Read 20 Books

Proof required

Share the reading log showing 7 finished books, each with the title, date finished, and a parent or teacher's initials. A photo of a handwritten log or a typed list both work.

What gets checked

• 7 distinct books are logged with titles and finish dates — entries without a title cannot be verified as distinct books; 'a book' is not a log entry
• Each entry has a parent's, carer's, or teacher's initials confirming the book was read — self-reported completion without an adult confirmation is not sufficient for K-5
• The 7 books are distinct — the same book read 7 times does not meet the standard; 7 different books is the goal, regardless of length or format

Common mistakes

• Logging books that were only partially read — a book that was started but not finished should not enter the log; the finish date is the signal of completion
• Rushing through very short books purely to reach the count — the purpose of reading 20 books is to build a reading habit and love of books, not to collect checkboxes; books should be chosen because they are genuinely interesting to the reader

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Count the log entries: 7 distinct book titles with finish dates and adult initials
• Ask the parent or teacher whether they personally confirmed each book was finished before initialling — the confirmation should be per-book, not a retrospective sign-off on the whole list
• Ask the reader what their favourite of the 7 was and what happened in it — a genuine reader will have a preference and a story to tell

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Proof required

Share the reading log now showing at least 15 books in total (books 1–15), each with a title, finish date, and adult initials. A continuation of the M1 log works perfectly.

What gets checked

• The log now shows at least 15 books in total — it should be a continuous log from M1, not a new list; books 1–7 from M1 should still be present
• Each new entry (books 8–15) has adult initials confirming the book was finished — the confirmation requirement does not lapse in M2
• 8 additional distinct books are present — they should be different from books 1–7 and from each other

Common mistakes

• Restarting the log at book 1 rather than continuing from M1 — the log should show all 15 books as a continuous reading record; a new log that begins at 1 does not show the full progression
• Stopping regular reading when M1 is done and then logging 8 books in one burst — entries where books 8–15 all share the same finish date are unlikely to be genuine; the dates should reflect actual reading pace

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Check that the M1 books (1–7) are still present in the log — a new list that starts from book 1 again is a different log, not a continuation
• Verify that books 8–15 each have adult initials on individual entries, not a single bulk sign-off at the end of the list
• Ask the reader if any of the 8 new books were their favourite so far — a child reading across 15 books usually has a view on this

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Proof required

Share the complete reading log showing all 20 books with titles, finish dates, and adult initials. Also share: the title of the favourite book and a 2–3 sentence explanation of why it was the favourite (written, typed, or transcribed from speech).

What gets checked

• The complete log shows 20 distinct books with finish dates and adult initials on each entry — both the total count and the per-book adult confirmation are required
• The favourite-book explanation names the book by title and gives a specific reason — 'it was good' is not specific; 'I liked the part where the rabbit builds a house in the rain because I didn't think it would work' is specific
• The explanation is in the child's own words — dictation transcribed by a parent counts; a parent's summary of what the child liked does not

Common mistakes

• Filling in the final 5 entries without confirming each book was actually read — a log with entries all dated on the same day was not read across the year; the adult-initials requirement per book exists precisely for this
• Choosing the 'correct' favourite rather than the child's actual favourite — the explanation has no wrong answer; its purpose is to encourage the child to have and express a genuine opinion about what they read

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Count the complete log: 20 distinct book titles with finish dates and adult initials on each entry
• Check that the favourite-book explanation is 2–3 sentences in the child's own words — ask the parent or teacher to confirm the words are the child's
• Ask the child (or parent, for very young readers) what the book was about in one sentence — a child who genuinely read it will have a sentence; a child who did not will struggle to produce one

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