JUDA - Mary Larson, library/media specialist, knew Juda students liked to read. A few days ago, after she received a phone call from a Scholastic representative, she realized just how much the students enjoy reading.
Juda students finished first in Wisconsin and 48th in the world in the number of minutes they read over the summer. There were 5,500 schools that took part in the contest, Larson said.
Juda students read 131,278 minutes, she said.
"That's phenomenal. They did great, considering how small we are."
Scholastic, a children's publishing, education and media company, held a contest over the summer to encourage children to keep track of the minutes they read. The contest, called the "World Record Reading Challenge," was open to schools of all sizes.
There weren't any categories for school size, so Juda, with a student population of about 300, competed with much larger schools. That concerned Larson, because she was afraid Juda wouldn't be able to compete with the larger school districts that took part in the contest.
There were 56 students from Juda who took part in the reading program. They averaged 2,344 minutes or 39 hours each.
Students had to record the number of minutes they read each day. Larson kept the library open throughout the summer so students could come in and check out books.
Morgan Adkins, an eighth-grader, led all Juda students with 15,204 minutes, or more than 253 hours. She read before she went to bed, she said.
"I've always liked to read," she said. "I like fiction. I don't really like to read non-fiction."
Larson, who has worked in the Juda School District for three years, has encouraged the students to read and purchased new books that students have recommended.
"I like to get opinions from students about what they want to read," Larson said.
Circulation in the library has picked up and the students are reading more often, she said.
It's important students continued to read over the summer, Larson said. Students who don't read can fall back a level in their reading ability.
"It's called the 'summer slide,'" she said. "If they're reading at a fourth-grade level at the end of the school year, but don't read over the summer, they fall back to a third-grade level by the end of summer."
Reading skills can help students perform well in other classes, she said.
Adkins knows that reading helps her in school. She said her reading skills help her in English and help her be a better writer.
Larson said she hopes to see the students read more and more.
"The students here are great readers," she said.
Juda students finished first in Wisconsin and 48th in the world in the number of minutes they read over the summer. There were 5,500 schools that took part in the contest, Larson said.
Juda students read 131,278 minutes, she said.
"That's phenomenal. They did great, considering how small we are."
Scholastic, a children's publishing, education and media company, held a contest over the summer to encourage children to keep track of the minutes they read. The contest, called the "World Record Reading Challenge," was open to schools of all sizes.
There weren't any categories for school size, so Juda, with a student population of about 300, competed with much larger schools. That concerned Larson, because she was afraid Juda wouldn't be able to compete with the larger school districts that took part in the contest.
There were 56 students from Juda who took part in the reading program. They averaged 2,344 minutes or 39 hours each.
Students had to record the number of minutes they read each day. Larson kept the library open throughout the summer so students could come in and check out books.
Morgan Adkins, an eighth-grader, led all Juda students with 15,204 minutes, or more than 253 hours. She read before she went to bed, she said.
"I've always liked to read," she said. "I like fiction. I don't really like to read non-fiction."
Larson, who has worked in the Juda School District for three years, has encouraged the students to read and purchased new books that students have recommended.
"I like to get opinions from students about what they want to read," Larson said.
Circulation in the library has picked up and the students are reading more often, she said.
It's important students continued to read over the summer, Larson said. Students who don't read can fall back a level in their reading ability.
"It's called the 'summer slide,'" she said. "If they're reading at a fourth-grade level at the end of the school year, but don't read over the summer, they fall back to a third-grade level by the end of summer."
Reading skills can help students perform well in other classes, she said.
Adkins knows that reading helps her in school. She said her reading skills help her in English and help her be a better writer.
Larson said she hopes to see the students read more and more.
"The students here are great readers," she said.