Eight months.
One certificate
at a time.
How it works
Wacky Reader runs from September through April in participating elementary classrooms. Here is exactly what happens, who does what, and what it asks of a teacher.
The program in one paragraph
Read. Achieve. Celebrate.
Teachers establish reading goals appropriate for their own students. As students achieve those goals, teachers award Wacky Reader certificates. Each certificate doubles as a coupon redeemable at participating SONIC Drive-Ins for one free Wacky Pack Kids Meal.
Who
Grades PreK-6
Elementary students. Schools don’t need to serve every grade in that range — the program works within whatever grades you have.
When
September–April
An eight-month school-year program. Materials arrive before September so teachers can introduce it in the first weeks.
Where
Your classroom
Run entirely inside participating classrooms and school libraries. Nothing happens off campus except redemption.
How
Teacher’s call
You define the goal. Pages, minutes, chapters, books — whatever is right for the age, ability and needs of your students.
What the year looks like
Program calendar
Kits are produced and shipped
Once your school list and classroom count are confirmed, materials are printed and shipped to arrive before the school year starts.
Late summer
Wacky Reader begins
Teachers introduce the program to students and send the parent handout home. The progress poster goes on the wall.
September
Read. Achieve. Celebrate.
Each month, students work toward the classroom goal. Teachers award certificates and mark the tracker as students hit their targets.
September–April
The program concludes
The eight-month program wraps at the end of April. Select classrooms earn an end-of-year Wacky Pack Party.
April
Through august 31, 2027
Certificates stay redeemable
Students who earn a certificate late in the year still have plenty of time to redeem it over the summer.
The program was deliberately designed so the school’s only job is the part it already does well: teaching kids to read.
THE KEY PARTNERS
Who does what
The teacher
Sets a monthly reading goal. Tracks progress on the included poster. Awards certificates when students reach the goal. Sends the parent handout home once.
The school
Confirms participation, provides a shipping address and a classroom count, and receives the kits. Nothing further is required.
Umstattd Sonic Group
Funds and coordinates the entire program — production, printing, shipping and redemption at participating SONIC locations.
The student
Reads. Then walks into SONIC with a certificate they earned themselves.
What counts as a reading goal?
Setting a goal
Anything you can measure and your students can understand. The flexibility is intentional — a pre-k goal and a sixth-grade goal should not be the same.
minutes
20 minutes of reading a night, four nights a week.
Pages
100 pages this month, tracked on a reading log.
Chapters
Finish four chapters of your chapter book.
Books
Read two books — or be read to, for the youngest grades.
Skill-based
Master this month’s sight word list or fluency target.
Your own
Whatever already works in your classroom. Use it.
Tell us your school, your contact and how many classrooms you have. We handle the materials, the printing and the shipping — at no cost to you.
Bring Wacky Reader
to your classrooms
Ready when you are