Two SPMS students earn place on Reading Counts Wall of Fame Published Sept. 24, 2007 By Spangdahlem Middle School SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Two Spangdahlem Middle School sixth graders earned a place on the 2007-2008 Reading Counts Wall of Fame before the middle of the first quarter. Travis Checkley, SPMS sixth grader and son of Master Sgt. Michael Checkly, 52nd Maintenance Operations Squadron, and Tom Malone, eighth grader and son of Maj. Douglas Malone, Joint Fires Center of Excellence, were recognized and placed on the Wall of Fame. These students proved they spent time reading during their summer vacation, even when they were not required to by their teachers. Reading Counts is a computer reading program at SPMS that helps motivate students to read. Students read a book then take a ten-question test on it. If they get seven or more questions correct, they pass the test. If they do not pass the test, they may review the book and come back another day and try to pass the test again. They get a total of three tries for each book. There is a bank of thirty questions for each book, and ten are chosen at random for each test, so the student will not get the exact same test when they retake it. Books are coded at different reading levels to help students choose books they will understand and enjoy. Different books are worth different amounts of points according to length and difficulty. Currently, Spangdahlem Middle School has more than 5,000 book tests so students have a wide variety of books to choose from. Students have until May 2008 to earn 200 points to be placed on the wall. When a student qualifies, thier picture is taken and there is a small celebration in front of their language arts class. At the end of the year, all the students who have qualified will be invited to a Wall of Fame pizza party in the library. They will also receive a free book. For more information about the program, e-mail Diana Barks at Diana.Malmgrem@eu.dodea.edu.