Reading Minutes and Pages

So far, outside of school, 5th grade students have read an estimated total of 32,425 pages!  They have spent roughly 38,138 minutes reading, which is more than 635 hours, or more than 26 full days reading so far this fall!  Each morning in school we record our estimated minutes and pages from the weekend and/or the night before. On Friday we tally the weekly individual totals and then combine them for a whole class total.

Educational research shows that sustained reading of books that are a good reading level match for students is one of the most effective kinds of homework. Fifth Graders are expected to read 30 minutes a night from a just right book (fiction or non-fiction, either is OK). Graphic novels and comics can be read on top of that 30 minutes. In school we describe graphic novels and comics as dessert. We want students to read a balance of different kinds of books, as they would eat a variety of healthy foods. Comics can be the dessert.

We spend about 60 minutes reading in school too, so Fifth Graders are getting lots of opportunity to read, but some of that in school time is spent discussing literature, responding to non-fiction text, or doing targeted skills work (like the Lexia program, which everyone is scheduled to do 30 minutes a week in school, but which they are also encouraged to do at home. It could count for their 30 minutes of reading at home once or twice a week).

When we reach 100,000 minutes or 100,00 pages, we will have a reading celebration in school. At the rate we are reading, we should get there by early spring!