ROCKET TO READING
January 22 – February 8, 2013
Drawn by Bridget Caulfield, Grade 2 NAME: _______________________________________________________________________
TEACHER: ______________________________
GRADE: _______________
BLAST OFF USING PARP’S SCIENTIFC METHOD!
QUESTION: How many students and parents will launch into PARP's "Rocket to Reading" this year?
HYPOTHESIS: Each and every student in every grade will participate in reading, science, and FUN!
MATERIALS: Your PARP handbook, a parent (or other adult), and lots of great books to read!
EXPERIMENT - GRADES K – 4:
1. Participate in a reading activity with your parent (or other adult) for 15 minutes every day. Here are
some ideas:
Ø Take turns reading characters, pages or chapters.
Ø Read your own book at the same time as your parent reads their book.
Ø Read the lyrics of your favorite song.
Ø Do a crossword puzzle or a word jumble.
Ø Take out a non-fiction book (suggested topics are listed in the back of this
handbook) and read aloud science facts to your folks!
2. Follow your teacher’s daily reading requirement and instructions. Your PARP reading can be a part
of your daily assignment or in addition to it!
3. Fill out the weekly PARP Reading Sheet with your parent.
4. Turn in your PARP Handbook every Friday of PARP to receive your PARP sticker. You may join
PARP at any time, but you must participate for the full three weeks to receive the PARP
prize. If you are absent on a PARP collection day, hold onto your book until the following
collection date.
EXPERIMENT – GRADE 5:
1. Choose (with your parent or other adult) a book which each of you will read during the three weeks
of PARP. You and your parent can read the book independent of one another (or read the book
together, if you like). THEN, discuss the book at dinner time, driving to a music lesson, to soccer
practice, etc.! See “Fifth Grade Launch Pad” for suggested reading and discussion questions.
Follow Steps 2-4 as listed above.
ANALYZE DATA:
1. Within each grade, the class with the highest PARP participation will receive a new science kit for
their classroom! The grade with the highest overall PARP participation will receive a homework
pass for one night!
2. Complete at least one weekly PARP Challenge and you get to participate in the PARP Science Lab
Day with Mrs. Beekman (Elementary Instructional Coordinator)! The Lab will be held during
school hours.
CONCLUSION: You read a lot, participated in some cool science and had fun!
CENTRAL CONTROL
WEEK 1 (Tuesday, January 22 – Friday, January 25)
1/22: PARP Kick-off assembly -- “Gizmo Guys”! PARP Handbooks sent home.
1/24: Get Unplugged! - Turn off the TV and your electronic games for the evening.
Try challenging your parents with non-fiction facts! See the Ocean Avenue Library’s
webpage for science related websites.
1/25: Turn in PARP Handbook with Reading Data completed. Challenge 1 and
PARP Star (written or illustrated with title and author of favorite book) are also due.
WEEK 2 (Monday, January 28 – Friday, February 1)
1/30: Book Swap – Bring in a gently used book which is age appropriate for your
grade and which you would recommend to your classmates. Please place book in
a bag labeled with your name, grade and teacher. Books will be collected from each
teacher.
1/31: Book Swap – Pick out a “new” book during lunchtime. Remember - you have
to donate a book in order to select a new one.
2/1: Turn in PARP Handbook with Reading Data and Challenge 2 completed.
WEEK 3 (Monday, February 4 – Friday, February 8)
2/5: Read a Shirt Day – Show your Ocean spirit and wear a shirt with appropriate
wording.
2/8: Turn in PARP Handbook with Reading Data and Challenge 3 completed.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Ø Award PARP prize to each PARP participant!
Ø Announce Classroom winners for Highest Participation!
Ø Announce Grade Winner for Highest Overall Participation!
ROCKET TO READING DATA
(READING SHEET)
WEEK 1 (Tuesday, January 22 – Thursday, January 24)
Please try to read non-fiction related to nature this week.
I participated in a daily reading activity with my parent this week!
Parent’s signature*:
____________________________________________________
WEEK 2 (Monday, January 28 – Thursday, January 31)
Please try to read non-fiction related to outer space this week.
I participated in a daily reading activity with my parent this week!
Parent’s signature:
____________________________________________________
WEEK 3 (Monday, February 4 – Thursday, February 7)
Please try to read non-fiction related to general science this week.
I participated in a daily reading activity with my parent this week!
Parent’s signature:
____________________________________________________
*Parents: Your signature indicates that you or another parent (or guardian,
grandparent, babysitter, etc.) read to/with your child during the time noted.
GALACTIC CHALLENGES
Complete at least one Challenge and you can participate in Science Lab Day with Mrs. Beekman (and PTA
parent volunteers). For each completed challenge, you’ll receive one ticket. The more tickets you get, the
bigger the experiment you get to perform! Science Lab Day will take place during school hours.
CHALLENGE 1 – ADOPT A PATCH OF NATURE
Choose a special spot in your backyard, a park, or even the beach. Observe closely what happens to
that spot during the course of the week. Keep a week-long log of your research. Create a drawing,
graph or other product to show what you learned.
Turn this challenge in with your Handbook on FRIDAY, JANUARY 25TH.
CHALLENGE 2 – SPACE EXPLORATION WEEK
Each night, observe the time and location of the sunset (and the moonrise for older students). See if
you can find the names of the brightest stars in the sky and locate different constellations. Keep a
week-long log of your research. Create a drawing, graph or other product to show what you
learned.
Turn this challenge in with your Handbook on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST.
CHALLENGE 3 – LABMANIA WEEK
Conduct a simple at-home experiment! Go to the website www.sciencebob.com and choose one of
the following experiments: Blob in a Bottle, Clean Pennies, The Lincoln High Drive, Balloon
Rocket, Fizz-Inflator, Blow up Balloon with Yeast, Lava Cup, Canister Rocket, Rock Candy,
Chicken Sounds from a Cup, and Static Electricity. Create a drawing, graph or other product to
show what you learned.
Turn this challenge in with your Handbook on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH.
AND IF YOU STILL HAVE FUEL IN YOUR ROCKET…..
THE INVENTION CONVENTION CHALLENGE
Submit your idea for this year’s Invention Convention (2/27/13) before the end of PARP! Please
see our school website for information regarding the convention. Ideas will be collected in a box in
the Front Office.
5th GRADE LAUNCH PAD – SUGGESTED READING
The following are book suggestions for you and your parent(s) to read during PARP:
Mysteries
• Snicket, Lemony. Who Could It Be At This Hour? All the charm, menace, and wordplay of A Series
of Unfortunate Events but in a noir setting, with Snicket as a boy solving a mystery.
• Beck, W.H. Malcolm At Midnight. Fast-paced, witty story of a classroom rat that must prove his
merit and valor is a captivating mystery adventure.
• Turnage, Sheila. Three Times Lucky. Funny mystery with spunky girl touches on serious themes.
• Feinstein, John. Change-Up: Mystery at the World Series. Mystery and ethics in sports journalism.
• Hiaassen, Carl. Scat. Eco-mystery is suspenseful and funny.
• Dowd, Siobhan. The London Eye Mystery. Gripping mystery told by kid with Asperger's.
• Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. The Egypt Game. Newbery Honor book is a fun mystery romp.
Realistic Fiction
• Parry, Roseanne. Heart of a Shepherd. A young boy struggles to work his family’s ranch and
become a decent, strong person.
• Spinelli, Jerry. Eggs. Two friends dealing with separate tragedies find solace in nighttime walks,
and help each other grow up.
• Lord, Cynthia. Rules. Written by the mother of an autistic child, this novel takes a frank
• Palacio, R.J. Wonder. Moving, uplifting tale of deformed boy with inner beauty.
• Peck, Richard. A Long Way from Chicago: a Novel in Stories. A hilarious look at summer in the
country.
Fantasy
• Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. Brilliantly written, inventive pre-LOTR tale.
• Riordan, Rick. Any of the Percy Jackson or Kane chronicle titles.
• Creech, Sharon. The Unfinished Angel. Charming and uplifting story.
• Law, Ingrid. Savvy. Newbery Honor Book is moving and thought-provoking.
• Sage, Angie. Septimus Heap Series. Charming series for kids not ready for big, dark fantasies.
• Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. Beautiful classic filled with magic and realism.
Historical Fiction
• Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Newbery Honor story of a smart southern
tomboy in 1899.
• Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. This action-packed adventure on the high seas
follows an aristocratic girl who finds herself accused of murder.
• Hunt, Irene. Across Five Aprils. This historical tale set during the Civil War is captivating and
memorable
• Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963. A funny novel with a devastating
emotional punch.
5th GRADE LAUNCH PAD – DISCUSSION TOPICS
The following are suggested discussion questions for you and your parent(s):
- What genre is this book?
- What do you think the point of the story was? (main idea)
- Was the author trying to give a message? (what is the theme?) Did you learn any lessons from this story?
- Retell what has happened in the story (key events, problems)
- What is the setting for the story? (when and where did the story take place?)
- What was the climax (high point) of the story?
- Did anyone in the book do something you did not like? Why?
- Who are the protagonists and antagonists?
- How did (character) feel when (event)? How could you tell (the character) felt that way?
- Why did (character) (action taken by the character)?
- Why did (character) say (statement made by the character)?
- How did this story remind you of another story of something in your life? Did this story remind you of
another book? If so, which one? Did this book remind you of a world event? If so, which one?
- What words did the author use to describe (person, place, event) and how did that help you to understand?
- Did the author use any interesting words? Write down a few new vocabulary words you learned.
- Talk about or illustrate a particularly funny, sad, exciting, etc. part of the book.
- Was the main character in the book good or bad? Defend your decision with examples from the book.
- Choose two persons in the story and decide which character is the better of the two and why you think so.
- What did the title have to do with this story? Write a new title for the story that would give others a good
idea what the book is about.
CALLING ALL SPACE EXPLORERS!
The following are non-fiction topics (and a suggested sample book) you might enjoy during your Rocket to
Reading trip!
Astronomy -- Stars and Planets by Carole Stott
Birds -- Birds by Camilla De la Beoyere
Chemistry -- Acids and Bases by Lynnette Brent
Crystals/gems/minerals -- The Pebble First Guide to Rocks and Minerals by Zachary Pitts
Dinosaurs -- Dinosaurs and Me by Marie Greenwood
Electricity -- The Advent of Electricity by Charlie Samuels
Electronics -- Handheld Gadgets by Neil Morris
Fish -- Piranhas by Mary Dunn
Fossils -- The Fossil Feud by Meish Goldish
Heat -- Experiments with Heat by Trevor Cook
Human Body -- The Respiratory System by John Shea
Inventions -- Hooray for Inventors by Marcia Williams
Landforms -- High Mountains by Wendy Pfeffer
Light -- All About Light by Lisa Trumbauer
Magnets -- Magnets Push, Magnets Pull by Mark Weakland
Mammals -- The Life Cycle of Mammals by Susan Gray
Nature -- Uncover Nature by Olivia Brookes
Plants -- Carnivorous Plants by Elaine Pascoe
Reptiles -- The Complete Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians by Jinny Johnson
Sound -- The Science of Noise by Lynne Wright
Technology -- Technological Design by Lyn Sirota
Water -- A Drop of Water by Walter Wick
Weather -- Tornadoes by Michael Woods
Please see the Ocean Avenue Library’s webpage for science related websites.
About PARP
Learning to read is the single most important activity in a child’s education. Studies show that
children who read at home are better prepared to succeed in formal education.
PARP is a NY State PTA program that asks parents to read with their children for at least fifteen
minutes daily, stressing the fact that reading can be fun as well as informative. The choice of
reading materials can vary from books to anything with printed words. The daily activity of
reading together strengthens reading and communication skills in the child and also strengthens
the parent/child relationship. Note: The term ‘parents’ may be interpreted broadly to include all
adults who play an important role in a child’s life.
PARP is a program that cements the necessary bond between the home and the school to
encourage love of reading in our children. It was developed in 1978 by the late State Senator
James Donovan, Chairman of the State Senate Education Committee; in 1987 the New York
State PTA was asked to assume the program’s helm, and since then has administered the
program.
Special thanks to the following teachers for their contribution and
dedication to PARP:
Mrs. Baranaskas
Mrs. Beekman
Mrs. Harr
Special thanks to the following students for submitting artwork for
the Handbook Cover Art Contest:
Luca Bergin
Annie Gruhn
Bridget Caulfield
David Kraydman
Griffin Crafa
Bryce Kuehn
Nicholas Crafa
Karl Leonard
Emma Craft
John McGrath
Danny DeMarco
Kyle Rasizzi
Emma DeMarco
Madison Rasizzi
Jackson Donoghue
Finn Sweeney
Quinn Donoghue
Mackenzie Sweeney
Bridget Fitzpatrick
Sydney Wotzak
PARP copying done by:
Northport Copy