East Clark 8th graders exceed reading goal!
From Left to Right: Markus Kyles, Ashli Brewer, Crystal Mays, Dominique Pegues, and Zackery Kelley
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As the eighth grade reading teacher at East Clark School, my mission this year was to increase students' reading levels while helping them develop habits that would make them life-long readers. I challenged my students to read 1,000 books, which is about one book per student per week.
We utilized both our school library and the Collinwood branch of the Cleveland Public Library for the best book selections along with the Accelerated Reader program. Students walked to the public library every three weeks with their teacher(s) to check out and return books. All students had to keep track of their own books and library cards. Students learned about lost library cards, late fees and lost book fees, ultimately learning to be more responsible library patrons.
East Clark's highly motivated eighth graders read 1,749 books this school year! Ten students received special recognition for outstanding achievement in reading at our eighth grade promotion on June 9th. Crystal Mays was our top reader with an overall score of 95% and 372 AR points. Zackery Kelley had 352 AR points and increased his reading level by two-and-a-half grades. Dominique Pegues had an overall score of 92% and 342 AR points. Ashli Brewer had 296 AR points and an overall score of 89%. Tatiana Axson had 253 AR points and an overall score of 87%. Tariq Hamilton had 169 AR points and an overall score of 85%. Several students showed improvement in their reading levels. David Dawson and Markus Kyles raised their reading levels 2.7 years; and Je'Ron Robinson raised his reading level by three full years!
Summertime is a great time for reading. Go to your neighborhood library today, check out some books, and read for at least an hour every day (reading for thirty minutes two or three times a day is okay, too). For even more fun, start a book club with your friends. Challenge yourself to read one chapter book a week in the summer.
During my summer break you will find me reading a book on my porch swing. I will have an ice cold glass of lemonade nearby. Where will YOU be reading this summer?