TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida's public school students have broken the Million Minute Marathon reading record they set last year.
State education officials Monday announced that 1.5 million students racked up nearly 30.1 million minutes of reading time on Jan. 14.
That shattered last year's 23 million minute record by more than seven million minutes.
The event was part of Florida's 5th annual Celebrate Literacy Week.
Susan Snyder's "Grandma's Crazy Chickens" was the official 2013 marathon book. But students could read any book, magazine, blog site or newspaper article of their choosing.
Fifty-eight of Florida's 67 school districts participated. So did seven early learning coalitions.
Kevin Smith, deputy director of the state's Just Read, Florida! program, said research shows children can become stronger students just by reading an extra 20 minutes a day.
