Elementary students find extra motivation through Outback Reading Challenge

For two months, students at Plymouth Elementary and Whitemarsh Elementary schools had extra incentive to read independently at home, thanks to the Outback Reading Challenge. For two months, the children each kept a log of how much time they read in 15-minute increments. Once a child finished four hours of reading and turned in their log, they earned a bookmark good for a free kid’s meal and dessert at the local Outback Steakhouse through a program designed by Sarah Raichle, a PE parent and the Off-premises Coordinator for the restaurant. “There are kids who need some extra motivation to read for that 15 minutes a night, and I thought we could help out with that,” explained Mrs. Raichle, who regularly visited the schools to collect and tally the logs during the challenge. Each school kept track of the students’ progress on a bulletin board, so the children could see how their classes were doing compared to others in the school. “They were very enthusiastic about their independent reading homework,” said Mrs. Smith. “It just made them more motivated to read at home.” Outback Steakhouse plans to do offer another reading challenge to the District’s K-3 elementary students in the spring.