million minutes. Arizona can do better than that. Let's show them that there is something bigger in Arizona than in Texas!
Reason 5- Reading makes us smarter and who doesn't want to be smarter?!

So keep reading, keep getting smarter, and keep making Arizona proud!

The First Round Starts Tomorrow!

The first round of the Read to the Final Four Literacy Challenge starts tomorrow! You have until 11:59pm tonight to squeeze in those last few minutes of reading.  At 12:00am Wednesday, January 25th, the top 17 schools in each of the 4 regions will advance to the first round. Those schools will be announced in a special press conference that will be held at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Students and teachers will also be able to find the information on the contest page. As schools advance into the first round, their time spent reading will NOT be reset. All minutes read are cumulative.

Good luck 3rd graders and HAPPY READING!

Questions About Time Spent Reading

This is a common question I get from teachers about time spent reading.

"When my students log in to myON it shows that they read X amount of minutes but, when they get to the contest page it shows less time read."

Answer:

myON will track students' reading time for their entire history on myON. They will be able to see that information on their dashboard and in their activity.

If they want to see how many minutes they have read during the contest period (which started Jan. 4th) they will need to hit the contest button and go to the contest page. Only the minutes read from Jan. 4 will count as minutes read during the contest. If your students started reading before January 4 those minutes will be included in their minutes read in myON, but will not count for the contest.

If you have any other questions please feel free to call or email me.

Rainy Day Schedule

What are 3 words every teacher hates to hear? Rainy Day Schedule! Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often in this beautiful sunny state of ours but now, with the Final Four Challenge in full swing, Rainy Day Schedule can take on a whole new meaning.

Rainy Day Schedule now means that your students have extra time in class to read on myON and earn those precious few minutes that just might give you an edge in the contest.

Rainy Day Schedule now means that instead of a noisy classroom full of antsy kids, your classroom will be blissfully quiet as students engage with one of the 5,500 books available on myON.

Rainy Day Schedule now means that students can take time to explore the literacy tools that are available on myON like journaling and highlighting as well as the built in supports like audio and the dictionary.

Rainy Day Schedule now means that after finishing a book, students have time to write a review about what they just read and share it with their peers.

Rainy Day Schedule also means that students have the time to explore new genres and unfamiliar topics.

So teachers, embrace the Rainy Day Schedule and take a tip from your kids!  Login to myON and start reading!

Frank Elementary School Makes a Slam Dunk With Reading

The students at Frank Elementary School in the Tempe Elementary School District are serious about their reading! Especially in Miss Blanchard's ELD class. Because most of the 22 students in the class don't have access to computers at home, they have been getting to school an hour and a half early every day just to read on myON. Here is what Miss Blanchard has to say:

"myON is my favorite reading website because it provides students the opportunity to read, learn early researching skills, learn how to use a computer, track their Lexile, and answer comprehension questions at home and at school. Students can annotate in the text and write reviews, which provides them with time to reflect on their reading. myON provides students with an engaging way to practice reading, testing and computer skills. I have seen students who hate reading fall in love with it because it incorporates technology. Students get to read books at their level as well as challenge books. Students are also able to use a highlighter, a narrator, and a dictionary if they need help with reading. They get to read books on topics they actually want to read about. Teachers can differentiate by creating book lists. There are also bilingual books!"

The students are also excited about myON. Check out their pictures and their thoughts below.

One student loves reading about other countries on myON.                     

"I love myON because it has activities, helps me learn, and is a great way to explore new places!"- Lucero

                      "myON is super AMAZING!  I love it because it is fun and you  can learn about new                               stuff by reading books."- Alex

                                              "I like it because you can read on any electronic stuff that has wifi.                                                 They let us pick avatars. They show us different kinds of books."-Andrew

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK FRANK ELEMENTARY!  YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!!

A MILLION

At 3:12 MST, on January 17, 2017 Arizona 3rd graders hit the ONE MILLION MINUTES READ mark!  

Way to go AZ 3rd graders!  This is only the tip off phase and there is still a lot of contest left so keep reading!  

Deer Valley Unified School District Rises to the Challenge!

What are 3rd grade teachers and students in the Deer Valley Unified School District saying about myON and the Read to the Final Four Literacy Challenge?  

"I like myON because there are a lot books to read about and they are interesting."-3rd grade student

"I like myON because I get to read new books and learn about them."-3rd grade student

"Our kids are amazing. The love the program and are always on it reading."- DRyan 3rd grade teacher

Other teachers say that their students love myON and that they find it to be an amazing resource. One school reported that while preparing for the challenge they saw a growth of 200+ Lexile points with their students.

Deer Valley Unified School District has definitely risen to the challenge and are not slowing down any time soon! Cherryl Paul, Director of Organizational Improvement & Professional Learning for DVUSD says, "Our kids are on FIRE for reading!"

Great job DVUSD 3rd graders! Your parents and teachers are so proud of you!  Keep reading! There is only one week left until Round 1 begins.

*If you have good stories or pictures of your kids Reading to the Final Four send them to me so we can feature them on our blog!

We Are On Twitter

If you are on Twitter, be sure to tweet about all the great reading your students are doing in the Read to the Final Four Literacy Challenge!  Don't forget to use the #ReadToTheFinalFour and tag @myONreader.  You can check out all the latest tweets at readtothefinalfour.com.

What Is A Benchmark Test and How Does It work.

When your students logged into myON for the first time, they completed an initial Lexile placement test. That test helped set a baseline Lexile score for them. As your students continue to read on myON, once they have read 5 books or completed 3 hours of total reading time in a 14 day period, a Benchmark test will appear. Students may also notice a purple envelope in the upper left-hand corner of their dashboard. This indicates that a Benchmark assessment is available. The student can click on the envelope to start the assessment.

Once a student starts a Benchmark test, they will need to complete it in one setting. Benchmarks can not be exited and returned to later. Benchmarks show how students are progressing in reading and comprehension skills. The system continues to track student performance through each Benchmark test.

As a student's Lexile level changes, the Recommended Library will grow with them. The books in the Recommended tab will always stay 100 Lexiles below to 50 Lexiles above their current Lexile score.

The myON App

We are a little over one week into the Read to the Final Four Literacy Challenge and Arizona students have read over 10,000 hours! That is incredible!  Keep encouraging your students to read and don't forgot that with myON, kids have access to great books 24/7. They can read at home or at school and with the myON app, they can even read offline.

The myON app is available FREE in the app store for most devices. With the app you can download 20 books onto your device that you can access even when wifi is not available. Books can be swapped in and out and kids get credit for their offline reading minutes.  The myON app is another great tool that will help foster reading growth.

Click HERE to download our mobile app tip sheet.

Contest Information

Quick Facts

Read to the Final Four Literacy Challenge

·         The school-level competition is based upon average time spent reading among third grade students. 

·         The NCAA Final Four Local Organizing Committee divided all registered schools into 4 regions for the competition.

·         Schools participate in elimination rounds, with standings updated every two weeks.  

·         Scores will be calculated based upon average minutes read by students in each school 

·         Scores are cumulative throughout the contest period as schools advance through the elimination rounds. 

·         One school from each region will advance to the Final Four and one statewide “champion” school will be named at the end of the contest.   

In addition, individual third grade students who are top readers as determined by their cumulative time spent reading on the myON platform during the contest period also will be recognized.  

Students are encouraged to keep reading even if their school is eliminated in one of the rounds leading to the school-level championship.  Five (5) Top Individual Readers in each Region (total of 20 statewide) will be recognized/announced on March 31

You’ll find current standings for each round and the timeline for the contest on our web page at http://about.myon.com/final-four/read-final-four-arizona .

Professional Development Sessions

Hi Teachers! We are day 2 into the contest and there is a lot of great reading going on with 3rd graders across the state of Arizona. I know that some of you are still on break but no worries! Your kids will have plenty of time to read when they come back on Monday.

If you have not taken advantage of our free professional development sessions there is still time. I would love to work with you to help you get the most out of your myON experience. There are many ways we can do professional development from live on site sessions to webinars. During an onsite session I would come to your school at your convenience and work with your teachers and or students. I will show you all the ins and outs of myON and answer any questions that you might have. A live webinar works very similar to an onsite session except that I will be meeting with you remotely.  All you need is a computer and a projector and we can walk through myON together. More options for training are available as well.

If you'd like to schedule a professional development session please contact me.  I am here to support you any way I can so please don't hesitate to reach out with any thoughts or questions you might have. I am available by email and phone.  I look forward to working with you.

Stacy Goebel
sgoebel@myon.com
602-435-1443

Game Time

Hooray!  Today is the day!  The Read to the Final Four Literacy Challenge has officially begun! 

Starting today, when your students log in to myON, they will see a short message and a contest button at the top of their home page. When they click that button, it will take them to the contest page which will show real time data including how they are doing personally and how their school is doing.  Remember that there are actually two contests going at the same time. There is the school contest where your school is competing against schools all across Arizona. Then there is the individual contest where each student is competing against other 3rd graders across the state. Two contests means two chances to win, but when kids are reading it's really a WIN WIN for all!

All of the schools have been broken down into 4 regions. Your students will be able to see their region when they go to the contest page. These first two weeks is the tip off phase. Students should read as much as they can because at the end of the first 2 weeks only the top 68 schools will move on to the first round of bracketing. Then every two weeks there will be a new round and schools will be eliminated until we get down to our Final Four schools and ultimately our winning school.

If your school gets eliminated it's ok, because your students can still read on myON until August 31! Teachers, this is going to be a great resources for you and your kids will love the great library of over 5,000 books they can find on myON.

Keep checking this blog for more information, tips and ideas as the contest goes on!

GAME ON!

It's Almost Time

I'm so excited that I can't sleep!  In just one hour Read to the Final Four starts!  I can't wait to see how many minutes Arizona 3rd graders are going to read over the next few months! I just know that it's going to be a crazy amount! I am pumped to hear your stories about kids reading! Are you ready Arizona? Let's do this!