The Kindles come in waves.

That’s what happened today. After more than three weeks with no new donations, four new Kindles arrived today!

It’s bizarre, and it’s hard to explain, but I’m very excited and appreciative.

Take a look at the four boxes all stacked up!

As everyone knows, shipping isn’t cheap. Donors always pack their Kindles with great care. Because most contributors pay for their own shipping, that means I can focus on buying new books for students.

Here are the four new Kindles! Please notice the handsome cases.

Here’s more evidence of the care that donors demonstrate. See how each case is different? The cases I buy are functional, strong, and cheap. They’re perfectly fine. But they lack the creativity and class that these cases have.

Speaking of creativity, check out this Kindle!

See how much personality? For many people, a bright and colorful skin won’t affect their reading habits too much. I’m one of them. But I can guarantee that the student who receives this Kindle will cherish it and make it her own.

In addition to the Kindles, I receive kind notes. Here’s one from today:

All of this generosity of spirit continues to inspire me.

Let’s be clear: Here are people from across the country who don’t know me, who find out about the Kindle Classroom Project over the Internet, who choose to donate their Kindle to a perfect stranger, who package and ship their Kindle carefully, who throw in their colorful protective case, and who write me an inspirational note.

It’s pretty great.

So with a ton of enthusiasm and gratitude, I’d like to thank Anja from San Francisco; Thomas from Chicago; Angie from Roanoke, Virginia; and Art from Redding, Connecticut.

You’ve made this day a special one for me, the KCP, and for four rising ninth graders who don’t yet realize they’re just a few months away from a reading adventure. 

 In our data-driven society, no matter where you go, everyone cares about the same thing: results. If you can’t quantify your gains, then too bad for you.

The same goes for reading instruction. It’s the end of the year, and I’ve been thinking a lot about results. Have my efforts made a difference? Are my students better readers than there were back in September? And if they are, how do we know?

Let’s get one thing out of the way: Tests matter most. Therefore, I’m relieved that students performed well on our online reading assessment, and I’m particularly pleased that Kindlers improved more than non-Kindlers.

But tests are just tests. They don’t paint the whole picture.

That’s why I believe that several measurements are necessary to assess student progress in reading. This year, we’ve tried these data points:

• How many books / pages the students have read,
• Reading stamina
• Reading fluency
• Whether students say they enjoy reading,
• Whether students identify as readers,
• How well students can independently use the reading strategies we’ve taught.

My goal next year is streamline this list down to 2-4 key indicators. That way, all teachers and students can track their progress on common, agreed-on criteria.

Which data points do you think are the most important? Or, do you suggest others? 

 It was a relatively slow month at the Kindle Classroom Project. But there are still plenty of things to celebrate, and here are a few highlights.

1. The Project received its first Kindle donation via Craigslist.
Back in November, I began scouring Craigslist for people who might want to donate their Kindles. So I set up an alert to my Google Reader, and whenever someone in San Francisco posted a Kindle, I wrote a quick email.

Today, 100+ email requests later, Alex from San Francisco responded, and in typical Craigslist fashion, we met up at a local cafe, where we made the trade. Except I didn’t give him anything besides my thanks. Alex said that he decided to donate his Kindle Touch after prospective buyers flaked. Thank you, flaky Craigslisters! And thank you, Alex.

2. We’re now up to 50 Kindles.
Thanks to Janie (Vashon, WA), Jenni (Berkeley, CA), an anonymous international donor, and Alex (San Francisco, CA), the Project added four Kindles this month. I’m very pleased.

I’d like to keep up the momentum. At this rate — an average of 1 Kindle donated per week — it’s possible to reach my goal of 60 Kindles by September 1.

3. There’s still good progress on e-books.
This month, 18 books were donated, making the total 265. I’d like to thank LeAnne from Fremont for her donation of three books. My goal of 300 books by September 1 seems reachable.

Among the new titles: The New Jim Crow, Sleeping With the Enemy, Travel Team, Summer Ball, and Drama High. I’m finding out that many ninth grade boys like novels about sports. Many ninth grade girls appreciate that their teacher is not censoring Drama High (this generation’s version of Sweet Valley High).

4. It was a huge month for money donations.
DonorsChoose celebrated Teacher Appreciation Day by offering a promotion: double your donation. In just one day, I received almost $1,300. Thank you DSW, Bernice, Michele, Iris, Stuart, Laura, and LeAnne! I’m saving up the money for a big project next year!

* * *
What will June bring? Will people keep hold of their Kindles in preparation for summer reading? Or will they flock to the beach with their physical books and want a better home for the e-readers?

I’m looking forward to celebrating this year’s work and the 49 students who have read a lot. I can’t wait to reflect and figure out next year’s goals. Thank you again to everyone who has made this year a huge success at the Kindle Classroom Project! 

 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!