Do your students have a love for reading? Reading is the most important component of learning. Do your students cheer when it’s independent reading time? 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!

Foster a Love for Reading by Taking Pride in 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 us explain why this statement is NOT fostering a love for reading. 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!

Now, how do teachers get a ton of books without spending a ton of money? Here’s how we started our libraries: Scholastic Book Clubs, yard sales, thrift stores, and asking our administrators. Our FAVORITE way is… OUR STUDENTS! We ask our students to donate their already read books from home and to donate a book to our library on their birthday! You will be amazed at what they bring in! Make it a big deal! We have a slip that students glue inside the front cover: Donated by: _______ and we let them sign their name. They love this! We have an entire blog post on this! Click HERE to check it out and for an amazing FREEBIE! You will be amazed at how quickly your library will grow over the years!

Foster a Love for Reading by Geeking Out Over Books!

Here’s what we want you to think about: When you bring out your read aloud book for the first time, what do you do? Do you do a picture walk or a prediction? Probably. Most of us do. This is not the most important part. The most important part is your reaction to the book! Pull out the book and hug it! Make your smile so big that students can see the joy it brings to you! Start talking quickly! Kick those facial expressions into overdrive! GEEK OUT! Your passion for reading is contagious!

Foster a Love for Reading by Teaching Genre!

Ahhhh! This is our passion right here! It’s killing me that I have to only write one paragraph about it, but I can definitely see a future blog post in the future on just this strategy! Okay, here goes a shortened version. Teach through genre! IT’S 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! Is there a snack that would fit your theme? Are there decorations? Get into the theme of your genre and get creative! Get your students excited about READING!

Foster a Love for Reading by Valuing Reading Time

How much time do you give your students to read? How often? A day in the life of a teacher is hectic! There are so many events that can throw off our daily routine. Picture Day, assemblies, field trips, etc… A lot of the time, if time is running out, independent reading is the first thing that teachers eliminate. We need to be careful about this. What message is this sending to our students? Is the message that reading isn’t the most important? (psst… because it is!) Independent Reading SHOULD be the most important part of your students’ day. Throw out all of the other stuff! Show your students that you value reading time by letting them read EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Foster a Love for Reading by Reading With Your Students

Reading with your students is KEY! They need to know that you care about the books they are reading and their comprehension of the text. We all read with our students with our read aloud books, but we also need to be reading with them with their independent reading books. Reading Conferences are a great way to make this happen. We have a blog post all about it! Click HERE! Another way to “read with your students” is reading your own book! Do you have a book that students can see that you are reading yourself? You should! Students need to see that reading doesn’t stop when you become an adult. Take 10 minutes a day and read in front of your students while they are reading! (Added bonus: It’s like a mini vacation for you in the middle of your busy day!)

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Now that we have shared our Top 5 Ways to Encourage a Love for Reading, we would LOVE to hear from YOU!

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