Inside Your READ 180 Classroom

By Patrick Daley—Vice President and Creative Director, READ 180

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It’s that time of year when I try to visit as many READ 180 classrooms as possible. I like to see how things are going, how students are progressing, and how our READ 180 teachers are holding up. And I have to tell you…things are looking good!

Last week I was up in Napa Valley, California where I was visiting a middle school READ 180 classroom. The class was predominantly English language learners. I talked to the class during Whole-Group time. They were eager and enthusiastic to talk about their Lexile scores, the books they were reading, and their favorite parts of READ 180. Their teacher, Lee Hillman, could barely contain her pride in all of her students. Funny, I see that a lot with READ 180 teachers.

Lee Hillman's Class at Harvest Middle School

This past weekend I was at Phoenix Union High School District with about 65 READ 180 teachers. They come together a few times a year—on Saturday mornings—to talk about their students, their classes, and how READ 180 is going. Armed with data, many of them were super excited to share their students’ progress that they had worked so hard to make happen. It was a good day in Phoenix.

And, finally, this morning as I sat down to write this column I received an email from Carla Amerson a READ 180 teacher in Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas). She and her colleagues had just taken 52 of their READ 180 middle school students to a neighboring elementary school. Their mission—read a well-rehearsed story or book to the elementary students. Some of them came with their favorite book. Some came with their favorite READ 180 titles. Some even came dressed in costume. All of them came ready to make a difference. Here’s what Carla had to say about one of her students and this special reading event:

Carla Amerson's classroom

"We cried as we watched one of our autistic students who communicated very little and began the year as a BR reader. He took out his book with pride and read without one missed word, or hesitation in his voice, as each little pair of eyes clung to every word of the story he read. This child is now reading at a 360 Lexile reading level."

I had intended this column to be about summer vacation. I had intended it to be about cool things to do during your time off. But that’s not what you really need from me—or anyone else. What you need—or more aptly put—deserve—is a ton of gratitude.

We here at Scholastic and READ 180 want to thank you on behalf of your students. We thank you on behalf of their parents. And we thank you on behalf of the schools and communities in which you work. What you accomplish is incredible. You have succeeded beyond measure.

It’s been almost 15 years since READ 180 was born out of a pilot program in Orlando, Florida. Since then we’ve been implemented in every state in the country. We are in 13 countries around the world. We are now in over 15,000 classrooms. And with your help we are servicing 1,000,000 READ 180 students every day.

At a time when we in this country are being called upon to do more, to be a part of something bigger, and to be an agent of change, you are already doing your share. You’re turning young men and women into responsible, literate citizens.

What else can I say to every READ 180 teacher around the world but, thank you!

 

A Conversation with Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams and Dr. Ted Hasselbring, Principal Scientists for System 44
A Conversation with Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams and Dr. Ted Hasselbring, Principal Scientists for System 44, appearing in the READ 180 Community Newsletter, Fall 2008.

READ 180 Community Newsletter - Fall 2009
Meet READ 180 Stage A teacher Scott Toonder and learn about his best practices for starting the school year and achieving success in his READ 180 classroom.

LESSON PLAN	Let's Learn About Firefighters! Presents a lesson plan focusing on fire safety and prevention through reading, writing, and brain storming sessions.
UNIT PLAN	Time Travel Writing Assignment using A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury Use this unit plan to take advantage of students' fascination with technology, by having them prepare and execute a PowerPoint presentation.