Reading Counts

Reading Counts (R.C.) is our independent reading program at Salem. It is a computer generated program created by Scholastic that matches students to popular literature at their independent reading level. Each book has a ten question comprehension quiz. A quiz is passed with seven correct answers and a passing quiz is awarded points based on the length and difficulty of the book read.

The third graders are given silent reading time in class each day and are assigned reading time during home education each night to allow them to reach those goals. It is not against the rules to read on the weekends, rather it will only benefit.

Reading comprehension is essential to the success of fourth grade and beyond, so much of third grade requires practice in reading comprehension improvement. It is imperative that your child utilize the home education time to practice reading comprehension by reading. I have asked that the students read only one book at a time. Once a book is finished, they will take the quiz on that book and choose a new book. The longer it takes to read a book, the less chance a reader has of passing the quiz.

This is a hard concept for some third graders to understand. Please reiterate this requirement at home and monitor your child’s reading comprehension. Talk about what they are reading as often as possible and let your child see you reading and hear you talking about what you are reading. These are invaluable practices for your child’s comprehension growth.

As your child becomes more familiar with the program, he/she will begin to set point goals for each month. Points can only be earned on R.C. books, of which there is a wide selection in the library.

I have found this program invaluable to the reading skills of Salem’s learners and would be happy to answer any questions you have about Reading Counts.

Mrs. Gilbert