that their reading interest declines as well as their ability to engage with text meaningfully. As a result, students’ reading achievement declines. While graduation is likely, reading for pleasure, or as necessary for gainful employment, on-the-job requirements, and potential for careers with higher income levels dissipate (Krashen, 2004). Dropouts have a far-reaching impact on a community’s economic viability (Reeves, 2018). As a result, reading - and the choice to read - is an obligation of community schools.
Within the widely adopted Units of Study (2015), written by Lucy Calkins and colleagues (2011) third graders should read approximately ten, grade-level appropriate books per month. This equates to 100 books during a ten-month school year. Prior to that, in Pre-K to grade 2, mass consumption of decodables and early readers, not to mention uncounted rereads could reasonably mean students engage with 100-150 books in a given school year. Reading advocate Donalyn Miller (2010) introduced the 40-book challenge for intermediate students, which could be considered a widely accepted target for voluminous reading in the intermediate grades. 40 books also coincide with the number of weeks in a school year, equating to students reading approximately one grade-level appropriate chapter book per week. Building from these understandings, an estimation of how many books children should read in a school year can be determined (Table 1).