Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge

Post date: May 24, 2014 12:57:2 PM

Dear Parents,

Did you know that when kids don't read over the summer they are likely to fall behind when they head back to school? A research study by Jimmy Kim in 2004 found that "Regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic level, or previous achievement, children who read four or more books over the summer fare better on reading-comprehension tests in the fall than their peers who read one or no books over the summer." These learning losses are often called the "Summer Slide," and the Albia Community School District has made it a priority to keep our students' skills sharp by encouraging them to read all summer long. 

Our school has signed up to participate in the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, a free online reading program that motivates kids to read more books during the summer and strengthen their reading skills as part of our school team. The Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge invites children ages 4 – 14 to log their reading minutes to help set a new world record for summer reading. The goal this year for schools around the world is to break last year's reading world record of 176,438,473 minutes! With your help, we can do it. 

I'm excited to share that the theme of this year's program is Reading Under the Stars; as kids log their reading minutes online, they will unlock star constellations and learn interesting facts about them. Plus, throughout the summer, kids will earn digital rewards, learn about great new books to read, and have a chance to win free books. You'll also find free articles, activity sheets, and book lists for parents on the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge website.

Don’t delay. You can start logging your child’s reading minutes today! The Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge began on May 5 and ends on September 5, 2014. For the youngest students who can’t read on their own yet, the minutes that you or someone else reads to them may be counted. The school that logs the most minutes will win a visit from bestselling children's book author, David Shannon, and will be featured in The 2015 Scholastic Book of World Records. We are also in a friendly competition against Moravia to see who will log the most minutes this summer! And just because Albia is bigger, doesn't mean we can't be beat by little Moravia! 

Although this is an online reading program, students who do not have Internet access at home can still participate. Students can keep track of their minutes manually over the summer in a notebook or journal. When they return to school in August, they will be able to retroactively log minutes during the last two weeks of the program - from August 25 to September 5, 2014. Alternatively, if the student or his/her parent has a smartphone, they can download the Scholastic Reading Timer, a free mobile app, to log minutes throughout the summer. More information on the mobile app can be found at http://www.scholastic.com/apps/scholasticreadingtimer. Please note that Scholastic wants participants to count their minutes reading books -- non-fiction or fiction, eBooks or print books -- but not magazines, newspapers, websites, or all the numerous other items in the world that contain text (such as video games -- they do NOT count).

I invite you to learn more about the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge at www.scholastic.com/summer, which is also the website where your child must go to log into their account.  I have already registered all preschool through sixth grade students who are enrolled in Albia Community Schools. Your child’s username and password was listed on a letter that should have come home with your child the last week of school. The first time you log in, you will be prompted to change the password. Usernames cannot be changed, unfortunately. If you should happen to lose your username or first-time password, you have a number of options for retrieving them.  You can either email me at leann.seddon@albiacsd.com, call Julie Heaton, Misty Smith, or Sharon Hershberger at (641) 932-2161, visit or call the Albia Public Library (641) 932-2469, or contact Scholastic at 1-800-SCHOLASTIC.  

Parents of students who were in seventh and eighth grade this year, as well as any other 4 - 14 year olds in Albia, are invited to register their children at the above website, too. 

And don't forget, when you and your child need new books to read this summer, be sure to visit the Albia public library and take advantage of all the services they offer.  If you enjoy purchasing your own books, there will also be a Scholastic Book Fair held at the county fair in July! Profit earned from the summer book fair will help us buy new books for the school libraries.

Please help us win, have a great summer, and happy reading!  

Leann Seddon

Teacher-Librarian

Albia Community School District

For articles, tips, and free resources for parents, visit scholastic.com/parents.

For games, book recommendations, videos and free activities for kids, visit scholastic.com/kids