183,359
That's the number of minutes the dedicated students of PS 8 had read as of last Friday, at the halfway point of this year's readathon. They're well on track to break last year's record of 250,000 minutes!
Story by Ruth Katcher
Even pre-K has gotten into the act, with 4,385 total minutes thus far, and 3rd grade currently holds the record with 37,325 minutes. But look out, 3rd graders, 5th grade is just 97 minutes behind! Both afterschool programs are involved as well this year.
What's spurring these readers on? Well, a reward never hurts. All students who reach 1,000 minutes receive a $10. gift card from Barnes & Noble, and the class in each grade that reads the most minutes receives a $50 gift card for the classroom library. It's also possible that competition figures into the mix; students can check the charts in each classroom to see who holds the class record--for now. As the charts in the cafeteria were updated with class totals Monday morning, breakfasting students craned to see which class in their grade had the most minutes, and one teacher was overheard exhorting her students to keep reading so another teacher wouldn't catch up.
There's nothing wrong with good, clean competition, but according to 3rd grade teacher Melissa Browning, "the readathon means a lot more than just raising money for the school. As a teacher, I am always looking for ways to encourage my students to build their reading stamina and to get lost in the stories they read. Healthy competition has been a great way to motivate my students to read more and develop strong reading habits that will stay with them for life."
And a school full of lifelong readers is the best possible result from the readathon! Happy reading to all!
Posted on: November 14, 2008
