40 Book Challenge

The 40 Book Challenge is designed to put the joy back into independent reading. It is a program based on The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.

The 40 Book Challenge is a PERSONAL CHALLENGE. It is not a class grade. It is not a mandatory program. It is merely meant to push students, teachers, and families to embrace a culture of reading, explore all genres, and push beyond our comfort zones.

Students are challenged to set genre goals to read 40 books by the end of the school year. This equates to one 200 page book each week. Books with more pages count as more than one book, so our avid readers who enjoy the big chapter books will have two or three weeks to finish the book and stay on track.

The students will keep record of their reading and collect visual mementos to track their progress throughout the school year. Teachers will meet with students once a week to check in and talk about book selections.

You can read more about what inspired us to present the 40-book challenge to our 5th graders by reading the Hello Fifth blog post.