Hip Hop Gives Reading a Good Rap

Here is some great info sent over regarding a publishing company {Saddleback Educational Publishing} receiving an exciting award!

“Saddleback Educational Publishing Receives Young Adult Literature Award from Street Lit Book Award Medal Committee”

April 7, 2014 (Costa Mesa, CA) – Saddleback Educational Publishing, the leading content creator and publisher of high-interest, low-readability educational materials for struggling learners,  has been awarded with the Young Adult Literature Award for its Hip Hop Biography Series by the Street Lit Book Award Medal Committee (SLBAM).

The 10-volume series, written at a fourth grade reading level, engages reluctant teen readers with biographies of hip-hop success stories including Jay-Z, Rihanna and Pitbull.

“Saddleback is thrilled to receive the Young Adult Literature Award for our hip-hop biography series,” says Arianne McHugh, president of Saddleback Educational Publishing. “We believe the first step is to engage struggling readers with content that interests them and this award validates our success in doing so.”

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s report card, 70 percent of 8th graders, and 65 percent of 12th graders do not read at grade level, translating to approximately 6 million struggling readers in grades seven through twelve.

For over 30-years, Saddleback has been working to reduce these staggering numbers by producing fresh, culturally relevant teaching materials, like the Hip Hop Biography Series.  Most recently, Saddleback has launched a new line of books called, Teen Emergent Reader Libraries (TERL)

Designed to attract teenage readers, these highly engaging fiction and nonfiction books feature mature, relevant topics teens want to read, including racism, bullying, friendship, history, culture, sports and romance but are written at the pre-k level. Each book is a substantial publication ranging from 48-64 pages in length, supported on every page by full-color, riveting photographs and grouped in three levels: emerge, engage and excel, with five genres per level.

The TERL books offer middle school and high school teachers solutions for differentiating instruction, while still teaching grade-level content and meeting common Core Standards.

About Saddleback Educational Publishing

For more than 30 years, Saddleback has been the nation’s leading educational publisher producing high-interest, low readability solutions for middle school and high school struggling learners. Saddleback publishes more than a thousand titles including urban fiction, hi-lo chapter books, nonfiction, graphic novels, interactive Smartboard lessons, low-level supplemental curriculum and more. Saddleback Educational Publishing is headquartered in Costa Mesa, CA. For more information, visit http://www.sdlback.com.