STUDENTS HIT THE BOOK WITH 'READING COUNTS'

Although Harriet Martin has been teaching for 27 years, the Orchard Elementary third grade teacher has no qualms about embracing tomorrow's technology in the classroom.

"I love these computers," she said. "They let you do anything. Because of this technology, we're able to reach more kids."

Specifically, Martin was referring to the school's Scholastic Reading Counts program. Second and third graders read library books, then take a quiz on a classroom or library computer. The software from Scholastic tracks each student's progress during the school year.

"It's a wonderful program," Martin said. "It's motivating children to read books on their level. They take a quiz on the computer on the book, which is really neat for them."

When a student passes (by correctly answering four of five questions), a special screen appears. When third grader Kyle Keith passed a quiz Tuesday, a screen appeared, showing a Lion wearing a crown, with a caption proclaiming "Kyle Rules." Students get four to eight points for harder books and fewer points for easier ones.

"Last year a different company did it," Martin said. "Scholastic bought them out and we had to change all the software this year. It has more bells and whistles, though."

If a student fails a quiz, he/she may retake it up to three times -- after a one-day wait each time. This ensures that the student will not be answering the same five questions. Most books logged into the system have a bank of 30 different quiz questions.

In taking the quiz, Keith got four of the five right, for a passing 80 percent mark. It then gave him another look at the question he missed. Students may also give books ratings (ranging from very good to very bad) after reading them.

"It's a high motivator to kids," Martin said.

The program started through a grant which has since expired. Martin hopes to see it renewed. Meanwhile, whatever spare money can be obtained, is funneled into this proven program.

"Some new things are pretty to look at," Martin said. "This one has really been used."

The data base available locally includes some 1,100 books. More than 15,000 titles are available through Scholastic, as money permits.

Students also write summaries in a journal, which helps build writing skills.

"It brings in every aspect of literacy," Martin said. "It also gives us reports we can print out and show to parents."

Last year Orchard second and third graders read more than 18,000 books. Martin noted that in her class alone, some 200 books have been read during the first few weeks of school. She believes this tracking aspect of the program is important.

"When people can see what they've done, they tend to work at it more," she said. "You can see the kids' enthusiasm."

In addition to second and third graders, remedial reading and LD classes have had success with Scholastic Reading Counts, as well.

"It's useful for those classes, too," Martin said.

Overall, the program has proven to be a clear success.

"Scholastic Reading Counts helps teachers give students an increased level of individual attention and builds self-esteem," Martin said.