About SSYRA

The Sunshine State Young Reader's Award Program is a statewide reading motivation program for students in grades 3-8. The program, cosponsored by the School Library Media Services Office of the Department of Education and the Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME), began in 1983. The purpose of the SSYRA Program is to encourage students to read independently for personal satisfaction, based on interest rather than reading level.

Sunshine State books are selected for their wide appeal, literary value, varied genres, curriculum connections, and/or multicultural representation. Students are encouraged to read books that are above, on, and below their tested reading level in order to improve their reading fluency.

All schools are sent a school participation form in August and registration, activities, and voting are available online for participating schools.

Program Participation

The Sunshine State Young Reader's Award Program (SSYRA) is coordinated by library media specialists in schools participating in the program.

Promotional Ideas [pdf, 6 pages, 48K]

This reading motivation program was designed to entice students to read high interest, contemporary literature for personal enjoyment. The long term goal of the program is to nurture lifelong readers who will continue to read for information needs and personal pleasure; therefore, students do not have to complete an assignment or a test in order to prove that they have read the book.

Also please be reminded that students can either read a minimum of three books or hear them read in order to be eligible to vote.

In summary, student voting statistics illustrate the consistent library media support of school reading programs and the statewide reading initiative, Just Read, Florida! These statistics also provide quantitative proof of the excellent reading promotion activities of our library media programs!