There are many great ways to encourage your students to read. Some of them involve positive consequences, fun activities, and authors visiting schools. Others involve creating a reading chart. Some even turn it into a game, with the goal of checking off different genres or types of books each day. However, there is no single way to inspire students to read every day. Here are some ideas that have worked for me! Hope these tips are helpful!
Fun activities
In order to encourage your students to read daily, you need to find some fun activities to do. For example, students will enjoy going on a library trip and picking out books you recommend. Knowing how to select books is also helpful, so make friends with the librarian and ask for recommendations. In addition, you can use lists of award winners, children’s choice lists, and Notable Books to help your students choose the best books for their age group.
Another way to get reluctant readers to read more is to make them review new books that come into the class library. The students can then write reviews about their books and share them with their classmates. Alternatively, you can hold an ice cream party for those who read five books each day. If the students are interested, you can also use the Pizza Hut Book-It program to motivate them to read a certain genre of books.
Another fun activity to encourage students to read more is to create bookmarks based on their favorite books. You can have the children create bookmarks by drawing pictures of the characters or scenes they enjoy the most, or writing about what they learned from the book. This is a fun way to get your children excited about reading and can be a great way to encourage discussion about the book. You can even create a class competition and award the winner with the most stamps.
Other fun activities to motivate students to read more include competitions. You can set up a book competition in your school by creating a grid of genres. The students can then check off the genres they read when they finish them. For example, if they read a book in the category of a favorite sports team, they will feel compelled to read it as well. Afterwards, they will feel great about winning the game.
Positive consequences
A recent study found that children who read for pleasure performed better on tests in English, Mathematics, Science, and History. In addition, there are many health benefits to reading, as well as cognitive benefits, so it’s no surprise that reading can make a big impact. In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of reading for pleasure and explore the benefits of daily reading for students. However, before we explore these benefits, let’s first consider what reading does for our brains.
Children mimic what they see and hear, and this means that reading daily can help them develop critical thinking skills. Research shows that children exposed to books from an early age are better able to comprehend concepts and apply logic. Likewise, children who read before preschool have a higher chance of performing well in school. Studies show that children exposed to books have more connectivity between brain areas related to language and movement. That makes reading a great educational investment.
Moreover, reading widely opens students to ideas that challenge their own. Those with a Christian faith are likely to encounter challenges to their faith, so they should develop a strong critical thinking ability. Great Christian apologists, such as Dr. John Lennox, Josh McDowell, and Ravi Zacharias, are examples of this. Research shows that reading fiction develops higher EQ (emotional intelligence), which makes young people better students, future employees, and overall better people.
According to studies, children who read 20 minutes or more a day are more likely to achieve 90th percentile on standardized tests than those who read five minutes a day. Those who read five to 14 minutes a day showed the slowest gains, while students who read fifteen minutes or more exhibited the fastest growth. Students who read more than half an hour a day had the largest gains, but it’s not always possible to make students read more than ten minutes a day.
Authors visiting schools
One of the most effective ways to inspire students to read daily is by inviting authors to visit their school. Author visits not only give students a reason to read, they also provide background information and interaction with the author. As an author herself, Shore believes that reading builds vocabulary and is vital for school success. Authors often bring handouts and exercises to their presentations. Whether your child enjoys a certain genre, the opportunity to meet an author is sure to motivate them to read.
The benefits of author visits are well-known. It is not uncommon for authors to visit schools to share their expertise and enthusiasm for literacy. School visits can also help students connect with authors by providing a venue for young readers to share their writing. Many publishers can arrange author visits and Skype sessions with school children. The best part is, these visits can be sponsored by local libraries or school districts. In addition, young author conferences provide a chance for young readers to share their work with their peers. These events are a great way to engage parents and other stakeholders in celebrating literacy.
In addition to authors visiting schools, another effective method of motivating students to read daily is by hosting local authors. They can visit classrooms to talk about their favorite books and give a presentation about their lives. Such visits can be very valuable for developing a love of books and reading. As an added benefit, the author can interact with students and discuss literary devices. By visiting schools, authors can help students develop a passion for reading and writing.
Book clubs
One of the best ways to encourage students to read more is to set up a book club. A book club is a small group of students who meet to discuss a book that each student has chosen. Rather than having a large table between the students, the book club members sit on a rug or circle of chairs. A facilitator guides the discussion and encourages students to read and understand the craft of writing. The facilitator forms the book clubs and sets a schedule for the meetings.
When students have the opportunity to choose a book, they feel more invested in the task. This boosts their motivation and fosters grit. They may work harder to understand the book if they were able to choose it themselves. They may even feel that they have a responsibility to complete the reading task. In addition, students benefit from having an audience other than their teacher. In addition to providing accountability for their reading habits, book clubs also allow students to share their opinions and find common ground with their peers.
To facilitate the book club, the teacher should provide a full library of books. The students should have the ability to post their thoughts and questions on the book. Teachers can even embed text-to-speech options into the website to ensure that all students can access the text and participate in discussions. When the discussion is complete, the students can then rate the book. This will allow them to determine how many chapters they read each week.
After setting up the book club, the children can start meeting and discuss the book. During this time, they can practice their conversation skills by leading the discussions themselves. By involving them in the discussions, kids can learn how to lead discussions on their own and will grow into confident leaders. You can even use crafts related to the books to create meaningful book club projects. Some kids even make bookmarks with their favorite quotes.
Technology
Whether your child is a reluctant reader or a voracious reader, there are several ways to use technology to motivate them to read everyday. Peer-to-peer book recommendations and gamification can make reading a daily ritual. Bookopolis is a social reading community where students can share recommendations and write reviews of books they’ve enjoyed. Students can also earn Wisdom Coins for reading and respond to messages sent by friends.
A great reading tool is a website that lets students choose their own reading level. There are five levels, so students can find something that suits their level and feel included. Students are required to read one nonfiction article per week, then write a blog post about their three biggest takeaways. They then need to link to two more reliable sources for further research. While this may seem daunting for a struggling reader, it’s not impossible to make reading a pleasure.
Another way to encourage reading in students is to create a culture where they can interact with other students. Some companies hold “genius hours,” where employees can work on any project they choose. The same applies to students. Many students need interaction with others around texts in order to gain the most understanding of the material they’re reading. By creating an environment in which students can interact with their peers while they read, reading becomes much more enjoyable for them.
Incorporating gamification into reading lessons is one of the best ways to motivate students to read daily. Gamification can also help students learn by making their comprehension work more interesting. Then, students can create products that mimic the world outside of the classroom. In this way, they are motivated to read because they know that someone will view their work and judge their skills. It’s easy to see how this can increase the chance for success in reading.