How to Encourage a Love For Reading
Do your students have a love for reading? Do your students cheer when it’s time to read? Do they beg for 5 more minutes when you say it’s time to stop? Do they say, “YEESSSSSS!” when it’s Read Aloud time? Do they applaud when you finish a book? Our students do all of these. We are here to show you how we create this environment in our classrooms and how you can too!
Teach Through GENRE!
Have FUN… that’s the key! Reading is FUN! Make reading an event in your classroom. Host the genre’s party! Dress up! Have your students dress up! Are there decorations? Props? Get into the theme of your genre and get creative! Get your students excited about READING!
Have you ever thought of doing a Genre Study? Here is a list of genres to get you started: Science Fiction, Biography, Fantasy, Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Nonfiction and Traditional Literature!
Author Studies!
Noticing an author’s craft makes a student more engaged in reading. Students need to feel connected to the author and notice what makes them unique. Is there an author you love? Our favorite is Roald Dahl. Over the years, we have collected MANY of his books. We challenge our students to see how many of his books they can read. Then, we have students complete an Author Study lapbook activity! The best part is that this Author Study activity can be used for ANY author!
Book Clubs!
What could be more fun than reading the same book as your friends? Students love sharing the same experiences and talking about them! Book Clubs are an opportunity for students to form partnerships in reading. Students read a book together and collaborate to get a job done. There are a few options when it comes to Book Clubs. Will they pair up with just one other student and form a Reading Partnership or will they form a larger group of 4-6 and form a Book Club? We love using both throughout the year!
Grow Your Classroom Library!
Students need books to read! Yes, you probably have a school library, and you might be thinking, “The school library is good enough. I’m not spending all of my money on books!” Let’s image a classroom that has an impressive classroom library. There are nice shelves, maybe some seating, organization, and a plethora of books for students to choose from. What message does this send to students? The message is that this teacher values reading and that reading is important! We value classroom libraries so much that we have TWO blog posts on how to grow your classroom library without spending a ton of money!
Reading Challenge!
Here is our challenge to our students: “How many books can you read this year?” That’s it! It’s that simple! There are no rewards and no prizes. We love connecting students’ interests to what we are doing in the classroom.
Student Interest: Social Media. Classroom: Reading. Connection: Instagram Reading Challenge! It’s the perfect match! Students use file folders and glue in the template that they will use throughout the year. There are sections for directions, followers, posts, books to read lists, and even a graffiti wall for awesome quotes! These file folders are a working document that students will use all year long to collect their reading memories in your classroom.
