Final reading assessment data is in from the Oakland Kindle classroom, and I’m pleased to announce more encouraging results.

The teacher with whom I worked had two sets of students, one of which participated in the Kindle Classroom Project.

The Kindlers raised their reading scores by an average of 1.9 grade levels.

The non-Kindlers raised their reading scores by an average of 0.9 grade levels.

By no means am I ready to write up these results and try to publish them in the Harvard Educational Review. The sample size is not big enough, plus I need to take some basic research classes before deeming anything statistically significant.

Even so, I am pleased.

In addition, I’m hoping to do a more sophisticated study next year with all 60 Kindlers. Are there academic-type people out there who could help me create a little study? Please let me know! 

 I’m happy to report that Kindlers in the Oakland classroom are taking their end-of-year online reading assessment, and their reading skills have improved a huge amount. On average (total of 20 students), they have read 13 books and gone up 1.8 reading grade levels since October.

Here are some highlights:

Since the program began, Steven has read 10 books. Kite Runner and Freedom Writers Diary have been his favorites. His reading level has gone up more than 4.5 grade levels, from 8.3 grade equivalent in October to 12.9 in May. Congratulations, Steven! (Yes, you read that correctly. Steven was a bit below grade level at the beginning of the year. Now he reads at a beginning-college level.)

Jasmin has also done very well. At the beginning of the year, her reading level was 5.4. After reading 18 books this year, her score is now 9.7. In just eight months, Jasmin has jumped 4.3 grade levels and is now prepared to read grade-level texts. Good work, Jasmin! Her favorite books this year were Perfect Chemistry and Water for Elephants. (She also added a mustache to her Kindle case.)

Tamera began the year already an advanced reader, scoring 11.2 on the first test in October. Now she’s at 11.9, or the 82nd percentile. She has read 20 books on the Kindle (and another 10 physical books from the library). Her goal is to read another 20 books this summer. Tamera’s favorite author is Jessica Sorensen, and she has read all of her books, including The Vision and The Underworld. Keep it up, Tamera. Your love of books is inspiring.

What do you think, loyal readers? Pretty impressive, don’t you think? It gets me thinking: Maybe it would be a good idea to let some (or all?) students to keep their Kindles over the summer. After all, summer learning loss is real, especially among urban students. A few articles I’ve read suggest that reading five or more books over the summer can prevent students from falling behind.

We’ll see what happens with the summer idea, but right now, I’m just happy with the results. When students read a lot, and when they get to choose what they read, and when they’re a part of an environment that celebrates reading, many good things can happen! 

 For all of you out there who are worried that the physical book will disappear, please read this recent article from Time Magazine.

According to reporter Matt Peckham, sales of physical books did, in fact, decline in 2012 — but only by 1 percent. Fiction physical books, on the other hand, rose 3 percent.

Children’s books — which don’t render well on the screen — enjoyed the greatest growth in physical form.

But if you’re not convinced, here are a few photos of my students reading real, actual, physical books. Full disclosure: Some of these photos are of former students, and it’s entirely possible that they’ve migrated completely over to e-readers since I taught them. But I don’t think so!

 A study from the United Kingdom reports that young people aged 8 to 16 prefer reading text on screens rather than in print.

Does this mean that the book is dead?

And is the Kindle Classroom Project speeding up this process?

The National Literacy Trust surveyed more than 35,000 young people, and 52 percent said they liked reading on screens. Only 32 percent preferred paper, with the remainder having no opinion or stating they didn’t like to read at all. (I wonder what the results would be had the researchers asked American youth.)

The study didn’t investigate whether young people are reading more or less overall. Some say that the rise of Kindles and tablets has led to the demise of books, while others contend that e-readers offer teenagers a chance to reconnect with books.

That debate will no doubt continue, but for the 49 students who participate in the Kindle Classroom Project, the answer is a pretty easy one. On average, students in the program have read 13 books since January (one semester). Last school year (two semesters), before the project, they read an average of five books.

I don’t hope for the destruction of books. But something has changed in this generation. Screens are everywhere. It’s time that we meet young people where they are and invite them to read how they want to. 

 A huge roar emerged from the offices of the Kindle Classroom Project last night when I received an email from DonorsChoose letting me know that DSW from Saratoga had made a $500 donation.

That $500 donation — the largest amount that DonorsChoose is matching this week as part of its Teacher Appreciation promotion — instantly doubled to a whopping $1,000.

This $1,000 donation marks the second major gift from DSW. Read about the first $1,000 donation last December.

Isn’t this amazing? Isn’t this slightly crazy?

I am astounded. I am intensely appreciative.

Thank you, DSW! Your contribution continues to encourage me to think bigger about what’s possible. I am no longer thinking small.

For example: Why stop at three classrooms (my current goal for next year)? Why not try to distribute Kindles to every ninth grader at a school?

Also: Why not proceed seriously to achieve classroom library mirroring, where every title on the Kindles has a physical counterpart on the shelves?

And one last thing: Why not think of making the Kindle Classroom Project into a full-fledged nonprofit organization?

All of these are reachable dreams because of this latest large donation. Thank you again, DSW! 

 It’s been a big day at the Kindle Classroom Project!

In the morning, I received an email from DonorsChoose that all donations would be doubled through Friday to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week.

So I quickly wrote a post, and just a few hours later, $200 has already been donated to purchase new books. Quite impressive.

The donors (so far): Laura (San Francisco), Stuart (San Francisco), Iris (San Diego), Michele (San Francisco), and LeAnne (Fremont).

I must also point out: All five are repeat, sustaining donors. Thank you.

But that’s not all!

Just a few minutes ago, I got home from work to find Kindle #49, the fourth new Kindle purchased directly from my students’ Amazon wishlist. (Go Preeti! Go Lesley!) Here’s evidence:

The donor remains anonymous. But here’s where it gets exciting. My detective work has confirmed that the donor lives in Cambodia. The Kindle Classroom Project has gone international again! This is the second overseas Kindle in Project history! (The first came last December from Jo in Surrey, England.)

You just never know what’s going to happen. You go to work, minding your own business, and by the end of the day, there’s $200 donated and a Kindle from Cambodia.

Let’s keep this hubbub going! Who wants to guess where the next Kindle will come from? I say Nepal. Or maybe Ghana. 

 Want to make your donation to the Kindle Classroom Project go farther?

Here’s your chance: This week, to celebrate teachers, DonorsChoose is matching all donations until this Friday, May 10.

Yes: This means that $10 will buy two books instead of one! Not a bad deal.

If you’re interested in making a donation to the Kindle Classroom Project (to buy books!), you can go to my DonorsChoose page.

Very important: When you click through to the Payment page, the site will prompt you for a “Match or gift code.” Be sure to type in TREAT in the box.

I hope you’ll consider making a small contribution. This is also a great opportunity to get the word out and to encourage your friends and family. Promote reading! Thank you.

Update: Wow, things are going well. Already, six people have donated (for a total of $1,200). Thank you to Laura (San Francisco, CA), Stuart (San Francisco, CA), LeAnne (Fremont, CA), Michele (San Francisco, CA), DSW (Saratoga, CA), and Iris (San Diego, CA). Keep the contributions coming! 

 I have good news (and charts and graphs) to share with you, so let’s get started!

1. The number of Kindles continues to grow.
Last month, we stood at 42 Kindles. Now we are at 46 Kindles. Not bad, considering that there were two Kindle casualties in April. At this pace, it’s possible to reach my goal of 60 Kindles, or three classrooms, by September 1. But it will be a push.

That’s why I’m thankful for Christine (Louisville, KY), Lynna (Mtn. View, CA), Lesley (Menlo Park, CA), Preeti (San Jose, CA), Brian (San Diego, CA), and Walter (San Francisco, CA), all of whom donated Kindles in April. (It was a California-heavy month.)

(Pretty fancy chart, don’t you think? Don’t worry, there’s another one.)

2. The number of ebooks continues to grow.
I’ve said many times that books drive this project. Sure, I need Kindles, but without good books, the students are left with a pretty boring device.

The Kindle e-book library grew by 15 titles in April, from 232 to 247. As usual, all new books were student requests. The Pretty Little Liars series has staged a comeback after declining in popularity last year. Other popular titles include Wonder, by R.J. Palacio, and Feed, by M.T. Anderson, which predicts a future world where we have Google search implanted in our brains (um, yes, sort of like Google Glass).

I’d like to thank LeAnne (Fremont, CA), Michele (San Francisco, CA), Angela (Concord, CA), Denise (Alpharetta, GA), Tony (San Francisco, CA), and Nicole (Quincy, MA) for donating books. My appreciation also goes to Sarah from Logan, UT, who donated money to purchase books.

3. More people are following Iserotope.
There are nearly 80 people following Iserotope on Facebook, 120+ on Twitter, and nearly 150 on Google+. Even the Iserotope Instagram account (pictures of books and reading!) is getting some love. The bigger the network grows, the deeper and more widespread the impact!

4. There are more sustaining donors.
I’m still trying to find a term for people who donate more than once. Do you have ideas? Right now, I’m calling them “Sustaining Donors,” but there must be something more catchy.

I define these donors as people who have made more than one donation and/or have encouraged their friends (who might be strangers to me) to contribute.

So far I count 13 sustaining donors: Margie (Peachtree City, GA), Lesley (Menlo Park), Brian (San Diego, CA), Donna (Las Vegas), LeAnne (Fremont, CA), Angela (Concord, CA), Denise (Alpharetta, GA), Nicole (Quincy, MA), Iris (San Diego, CA), Laura (San Francisco, CA), and Michele (San Francisco, CA), Jenni (Berkeley, CA), and DSW (Saratoga, CA).

I have to say, this “sustaining donor” classification might need some work. After all, there are also people who donated more than one Kindle all at once. Shouldn’t they be considered sustaining, too? If so, then add Preeti (San Jose, CA) and Toni (Cary, NC) to the list!

5. It’s easy to find the Project on Google.
Want to get the word out about the Kindle Classroom Project? Sure, you can direct them to iserotope.com, or to the Project page (or the Contribute page). But if you’d like to impress your friends, tell them to search for “donate Kindle.” On the first page they’ll find two (or maybe three, depending) links to the Project. See how famous we are?

(On a side note, it’s interesting that potential Kindle donors essentially have three choices if they search in this way. They can donate their Kindle to American troops overseas, to schoolchildren in Africa, or to ninth graders in Oakland and San Francisco. I like being one of the choices!)

6. You can now donate new Kindles.
Thanks to my friend Preeti, who came up with the idea, and Lesley, who affirmed it, you can now donate new Kindles. Check out this post or the Contribute page for more details. It’s pretty easy, and for $69, you give one student access to 247 high-interest books.

OK, loyal Iserotope readers, I hope you have a great May, and I’m hopeful that this is a month of strong growth for the Kindle Classroom Project. As always, let me know your thoughts and ideas to make this project a stronger one. 

 I am very pleased to announce the arrival of three new Kindles. Don’t they look great?

I think they’re the best.

This is a big deal. This means that the total Kindle count has gone up to 45, an all-time record.

This means that three more students get to borrow a Kindle, take it home, and have access to 241 good books.

To students, this means that there are “people out there who actually care about us.” (The quote isn’t imaginary. This is what the students actually say.)

Just two days ago, my friends Lesley and Preeti suggested that I should make it easier for people to donate new Kindles. So I did.

And today there were already three new Kindles waiting for me when I got home from work. That’s what I call an impressive turnaround.

I am humbled to announce that Lesley was the donor of one of the Kindles, and Preeti was the donor of the other two. Lesley and Preeti, thank you very much!

My friends are kind, smart — and very generous. They don’t fool around.

Want to join in all the fun? You can, you know. You can buy a new Kindle or donate an old one or buy a book or make a contribution. There are so many choices!

Also, feel free to use the comments section to let Lesley and Preeti know exactly how cool they are. 

 Today I spent a sunny and splendid afternoon with two good friends. They’re big proponents of the Kindle Classroom Project.

One friend, Lesley from Menlo Park, has been a generous donor in the past, plus she’s encouraged her friends and coworkers to donate Kindles as well. Go Lesley!

The other friend, Preeti from San Jose, came to the cafe prepared. She was not fooling around. Why do people have to donate old Kindles? she asked. What if she wanted to buy a new one instead?

Um, er…um. Right! You’re right, Preeti! This is pretty spectacular idea.

Up until today, if you wanted to purchase a new Kindle for a student, it wasn’t too easy. You had to contact me and find out my mailing address and ask which model my students wanted. Why not make the process easier?

Preeti was right, and now it is done.

Go ahead, try it out, click on the box, see what happens! You’ll go directly to the Amazon Kindle page, and if you order one for $69 (no need for a charger), it’ll get shipped directly to me. (Note: Click “This will be a gift” and select “Gift Registry Address” for easy shipping.)

Pretty snazzy. I wish I could take credit for the idea, but that goes to Preeti (and to Lesley, for affirming Preeti’s brilliance).

Will Preeti’s idea send oodles of Kindles hurtling in my general direction? I think so. I will keep you posted.

Update, April 22: This — from the Wishlist — is pretty good evidence, don’t you think?

Update #2, April 22: Um, three already? Is this for real? Can’t believe how great this is!

In case you can’t find this post later or want to refer your friends to this startling development, I’ve also updated the Contribute and Donate Your Kindle pages to reflect Preeti’s idea.

Thank you, Preeti!