Read a Million Words, Seattle

1
(No Transcript)
2
Read a Million Words, Seattle!

• To have a fun activity linked to daily reading
• To challenge our students to read a million words
  per year, and to encourage reading for pleasure
• To support students in becoming more proficient
  readers
• SPS Academic Vision
• Every student a reader, writer,
• mathematician and ready for college and work.

3
Why a Million Words?

• frequent readers showed higher reading
  achievement (1994, Rogers, et al.)
• reading volume predicted reading comprehension
  achievement (1999, Guthrie, et al.)
• The connection between voluntary reading and
  powerful literacy is that people learn to read by
  reading (2006, Reading Matters, by Ross,
  Krashen)

4
Why a Million Words?

• Out of School Reading (1988)
• 5th graders, achievement testing
• 90th percentile read 40 minutes/day
• 2.3 million words a year
• 50th percentile read 12 minutes/day
• 600,000 words a year
• 10th percentile read 2 minutes/day
• 50,000 words per year

5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
So, how much is a million?
8
Harry Potter V 214,536 words / 870 pages Harry
Potter VII 759 pages 1 of 25 chapter books for
grades 5 -12
Goosebumps 22,450 words/ 8 words per sentence
Picture Book 600 words
Comic Books 2,000 words 1 a day x 180 days
360,000 words!
I-5 lead article 1,269 words
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
1st steps (Building Leaders)

• Introduce the Read a Million Words, Seattle!
  project to your staff.
• Choose a building wide theme / select a
  coordinator
• Choose a method for logging student reading (Log?
  Journal? Diary? Webpage?)
• Decide how to display individual student or
  classroom progress.
• As a building team, think about ways to include
  parents and families as active participants in
  the challenge of reading one million words.
• Plan a school wide Million Word celebration!

12
1st steps (District)

• District webpage www.readamillionwords.seattlesch
  ools.org
• Logos
• Templates (journals, logs, certificates, etc.)
• PowerPoint presentations
• Reading research links
• Letters to parents (Bilingual)
• Reading celebration ideas

13
1st steps (District)

• Promotional Materials
• Posters bookmarks
• City-wide Kick-off event
• Sponsorships

14
1st steps (District)

• Incremental celebrations
• certificates
• gift cards, books, etc.
• reading promotional materials
• grand prizes
• SPS Board of Directors celebration/recognition in
  June 2008

15
Read a Million Words, Seattle!

• Questions?
• Further specific information regarding the
  reading research Dan Coles or Cathy McLeod
• Program incentives (posters, templates, webpage,
  etc.) Cathy, csmcleod, x20500

16
(No Transcript)