How many books can you read this semester?

This is homework for my English classes.  Due for the next Reading Race on Friday, Jan. 8

How many books can you read this semester if you read for 20 minutes a day every school day?

Hint: there are 94 days left between today, Jan. 6, 2016, and the Book Bingo deadline on June 3.

To figure out the answer you'll need to start by determining your words per minute reading rate.  To do that go to this website sponsored by Staples.  Take the reading test there.     Once you do the timed reading and pass the test, Staples will tell you your reading speed. Be honest with this test. We just want to see what your score is; you don't get a higher grade for having a higher score.

Write your speed down in your English journal near your Book Bingo card.  Then do these calculations to see how many books you could read by Jan. 3 if you read 20 minutes a night.

Multiply your reading speed by 20.  This shows how many words you can read in 20 minutes.  Write this number down.

Multiply how many words you read in 20 minutes (the amount above) by 94 days.  Write this amount down.

Divide this amount by forty thousand (40,000).  The average middle school level book has about 40,000 words in it.  Write this number down to the first decimal point. This is how many books you can read in 94 days if you read 20 minutes a night.

These are Mr. Chester's results:

• 305 Words per minute
• 6100 words in 20 minutes  (305 x 20 = 6100)
• 567,300 words in 94 days  (6100 x 94 = 567.300)
• 14.2 books in 94 days.  (567,300 / 40,000 = 14.2

That's not enough for a blackout, but it is enough for three or four bingos if I read the right books.

After you finish the calculations, write a short paragraph about your results.  Were you surprised by any of them?  How does this compare to what you actually read each semester?  Do you think you could spend more time reading?  Set a reading goal for this semester.  My goal is 40 books which is more than enough for a blackout.