Public Radio for Alaska's Bristol Bay
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Dillingham Elementary Student Read Over One Million Words in Two Months

Accelerated Reader

DILLINGHAM--  The Dillingham Elementary School is keeping track of how  many words students read by using a computer program that tracks the kid’s efforts.  The students have from the beginning of the school year to May to reach one million words and then they will win a tee-shirt and their name will be posted on the gym wall.  Only two months into the school year and one student has already hit that million word mark.  KDLG’sThea Card has the story.

It was Halloween morning.  There was a sparkly salmon, a couple Ninja Turtles, several Batman’s and at least a dozen Elsa’s. The students gathered in the gym and the assembly began. 

Dillingham Elementary uses a program called Accelerated Reader which keeps track of what kids read and how many words.  In order for the book to be counted, the kids have to pass a quiz about the book. 

Reading teacher Shannon Clause had the honor of announcing the school’s first million word reader. 

SPOT: “Hear that music?  I want everybody to turn around, look at Mr. Bishop.  Underneath that clothe right there we have our first million word reader.  In the fifth grade, Angelina Olson!”

A curtain was pulled off a poster on the gym wall with fifth grader Angelina Olson’s name on it. There was an uproar of applause as a shy Olson walked to the front of the gym.

SPOT: “This is Angelina’s first time and she’s the first one in our school to reach one million words.”

Olson says she’s a big fan of fiction and fantasy books.

SPOT: “They bring me on places like the New Prophecy Dawn it felt like I was going on that journey with them.”

Olson was reading a series called Warriors by Erin Hunter, however she was also reading outside of class on her own. Clause says Olson was also reading books for her teacher’s literature circles. 

SPOT: “So on top of doing her fun reading she was also reading an age appropriate book in school.  So she was reading in school and out of school.  She’s been a reading machine.”

Olson says although she’s excited to be a million word reader, that wasn’t the original goal.

SPOT: “I just really like reading. I didn’t really know I was going to get to a million.”

She may be the first this year to hit one million words, but she’s nowhere near being done.

It’s only October, how many do you think you can get done by May?

SPOT: “About three million probably.”