Read 100,000

Looking for ways to increase reading scores? We can tell students to read all day, everyday, but Scholastic has created a neat tool to add some novelty to keeping up with reading minutes that kids will love! The program is called Read 100,000, and will allow kids to be a part of a Worldwide Record-Breaking reading team this summer. Here is how it works:

The school librarian sets up an account on the Scholastic website by registering your school to participate. Then students will be able to register their minutes by logging in to the "kids" sign in area. They create a username by "spinning the wheel!" One bonus of signing up for the program during the school year is that students will be accustomed to signing in to the site when summer starts. Then they can help read for a World Record. That way, all you have to tell them for a summer reading program is to continue using their Read 100,000 account. (There are other options for registering large numbers of students at once).

Reading logs, flyers, and sign up information are all located in the resources section of the webpage as are bookmarks and a certificate of achievement.

One nifty feature is the Reading Calculator which - no surprise here - adds up the minutes of reading for the individual student or the whole school. The point is to get the whole school to read 100,000 minutes.

Here's an example:

200 Students

x Reading 30 minutes a day

x 180 Days

That equals 108,000 minutes! There is no end to the mathematical calculations that can be done!

Now, all you have to do is meet with your language arts colleagues and plan a time for students to register on the site. My school is doing it during their Book Fair time. While some students browse, I will have others signing up for the program. The program runs through April 2012.