The Great Reading Games of 2020 kicked off this month, and we're off to a great start with over 3 million pages read in just the first two weeks!

The Data…

Schools opted in: 2700

Students Reading: 26,241

Pages Read: 3,293,743  (last week we were almost at 1 million – look at the jump this week!)

Here are the top 5 books that were added to bookshelves and kept our students reading for the first 2 weeks of our 2020 Great Reading Games!  

Something to Tweet About…

Jennifer Womack from Humble ISD shared this tweet and picture:

OMG  Bring the donuts & they will come  Check out all these amazing readers @HumbleISD_FE #readersareleaders #GRG20 @MelissaBoehm3

(Picture is of a class of 26 students.  Each one is holding up a device with their bookshelf)

Priscilla Swanson from APHE shared this tweet and picture:

The Great Reading Games are going strong at APHE! @Learning_Ally #GRG20 Our 3rd graders are leading with the most points and minutes read this week! #weareAPHE

(Picture is of a student reading a book on his laptop.  He has on headphones and is facing the screen.  He is wearing a multi-colored blue hoodie)

Elizabeth Vickery Tweeted and shared this great bulletin board display:

We are ready, with medals and a trophy, for The Great Schultz Reading Games! #GRG20 @Learning_Ally @SchultzKISD @KleinISD #EVERY

(Image is of a bulletin board with the title:  Metamorphosis of a Reader.  It is a tree made out of twisted brown paper with the stages of reading on cards placed on the tree.  The cards read:  1st book, read with pictures, recognize words, you’re a reader.  In the bottom right hand corner is a section that has medals and the Olympic rings with an image reading “The Great Reading Games, Shultz Elementary)

Mrs. Arevalo Tweeted her bulletin board:

Chill morning with great books for @Learning_Ally #GRG20 #wearereaders @Cambridge_AH and we’ve moved ten places up the leaderboard to prove it! CE ️ 

(Image is of a bulletin board.  Last years’ 2019 GRG poster hangs on the left hand side, it reads:  Our school is a Learning Ally Great Reading Games Top 10 Winner!”   In the middle are the words “We are now in 22nd place!”  22nd is on a sticky note that can be replaced each week as they move up on the leaderboard.  A sticky note hangs beneath that reads: “Up from 31st place! WOW!  On the right is a banner that readers: We love our #GRG20 Readers.  Below that hangs a flyer about the games.)

Author Event…..    

“There’s Nothing Weird About Reading” with Dan Gutman

Thursday, February 27th @ 1:00 EST

The event has been updated on the Educator Portal, in our the GRG guide and on our Latest News page.

This event is open to anyone.  While we are encouraging our GRG schools to participate, any school is welcome to join. Learning Ally staff are welcome to join as well.  If you are in a location with others, considering joining together. Dan is a popular children’s book author who has written more than 130 books for kids from kindergarten all the way up to middle school. His work includes the "My Weird School" series, "The Genius Files", and "Flashback Four". Dan will tell us how he HATED to read when he was a kid, and what turned him into a voracious reader.

As you can see, Dan is a fun guy! 

(Picture is of Dan wearing a Mets jersey, standing on one foot and it looks like he is teetering in space over the peninsula of Florida)

Our readers this week increased to 180,815 with over 72 million pages read and 25,860 at frequency – a 21% increase for schools!

We are halfway to midwinter, and our readers show no signs of slowing down. As of last week (Jan 10) our readers increased to 169,395 with over 63 million pages read and 22,273 at frequency – a 22% increase for schools! Let's keep 2020 rolling with some great comments from people who donated online to share our vision. 

Comment from Teacher Marina B:
"I teach children and adults with dyslexia how to read, write and spell. Most dyslexic students are reading below their grade level and they certainly do not read for pleasure. While my students are learning to read correctly and are getting their reading skills up to grade level and beyond, audiobooks help them build vocabulary and comprehension skills. Following along in the book while they are listening, increases their reading fluency. They also learn to love books by having wonderful experiences with them! This is a big deal for a student who has experienced a lot of trauma with reading. I am such a fan of audiobooks and of Learning Ally!"

Comment from a parent member:
"My girls greatly benefit from using Learning Ally. Thank you for contributing to their academic advancements in 2019!"

Comment from Volunteer Joan M.:
"My cousin's son visited me this Spring. He was about to graduate from the Colorado School of Mines in Chemical Engineering. Somehow, it came up that I had volunteered with Learning Ally and he thanked me because he was dyslexic. I'm so happy to have been a volunteer!"

Elizabeth Almeyda posted the following in the Washington State Zoom Channel about 1 of our readers last month, and Lee Peters shared. This story drives home the impact we have…..and keep in mind, there are 169,000 other stories to tell!!!

(From Elizabeth): I received this amazing email this morning from a new school that just recently Launched in Kennewick, WA....it brought a smile to my face so I thought I'd share:
"I wanted to share with you an experience one of my students had the other day with Learning Ally.  He is a 6th grade boy in a wheelchair,  and he is unable to hold a book and turn the pages.  He has me the last period of the day for study hall.  When he came in with his para, he asked her if he could read.  He told me his ELA teacher showed them how to use the program that morning.  He told me this was the "Best Day of his Life!"  He is now able to actually see the screen and read as the book is reading to him.  During the period we would hear his squeals of delight and see the big smile on his face. I sent a pair of headphones home with him, and he said, 'Now I can read anywhere and anytime I want!' We love this program so much  Thanks for helping us get it started."