JONES COUNTY LITERACY
Turner Woods Elementary has invested in a book vending machine, where students can access various books to take home and continue to improve their reading skills.
Laura Dixon, media specialist at Turner Woods, said she’s excited for the students to use the book vending machine next school year. She said the students were really excited to see it at the school the last few days of the 2023 school year.
“The book vending machine was something I saw several other schools using across the country to help motivate students to read and used as behavior incentives,” she said. “This gives the students another choice on what kind of books they read and getting books into their hands.”
She said the school did a read-a-thon fundraiser in late March, where the students committed to reading as much as they could and asked for sponsors for their reading. She said the students at Turner Woods Elementary School raised over $16,000 just by reading. She said part of the proceeds from the read-a-thon went to the book vending machine.
“The students will get gold tokens for the vending machine as a reward, and they put it in the vending machine and pick out any book they want. The book is theirs after that to keep forever. We are working out how the students will be rewarded and given tokens,” Dixon said.
The media specialist said the students are looking forward to using the book vending machine next year, since the machine just became available and was put together at the end of the 2023 school year. She said some of the fifth graders entering middle school next year are a little sad they won’t get to use the vending machine next year.
“Everyone is different and is reached in different ways. Maybe this vending machine will click for one kid when nothing else has,” she said. “This gives them more possibilities. The kids love the book fairs, so I think they’ll love this, too.”
Dixon said she wanted the students to have a way to get more books. She said they do a book giveaway each year, but this will be another great way to get books to students at home. She said she doesn’t want them just reading at school, but at home, too.
The media specialist said she was able to design the book vending machine and she had it custom made for all grade levels at Turner Woods Elementary School to fit books to appeal to every student. She said she’s excited to see the vending machine in use next year at the school.
“The numbers aren’t great as far as kids reading on grade level across our state, so we need to improve,” Dixon said. “We want students to succeed and having them read sets them up for success later in life. Reading is everything.”
