As we adjust in the pandemic era, it has become clear that now, more than ever, students need access to a diverse variety of reading materials. As an elementary Media Specialist, it is my responsibility to provide students with a variety of reading opportunities, ranging from graphic novels to chapter books to nonfiction texts. However, given some students’ lack of reading stamina (ability to read text for a prolonged period of time), our library is in need of shorter, appealing reads to help students develop this skill so they may move on to longer texts.

I find that magazines provide a great opportunity to provide such “short reads” to our students. Magazines provide a host of benefits to young readers. They are more often picked up by my “reluctant” readers, as they can target a particular interest (animals, fashion, sports, science, cooking, etc…) and spark a readers’ attention. While articles may be short in nature, they are often rich in text complexity (reading difficulty) and challenge readers to practice a variety of reading skills.

This grant would help bring 22 new magazine subscriptions, as well as the protectors needed to keep them safe while being checked in and out of the library