More to Know: The Thousand Book Project Second- and third-grade teacher Justin Minkel found a way, with help from Scholastic, to send 40 books home with every one of his students, almost all of whom were emerging bilinguals from low-income homes without a single book in their homes. Minkel, who titled his initiative “The Thousand Book Project” because he ultimately sent 1,000 books home with his students, explains the results: Each of the 25 children in my class received 40 books over the course of second and third grade, for a total of 1,000 new books in their homes. The total cost for each student’s home library was less than $50 each year, a small investment to move a struggling reader from frustration to confidence. These 25 students made more progress in their reading than I have experienced with any other class. By the end of the project’s second year, they had exceeded the district expectation for growth by an average of nine levels on the DRA and five points on the computerized Measures of Academic Progress reading test. Increasing this number to 40 or more books had far-reaching effects. Students’ fluency improved because the children could engage in repeated readings of favorite “just right” books, and parents reported increased time spent reading at home during weekends, holidays, and summer break. The only incentive for this increase in reading time was intrinsic: the pleasure each child felt in reading his or her own book, beloved as a favorite stuffed animal. Closing Thoughts Minkel notes that he’s learned four fundamental truths that enable him to do his job: he builds a relationship with every child he teaches, listens carefully to what each child says, laughs as much as possible, and finally: “To help kids develop a love of reading, put great books in their hands. Then watch in amazement as their worlds change.”
References
Constantino, R. (2014). Retrieved from: www.accessbooks.net Evans, M. D. R., Kelley, J., Sikorac, J., and Treimand, D. (2010). “Family Scholarly Culture and Educational Success: Books and Schooling in 27 Nations.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility . Vol. 28. Jacobs, Tom (2014). “Books in the Home Are Strongly Linked to Academic Achievement.” Pacific Standards: The Science of Society. Retrieved from: www.psmag.com/navigation/ books-and-culture/books-home-strongly- linked-academic-achievement-82144 McQuillan, J. (1998). The Literacy Crisis: False Claims, Real Solutions. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Minkel, J. (2012). “The Home Library Effect: Transforming At-Risk Readers.” EdWeek Retrieved from: www.edweek.org/tm/ articles/2012/06/12/tln_minkel.html Mullis, I. V. S., and Martin, M. O. (2007). “Overview of PIRLS 2006 Results.” Boston: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement and TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center. U.S. Department of Education. (1996). Reading Literacy in the United States: Findings from the IEA Reading Literacy Study. Washington, DC: National Center for Education.
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