Byron Center — On a recent Friday morning at Heritage Elementary, second-grader Luke Stock received a special surprise.
Principal Nathan Clophus drew Luke’s name from a school-wide drawing for the opportunity to use the new book vending machine.
Media specialist Andrea Trzinski pulled him out of class mid-morning and led him to the vending machine, just around the corner from the school’s media center.
Shiny gold token in hand, Luke evaluated the options held in the various slots: early chapter books, non-fiction biographies, picture books, cookbooks and “Who Would Win” books.
He decided on the Pokemon “how-to-draw” coloring book, deposited the token and watched the machine dispense his reward.
“There are all types of different books you can choose from,” Luke explained to a visitor. “With so many options, there is something for everyone to read.”
Newly implemented at Heritage, alongside Brown and Marshall Elementaries, the Inchy’s Bookworm Vending Machine is designed to help boost literacy rates, encourage students to read more and implement a system to reward positive behavior.
Heritage received grant funds through the company, which also purchased the first round of books to fill the machine.
“It’s a big deal here,” Trzinski said.
Students in each building have the chance to earn a book vending machine token based on their reading efforts or by exhibiting their best Bulldog behavior.
Librarians decide which books should fill the machine based on popular trends and which books get checked out the most from the media center.
Trzinski said she is “very passionate” about managing the book vending machine for her students.
“We wanted to make this something special to our district and to make a memorable experience for students at Heritage,” she said. “It’s been motivating students to exhibit positive behavior, read more and we have room to expand our efforts throughout the year.”
Emblazoned in Byron Center’s colors, orange and black, with the Bulldog mascot and the school’s name, the machines were designed by Principal Clophus.
Trzinski said she and Clophus agreed that it was important for all students to have the opportunity to get a book from the machine without any financial barriers.
“We didn’t want to make it too easy to earn a token for the vending machine, so it doesn’t lose its appeal, but it’s also still attainable,” she said. “Kids don’t have to spend money; they can earn it on their own.”
‘Caught,’ Rewarded For Being Kind
Countryside Elementary implemented the Book Rewards vending machine last school year through fundraising efforts to complement its existing Leader in Me initiative. Principal Cindy Viveen said the experience has been a “highlight of the day” when classes get to visit the vending machine.
“Each teacher gets two tokens per month to pass out. They can determine if they want to award them based on Accelerated Reader points, leadership behavior or whatever is important to them,” she said. “It has worked very well.”
First-grader Emerson Boglitsch said she earned a token because “I stayed focused on my book during reading time and built my reading stamina.”
Her classmate Atlas Nelson said when she earned a token, she picked out a book from the vending machine she could share with her little brother.
“I got a book to read with my little sister,” added first-grader Viviana Russo.
Teacher Rachael Avery awards tokens to her kindergarteners when they are ‘caught’ being kind to one another and trying their best.
What is AR?
Byron Center’s elementary schools use Accelerated Reader to monitor, manage and motivate students’ independent reading through quizzes, goal setting and personalized recommendations. The more students read, the program holds, the more stamina, word recognition and language comprehension skills they develop.
“My kiddos have loved it and are super motivated by it,” she said. “They always feel very proud of themselves when they get to pick a book from the vending machine.”
Added kindergarten teacher Melody Bohay, “We go to the vending machine as a whole class and talk about the books, while the two students decide what book(s) they are going to pick.”
Viveen said she and her teachers have kept track of who earns tokens, with the hope that every student will have the opportunity to earn one during their time at Countryside.
Read more from Byron Center:
• Local schools get Blue Ribbon designation from MDE
• Second- & third-graders learn how things work by doing
