Purpose: The purpose of the Lower School Reading Challenge is to promote a love of reading good books.
Overview: Students start the school year at their designated reading level and are given a corresponding reading challenge list with a column to date when a book is completed. The student reading challenge list also specifies point values for each book. Books with more classical Christian value are worth more points to steer students towards selecting those books.
Students read to earn 1) stickers for their reading challenge button and 2) points to be redeemed at the end of the year for bookstore giftcards.
To earn stickers and points, students must:
- Read the entire book (Alpha and Beta must read their books aloud)
- Complete and submit to their teacher a Book Review signed by a parent.
Button: After submitting their first Book Review, students are given a reading challenge button.
Stickers: After obtaining the required number of points for a level, students are awarded the corresponding sticker for the reading challenge button, and may advance to the next reading level.
Points: Students may also accrue points for books on other levels to be redeemed for a bookstore gift card at the end of the school year. Students may not earn points for more than one level below their grade reading level for the year. Books read over the summer also count for the challenge as long as they are on the reading list and a book review is submitted.
Bonus Points: Bonus points are awarded to any student who successfully completes every book on a reading level.
Submissions: Book Review forms are submitted to the Reading Challenge Box located in the school library. Book reviews are given a pass/fail for neatness, spelling, grammar, and coherency (encourage students to have their forms edited by a parent in advance). Students may obtain a Book Pass from their teacher to submit to the Reading Challenge Box. A Book Pass allows students to receive points for required book reports/presentations without needing to also complete a Book Review for the same book.
Points System: The points system considers the number of books students read on average each school year. Students will need to read more than average in order to progress to the next level before the end of a school year.
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta need 600 points to progress to the next level. This is the equivalent of 10 books at 30 pts, 10 books at 20 pts and 10 books at 10 pts for a total of 30 books from the reading list and 600 points.
Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, and Theta need 300 points to progress to the next level. This is the equivalent of 10 books at 30 pts or any combination of books to get to 300 points.
Points will accumulate from year to year and through the summer.