How much can you read in a semester?

This is homework for my English classes.  Due for the next Reading Race on Friday, August 20 

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

Hint: there are 78 days left between today, August 23, 2016, and the end of the semester on December 22.

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 on the last page.  Then do these calculations to see how many books you could read by December 22 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 78 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 78 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)
• 475,800 words in 78 days  (6100 x 94 = 475,800)
• 11.9 books in 78 days.  (475,800 / 40,000 = 11.8)

After you finish the calculations, write a short paragraph in your English journal about your results. Write on the same page you used for your calculations if there is room. 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 15 books.