I thought a post with all of the pertinent information for this year might be helpful as we get ready to kick off.  With more than 891,000 students signed up, this is again a record breaking year.

If you are new to the GRA, or would just like a refresher, please see
this post https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2016/06/08/if-you-are-new-to-the-
global-read-aloud-gra16/  It is a great place to start with the basic
information.

To add yourself to the official map go here https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2016/09/29/official-global-read-aloud-2016-map-gra16/

To see ideas:

I am greatful to those who have shared a few ideas from past years or what
they plan on doing this year.  Go here to see them https://drive.google.com/
open?id=1TxTfQUnyht9cFEMelJt5mczUYUcGcxAVrfDSgsc2r2s

What to read and when:
For the chapter breakdowns for each book and to see which picture books
will be which weeks, go here https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2016/
07/27/chapter-breakdowns-for-all-global-read-aloud-books-gra16/

Twitter:
The hashtag is very active with ideas shared all of the time, this year’s hashtag on Twitter
is #GRA16

The books also have individual hashtag’s if you would like to use those,
they are

Lauren Castillo – #GRALauren
The BFG – #GRABFG
Pax – #GRAPax
Orbiting Jupiter – #GRAOJ
All American Boys – #GRAAAB

Ideas:
Here is the link to see ideas shared https://docs.google.com/document/d/
1TxTfQUnyht9cFEMelJt5mczUYUcGcxAVrfDSgsc2r2s/edit?usp=sharing

Merchandise:
To get merchandise to show your support, go here  https://shop.
spreadshirt.com/pernilleripp/?noCache=true#

To connect:
To join the Facebook group, go here https://www.facebook

To see how to join Edmodo, go here https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2016/05/14/edmodo-groups-for-global-read-aloud-2016-gra16/

GRA Gives Back:
If you have not seen the major announcement on how you can help the GRA give back to a community center in Guatemala please see this post https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2016/08/18/major-announcement-the-global-read-aloud-gives-back-gra16/
Every week we will feature one of the families directly affected by the giving back in order to help you get a feel for what your help will mean.  I am so excited to partner with Palms and Souls to try to make a difference in the life of kids.

Breakout EDU 

We have partnered with Breakout EDU to create games just for GRA.  To see the games (and get your super awesome GRA bookmarks) go here http://www.breakoutedu.com/gra/

Write About Partnership.  

We have once again partnered up with Write About,a blogging platform, to give every participant a year’s free membership.  To read more about it and get signed up, go here   https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2016/09/11/global-read-aloud-welcomes-back-write-about-gra16/

Hopefully this helps you have an incredible project.  Thank you for believing in the project, thank you for believing in me.  May this year be another incredible year.

It has come to my attention that there are products being sold on Teachers Pay Teachers and other similar sites that are being marketed to those participating in the GRA.  While I have no problem with Teachers Pay Teachers, I do have a problem with the Global Read Aloud being used as a way to profit off of others.

I started this project in 2010 and have spent hundreds of hours without pay since then to keep it free.  The only money I make from the project is if you buy a t-shirt and even that is just a few dollars.  The profits from that go to offset the cost of buying the books I have to buy to keep reading for the project every year, running the website, as well as any legal things such as trademarking the name.  Because yes, the name is trademarked and may not be present on any products not sanctioned by me, and I have not sanctioned any projects besides the items in the official store.

Thank you to those of you who have created beautiful resources and shared them for free; this is the spirit of the project; connecting with others and helping each other out.  I will never make this project one that you have to pay for.  I do not ever plan on making any kind of worthwhile money from this project.  The authors that participate do so for free.

This project is meant to be free, to make the world smaller, to create an incredible reading experience.  Not to make money, so if you are one of the people who has marketed products, please stop, please take them down or at the very least remove the name.  And if you see someone trying to sell something, please let me know or send them to this post.  Thank you.