Ohio State University research found that a 5-year-old child who is read to daily would be exposed to nearly 300,000 more words than one who isn’t read to regularly — and other studies have shown vocabulary increasingly becomes an indicator of success as a student progresses through school, according to an article in The 74.
An elementary school in Corpus Christi, Texas, is taking a unique approach to building a large vocabulary bank to support a child’s literacy skills — students are challenged to read one million words during the school year.
Students at Windsor Park Elementary School have already read more than 315 million words this year, and the challenge is expanding to other schools in the 33,000-student district.
“It’s something that the students are very, very proud of,” says librarian Annelise Rodriguez, who created and manages the Millionaires Club at Windsor Park. Students who read a million words during the school year get their pictures hung on the wall. “We’ve had kids come in when they take tours and say, ‘I’m going to be up there some day.’ Some kids get it in 45 books, and for others, it’s taken 360 books.”
The “Million Word Challenge” initiative has been used in third grade classrooms in Indiana, middle schools in Illinois and 4th to 12th graders in California.
The 74
