Flight: The Zinc Reading Mission
A customizable independent reading unit that helps YOU get every student reading a book and feeling great about it.
Build a Classroom Culture of Reading
Invite your students on a mission to find their next great read.
Flight is a customizable independent reading unit built around student agency, choice, and intrinsic motivation. Each week centers on a theme that sparks curiosity and builds on the earned prestige of reading real books.
How Flight Works
Flight is designed to be engaging and easy-to-implement for both teachers and students. Fully customizable to your class needs, Flight has three core components:
Choose a Book + Set a Goal
Read + Earn Points
Celebrate Wins!
Preparing for Flight / Teacher Pre-Work:
Gather books, choose activities, set a goal, print materials as needed
Prepare students in-class the week before Flight officially starts with the Why Books mini-lesson
Plan for the Week 6 Celebration!
Sample Flight Activities
Week 1
Students Grab a Book – Explore the potential of reading
Class discussion – Why Books?
Week 2
Students Discover – Dive deeper into independent reading
Group work – Book Talk
Week 3
Students Imagine – Investigate characters and point of view
Free write – Book Talk
Week 4
Students Create – Connect to themes and ideas
In-class work – Creative Project
Week 5
Students Share – Get ready for the next great read
Pair & Share – Book Talk
Week 6
Students Celebrate – Reflect and share
Teachers host – A book-themed service day or party!
Kick off with choice.
Help every student find a book they’ll want to read.
Read the Room drives student engagement with a lively, one-period game. Students explore, trade, and talk about books until each finds a match worth reading. You provide the books—we’ve got the slides and structure to make it simple.
💡 Zinc Tip: Life is short, and there’s a lot of GREAT literature out there. Once they’ve read 20 or 30 pages, encourage your students to change books if they’re not enjoying the one they’re reading.
Keep the conversation—and the reading—going.
Make independent reading social with customizable mini-lessons that build connection and confidence in every reader.
Why Books?
Kick off Flight with this salon-style discussion. This ready-to-go mini-lesson invites students to consider their relationship to screen time as they debate the role of books in a digital world.
Book Talk
Each week, students respond to a thought-provoking question that gets them writing, talking, and reflecting on their books. We’ve created ready-made prompts and tips for written, small-group, or full-class use.
Track growth, rack up points, and earn prestige with every page.
Fuel the Flight.
Reading Trackers
Help students see their own growth. Each week, they log pages or minutes read, turning consistency into confidence.
Mission Guides
Cultivate lifelong reading habits. Students earn points for completing weekly book-themed challenges that keep them curious and motivated.
Each week builds on a theme.
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Ask 5 people to tell you one of their favorite books and why they like it.
Make a list of 10 ways you could fit more reading into your week.
Visit a local bookstore.
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Take a selfie with a favorite book and explain why you like it.
Read an article in a newspaper or magazine.
Make a bookmark that goes with the book you are currently reading.
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Make a cast list for the characters in your book. You can use actors and actresses, people you know, or anyone else.
Imagine a book you would want to read that doesn't exist. Write the first paragraph.
Imagine having an argument with a character in your book or the author. How would you try to convince them? Write the first paragraph.
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Wear or design an outfit based on a favorite book or one you are currently reading.
Find three words, details, or references you don’t know or understand in your book. Discover what they mean.
Design a t-shirt inspired by a favorite book or one that interests you.
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Find a cool list of books: 100 books to read before graduation, top 10 funniest books, or whatever. See how many you'd like to add to your reading list.
Post an online review of your book or a book you've recently read.
Think about one of your future dreams, plans, or career options. Find a related book and add it to your reading list.
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Get together with a large group or your class and swap books!
Plan a DEAR Day (Drop Everything And Read). Clear your calendar for that day or class period to spend the time reading.
Do a book donation drive or raise money for a reading organization.
Use all six, or mix and match weekly activities based on your class goals. Click to see sample student “missions” for each week of Flight.
Activities suggested are a partial list. Click here to download the full Flight Classroom Kit.
Here’s what teachers using Flight are saying:
“My students are reading a novel for their independent book study and these resources are working out great as a tool to keep them on track and to give me topics to conference with them on."
— Kelley Black, Secondary ELA Teacher, North Carolina
“Flight engages students across reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language standards. Providing time and choice to students provides a sense of community and greater class engagement.”
— Julie Bruey, ELA Teacher, Gig Harbor, WA
Flight FAQs
Make Flight Your Own
You know your readers best. Flight is flexible—run all six weeks or drop in missions where they fit. Implement a full Flight unit or keep your current routines and use Flight components to add a little lift.
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No—Flight is an offline independent reading unit you lead in class.
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Teacher’s choice! You decide how much in-class time you want to allot to Flight and how much students should do on their own.
Suggested implementation: 20 minutes a week for full-class discussion or small group work, with independent reading and missions as homework.
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No. You can implement the full 6-week program or pick and choose.
Short on time? Try layering one or two Flight activities into your current curriculum, or condense the Flight unit into 3 or 4 weeks.
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You know best what motivates your students. Many teachers award completion points for Flight missions or use them for a participation grade.
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Zinc partners with select schools to bring books to students without access to a school or classroom library.
Reach out to partnerships@zinclearninglabs.com to see if Zinc can help.