100 Book Challenge provides the standards-based architecture for school or district-wide assessment, motivation, and monitoring for reading achievement, PreK–12th grade, in both English and Spanish. Daily and periodic classroom-based assessment of each student’s reading level and current strengths and needs informs instructional development.

Accelerates progress for lower achievers through intensive “just right” practice and targeted, effective instruction, in tens of thousands of highly engaging trade books. Results indicate significant and rapid achievement gains for all learners— slashing, even reversing, the achievement gap between higher and lower income students..

Initial and ongoing professional development provided, including in-class coaching for teachers using a self-assessment rubric that makes expectations and ingredients for success explicit. Structures for teacher learning are embedded in their daily classroom practice.

Parents become home reading coaches supported by easy-tounderstand procedures and Skills Cards that explain students’
objectives at each color level. Books are sent home each day for
required nightly reading. Parent workshops explain clearly what
parents can do to help their children succeed.

Objectives for Reading Achievement, Quantity of Reading Practice in both school and homes are delineated, assessed, monitored, and motivated for every student, classroom, and school. Clearly designed reading benchmarks are continually measured. Tens of thousands of real books, leveled by world class standards, addressing the five key components of reading, make grade level expectations clear to all stake-holders. Scope and Sequence makes clear the phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension required at each level of reading acquisition.

Regular, in-class assessments are tied directly to instruction to improve achievement. The clear articulation of the Scope and Sequence of skill acquisition allows teachers to continuously and accurately assess students’ academic levels and plan instruction to improve achievement. Teachers use what they learn from conferencing during independent reading to make better use of small and large group instruction.

1. Engaging reading materials are the bedrock upon which the 100 Book Challenge is built. Tens of thousands of books of all levels, genres, fiction and non-fiction, reflecting all ethnicities are selected from every publisher in the industry, organized into components that move in and out of classrooms, providing a river of books for every student at every level, every day of the school year. Thematic collections in science and social studies help teachers differentiate learning in content areas.

2. 100 Book Challenge provides independent practice for any core curriculum. Teachers use Direct Instruction and Guided Practice to teach the skills and strategies of whatever core curriculum is in place. Teachers then have students apply those skills and strategies in independent reading during 100 Book Challenge. Students’ use of the strategies is assessed during one-on-one conferences and sharing times. Independent practice, with the teacher learning to systematically watch her students, has been the missing feedback loop in both teacher and student learning. Teachers learn to teach for transfer, not just the skills and strategies involved in learning how to read, but the lifestyle required in being a reader. 100 Book Challenge creates a seamless literacy environment partnering with any core reading program.

100 Book Challenge’s Early Literacy program is designed to enhance the early language, literacy, and prereading development of preschool age children through language stimulation and reading readiness experiences. 100 Book Challenge insures that every child takes home a new selection of books every night and that the family is incentivized to read those books aloud to the child.

100 Book Challenge helps create better teachers of reading. 100 Book Challenge teaches teachers to address students’ different learning styles through start-up training, in-class teacher coaching and follow-up, and advanced training sessions. Students’ learning styles are constantly addressed via choice, ownership, and variety of materials they will read. The guaranteed success of 100 Book Challenge book leveling and matching students to books of appropriate challenge and interest is perfect for supporting students with special learning needs as well as gifted and talented students.

ELL students enrolled in 100 Book Challenge classrooms accelerate acquisition of English vocabulary, oral language, and reading skills through intensive practice in listening to, reading, and discussing engaging materials matched to their individual skill levels. This helps ELL students achieve at high levels in core academic subjects and meet the same challenging standards as all children.

ELL students enrolled in 100 Book Challenge classrooms accelerate acquisition of English vocabulary, oral language, and reading skills. Books available in Spanish help affirm cultural identity and support native language literacy for Latino/ Hispanic students.

100 Book Challenge is an innovative program that improves the academic achievement of educationally disadvantaged elementary and secondary school students. For example, a recent experimental application of the 100 Book Challenge in Chichester, PA found that first grade students in high-poverty schools using 100 Book Challenge outperformed first grade students in high-income schools who did not use 100 Book Challenge in reading achievement.

100 Book Challenge is an innovative program that addresses the needs of gifted and talented students by matching students with reading materials consonant with their skill levels and interests. 100 Book Challenge thematic investigations (Stage Four) are ideally suited to project-based education shown by research to be effective with gifted and talented students.