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One for the books: Boardman student sets record
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Fourth-grader Jordan Solmen broke the accelerated reading program record at Stadium Drive Elementary School in Boardman. In the program, students throughout the school read a book of their choosing and then spend about five minutes taking a reading comprehension test that is worth a certain number of points, depending on the length and level of difficulty of the book. Jordan earned 824 points by the program’s June 4 end date, beating the record by 2 points.
BOARDMAN
A little more than a week ago, 11-year-old Jordan Solmen woke up at 3 a.m. to finish a book, and she wasn’t cramming for a test.
The fourth-grader was determined to beat the Stadium Drive Elementary School record in the accelerated reading program, and she achieved her goal, besting the 2009 record of Simon Pusateri.
“I learned if you really want to beat your goal and work hard, you can do it,” Jordan said.
In the program, students throughout the school read a book of their choosing and then spend about five minutes taking a reading comprehension test that is worth a certain number of points depending on the length and level of difficulty of the book, said Principal Jim Goske.
Jordan earned 824 points by the program’s June 4 end, beating the record by 2 points. Goske said most books average between 10 and 12 points.
“I lost count,” Jordan said of the number of books.
Jordan said she chose books based on her interest level and the number of points they were worth. Her last book — the one she woke up at 3 a.m. to finish — was “Inkheart,” by Cornelia Funke, which was worth 29 points.
“In ‘Inkheart,’ the main character reads books and then what’s in those books comes out into real life,” she said.
The set of books that she read was “The Hunger Games,” by Suzanne Collins, a young-adult fictional trilogy that tells the story of a 16-year-old girl living in a post-apocalyptic world.
Goske said allowing students to choose what to read in the program, which has existed for more than seven years, and having a contest help promote literacy.
“It gets kids excited about reading, which is what we want to do,” he said.
Jordan’s principal was not surprised that she broke the record.
“I would tease her because every time she got off the bus last year in the morning, she’d have her nose in a book,” Goske said.