FOR THE LOVE OF READING! NPS Teacher(s): Sarah Wapelhorst Kristin Gotschall, Cyndi Thompson NPS Building: Jefferson Elementary School 1st Grade Amount Requested: $500 Statement of Need: The students will have increased contact with books that are age and reading level appropriate. They will have the opportunity to read 10 AR books in the same level before moving on to the next AR level. Itemized Budget: AR Leveled Books from Scholastic Books. 0.4‐0.9 Kindergarten Level ‐ 50 books = $100 1.0‐1.9 1st Grade Level ‐ 100 Books = $300 2.0‐2.9 2nd Grade Level ‐ 50 Books = $100 Timeline for Implementation: If we receive the grant we would like to begin using them as soon as possible. These books will improve our classroom library to help develop a love of learning. These books will be used throughout the whole year, and years to come. Evaluation/Results: Norfolk Public Schools uses a program called Renaissance Place to enhance reading development in students. Renaissance Place has a plethora of books with predetermined reading levels. We use Renaissance Place to administer the STAR Reading test which gives us the range at which students can read successfully. This test is administered at least three times annually. Within Renaissance Place is the Accelerated Reader (AR) program, which provides tests for students to take after reading a book in their level. This allows us to make sure our students are reading at the correct level for their reading ability. After a student has read the book they can take a reading practice quiz. This quiz tests comprehension and vocabulary in the book. We are able to view these quizzes online to check for mastery and completion of tests. At the first grade level it is required that each student reads 10 books at each level with a mastery score of 80% or higher before they can move on to the next level. At Jefferson we set high goals for our AR Program and it is used in our daily curriculum. We involve the school community by using reading incentives for individuals, grade levels, and school wide. Our parents are involved with this program also. Parents read AR books with their children and receive monthly reports of their child's progress in the program. Teacher Comments: This year alone the first grade class has read over 5,000 books. This number will continue to grow as our classroom libraries expand.