Maintain Reading Progress with Distance Learning
Due to widespread school and library closures, Zoobean and Lerner invite all interested school districts to participate, even if they are not current customers of either organization; free product licenses will be provided for those that need them. Libraries may also participate in the challenge if they are current Zoobean customers. In addition, Lerner pledges to donate new books to the winning institutions upon completion of the challenge.
The challenge’s chief objectives include supporting traditional institutions, like schools and libraries, in developing better student reading outcomes. Zoobean tools are indispensable resources for parents who want to work toward reading achievements at home, and Lerner has been committed to providing high-interest, award-winning nonfiction and fiction books for children for more than 60 years.
“The amount of time that kids spend reading on their own is the best predictor of how well they do in reading,” noted Felix Lloyd, Zoobean Co-Founder. “That’s great news for elementary parents everywhere right now, whose kids are home because of COVID-19: the best thing you can do to help them get better at reading is to give them at least 20 minutes a day to read independently.”
The challenge comes just in time to reinforce students’ school year reading practice, while simultaneously giving them the excitement they’ve been missing since live sports have been postponed.
Using Best In Class Education Software
The Lerner Sports Challenge will promote independent student reading through the use of best-in-class digital learning resources. Lerner will provide access to the Lerner™ Sports Database, which provides access to biographies of current and past athletes using digital literacy tools that correlate with multiple curriculum standards.
“The Lerner™ Sports Database is the perfect platform to engage sports fans and young readers alike during these unprecedented times,” said Adam Lerner, publisher and CEO of Lerner Publishing Group. “With superstars from Mike Trout to Kawhi Leonard to Simone Biles, the database brings informational literacy and high-interest sports together in an engaging and kid-friendly platform.”
Zoobean will provide access to Beanbright for school districts and individual schools to join the challenge, and to the Beanstack app for students to log their reading.
Together, these platforms will allow students to practice their research skills and track their reading progress to the challenge goal. Since no physical materials are required, it is easy for schools and libraries to deploy to their students and simple for parents to set up at home.
Challenge Your Students to Keep Reading
Zoobean and Lerner look forward to working with schools, libraries, and families to keep students reading during this unprecedented time.
To learn more and to sign up your library, district, or school for the Lerner Sports Challenge, visit the challenge website.
The challenge runs from May 1st to May 31st, but registration is open now. Participants are encouraged to join as soon as they can and get set up.
ABOUT ZOOBEAN
Zoobean, Inc. provides a mobile app and other products that help people achieve reading goals by tracking reading and participating in reading challenges. The company’s flagship product, Beanstack, helps public libraries and school districts create, manage, and measure reading challenges. A sister product, Beanbright, offers school buildings a streamlined, ready-out-of-the-box version of the reading challenge service. Most recently, the company has introduced Badge Books, which are sticker books that work hand in hand with the free Beanstack mobile app. Zoobean’s investors include Kapor Capital, Mark Cuban, RevUp Capital, the AT&T Aspire Accelerator, and Amazon’s Alexa Fund. Its founders were previously Washington, DC’s teacher of the year and Google’s first head of K-12 education outreach.
ABOUT LERNER
Lerner Publishing Group creates high-quality fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults. Founded in 1959, Lerner Publishing Group is one of the nation’s largest independent children’s book publishers with fourteen imprints and divisions: Lerner Publications, Millbrook Press™, Carolrhoda Books®, Twenty-First Century Books™, Graphic Universe™, Darby Creek™, Kar-Ben Publishing™, Carolrhoda Lab®, LernerClassroom™, ediciones Lerner, First Avenue Editions™, Lerner Digital™, Zest Books™, and Lerner Publisher Services™. For more information, visit lernerbooks.com or call 800–328–4929.