Students Join Million Word Club

Published May 26, 2011

A new club is encouraging students at Pearre Creek Elementary School to read more books. It's called the Million Word Club and only students who've read over a million words are recognized as members.

"I issued a Million Word Challenge to our students this year," said Principal Beth Ferguson. "I am proud to say we have 31 students who reached this amazing accomplishment."

The school uses the accelerated reader program to keep a count of all the words each student reads. When a new student reaches the million-word milestone, his or her name is placed on a special bulletin board in the hall.

Whether they're reading for information or just for fun, the students say the club is great because it motivates them to read as much as possible and gives them a sense of accomplishment once they've reached their goal.

"It's sort of like a competition," said fifth-grader Ashley Wright. "If you want to be part of the club you have to read more, which is a good thing."

Of the students who accomplished the task of reading more than a million words this year, 11 are fifth graders, seven are fourth graders, 12 are third graders and one student is only in first grade. Her name is Ella Gardner and, like a lot of the students in the Million Word Club, she says reading is one of her favorite things to do.

"I really like mysteries and history books," said Ella. "I especially like to read books about the early 1900s because I like to imagine what life was like then."

Not only is reading a fun past-time, but it's also a brain-boosting activity according to some students.

"I think reading is good because it can expand your brain capacity," said fifth-grader Jacob Bianchi, who admits he prefers reading to playing video games. "The more you read, the more you'll know and then you'll be a lot smarter."