Good readers start early

We have heard from another teacher who expects her students to read during the summer. Lola Mapes, a fourth-grade teacher in Des Moines, Iowa, draws up a contract between herself and each student that must be countersigned by a parent or guardian.

"I, , agree to read pages per day for 50 days during June, July, and August. My total reading will equal pages. I will always choose books that I can read and understand."

As part of the teacher's "conspiracy" to get children into the "library habit ," the contract continues:

"I will visit a library at least three times this summer."

Those who fulfill their contracts not only receive recognition from the school's parent-teacher organization, but are given a pizza party by Lola Mapes.