10 Ways to Encourage Students to Read Independently

Encouraging students to read independently is one of the most important things that we can do to help our students become better readers. Kids who enjoy reading read more and build their vocabulary and comprehension strategies at a faster rate. In addition, books increase the background knowledge students have and help them better relate to other books, as well as topics covered in science and social studies. Independent reading is important during the school year, but also during school breaks and over the  summer.  Here are some suggestions on how to encourage independent reading that could be used during the summer months or at any other time during the school year:

1.) Connect with an extrinsic reward program. While it is extremely important to make reading intrinsically rewarding, sometimes we need a bit of a carrot to get our reluctant readers to pick up the first book. There are lots of reward programs already out there through libraries and private companies that let students read a certain amount of time in order to win a prize. Often I find that once students start reading to accumulate their hours, they get “hooked” into a book or series and read much more than the designated amount of time, because they have found some intrinsic reward as well!  Some reading reward programs to check out are: Six Flags Read to Succeed, Pizza Hut’s Book It Program,  Scholastic Summer Reading Program and Barnes and Noble’s Imagination’s Destination.

2.) Suggest alternatives to novels and picture books. Some students don’t get into what we think of as traditional reading material, but at the end of the day, reading is reading and all types of reading can help students become better readers. Try suggesting alternative reading sources to help hook your reluctant readers and to push your avid readers out of their boxes. Some possibilities for alternative reading sources would be: comic books, non-fiction books, reference books, blogs, websites, brochures, newspapers, etc.

3.) Encourage travel reading. This suggestion is especially pertinent during summer and school holidays, as many students travel or go to local attractions. However, travel reading can be fun all year long if you bring it into the classroom. Students can learn a lot from travel brochures, travel blogs, destination websites, and pamphlets picked up at different destinations. My children love to pick up brochures from hotels and rest stops. If your students won’t regularly have access to these types of materials, consider picking some up on your next trip and keeping them in your class library. If you want to encourage some cross curriculum learning, you might want to consider combining this reading with my Planning a Field Trip Math Project as well!

4.) Give students to respond to books they read in fun ways. Kids love watching movies based on books, why not give them the opportunity to create a movie, or a movie trailer, or some other fun projects based off of a book they read. This can be a fun “reward” when they finish a book from a suggested list, which might encourage them to read books they wouldn’t have found on their own or simply a way of responding to any book chosen independently. For specific suggestions on possible book projects, check out my Online Book Report format which is a free download at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

5.) Host a book club through Edmodo or Google Docs.  Adults participate in book clubs all the time, why can’t kids? Hosting book clubs in class is great, but if you choose to do book clubs online, you can include students from other classes, other schools, even other countries. Book clubs can be done rather simply using either Edmodo or Google Docs. Simply discussion questions and guidelines and let the kids go at it. Kids can read books in pieces or be asked to read the entire book by a certain date. Students can all “meet” online or go online at their convenience. There are so many possible ways to work online book clubs, but no matter how they are run, they provide students with a great way to interact with others about books they have read and encourage students to read new, interesting books.

6.) Create a Selfie Book Pic Project. We all know that kids like taking selfies, how about asking students to take a selfie of themselves reading books in different places? This would work really well for school holidays or summer break, but could be done as weekend or even evening homework. Ask kids - Where do you read at home? In your bedroom? In a tree house? At your sibling’s soccer practice? Collect all of the selfies into a bulletin board or ask students to create a photo album of themselves reading.  For suggestions on how to create online photo albums, check out this old blog post called: Using Photobucket In the Classroom.

7.) Provide author or book suggestions. Some students think all books are boring. One great way to prove them wrong is to provide them with book or author suggestions that will intrigue them. Find out their interests and suggest books that appeal specifically to them. My 7 year old is obsessed with gross out humor. His favorite books are Captain Underpants and Weird, but True. Just because kids don’t like the books you like doesn’t mean there’s not a great type of book out there for them!

8.) Read a Preview Chapter.  Use read aloud to get kids interested in new, interesting books by previewing books with them. Choose a variety of books. Each day over the course of a week or two, introduce a book to your students. Talk about why the book is interesting and then read them a chapter or a few pages, just enough to get them hooked. Think of it as a movie trailer, give them just enough to get them interested in reading it on their own. Then leave those books in your classroom library, or give them a list to possibly check out from the school or public library.

9.) Start students on a book blog. Whether you have students each create their own book blog, or you create a collaborative class book blog, this could be a great way to keep track of what they have read and encourage others to read books they have enjoyed. Students don’t need to write long blog posts – a quick critique would do the job, although more advanced readers may be asked to do a summary. They could include a picture of the book – or even one of those selfies! – and a link to where other people could find more information about the book. Not only will students enjoy sharing the news about what they read with the world, they can get ideas about new books to read by looking at their classmates’ blog posts.

10.) Create a Genre Challenge. Students often get stuck in one genre and forget there are plenty of different kinds of books out there. Get kids out of their box by challenging them to read at least 3 books from a new genre. Encourage students to read science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, historical fiction, narrative, poetry, etc. Perhaps students will find out that there is a whole world of books out there that they never thought to read before!






I hope that some of these suggestions will help you encourage your class to read more and read independently. A teacher’s main job is to inspire the love of learning and reading is learning. If you have another great idea for us, please feel free to share in the comments, as we build a community of learners right here at Raki’s Rad Resources.






For more posts about reading check out:
Top 10 Reading Websites for Kids
Book Reviews for Kids
Online Books for Kids






Top 10 Authors to Have in Your Classroom

Websites & Apps for to Stop the Summer Brain Drain

Recently, a parent asked me how she could use technology to help her children do something educational while they are traveling this summer.  Here are some of what I suggested to her (and my other parents) as ways to use technology to keep kids’ minds active this summer:

1.  Read Online Books:  There are so many books and stories available on the internet nowadays.  I listed 6 possible places to get good books in this blog post not too long ago, but there is also the Kindle reading app, which can be downloaded to most any device and filled with good books that can be read offline.

2.  Play Math & Logic Games:  My favorite place for logic games is Cool Math, but there are so many puzzle apps and math games out there, that you shouldn’t have a hard time finding games that meet your kids’ needs and let them have fun with math.  For a jumping off point, check out my Top 10 Math Websites blog post.

3.  Watch Educational Videos:  Kids all have topics that interest them.  Pick something that kids like (baseball, dance, cats, video games etc.) and find documentaries or other educational videos like Magic School Bus Episodes around these topics.  Great starting places for documentaries include National Geographic, the History Channel, PBS, BBC and the Discovery Channel.

4.  Blog About Places They Visit:  No matter if you are traveling the country or going on a walk around the park, kids can keep summer journals by simply blogging about the things they do and places they visit.  For some information about how I’ve done blogging with students check out my Student Blogging blog post.

5.  Create Stories:  Kids love to make up stories and technology gives them so many ways to put those stories together – Storybird, Puppet Pals, and Powtoon are three of my favorites.  You can also check out my Top 10 Writing Websites blog post for more suggestions.

6.  Find Answers to their Own Questions:  Children always have questions of their own.  Summer is a great time to let them practice using search engines while finding the answers to their own questions.  Children can use Kid-Friendly search engines like Fact Monster, online Encyclopedias like Britanica, use a basic Google search or even use YouTube’s search feature to find videos that will answer their questions.

7.  Practice Math Facts:  Keeping up with math facts is one of the easiest things that kids can do over the summer.  Websites like Mathmagician and apps like Flash to Pass help students to practice the facts, whether they are working on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

8.  Watch “How to” Videos to Learn a New Skill:  Students can learn so much from videos, and they often want to know how to do something, so why not let them watch how to videos to learn how to do something that interests them – to make boondagle keychains, to bake a cake, to build a wooden car, to braid hair, to play a video game etc.

9.  Create a Detailed Map of Places Visited:  If you are traveling, you can use Google Maps – or even a map background in Powtoon – to create a detailed map of the places you have visited.  Kids can add pictures and information about the places they have visited.  Check out my blog post about Summer Google Maps to see how I have done this with my own children.

10.  Create a Time Lapse Video of Your Summer with One Picture a Day: Have kids take a picture every day with one thing that stays the same in each picture – perhaps placing a teddy bear or book into a new place or position each day.  Then, kids can put the pictures together into a time lapse video using the app iMotion HD on the iPad or Stop Motions Animator for the PC.

11.  Create Your Own “High Tech/ Low Tech” Game:  Combine high tech and low tech by having kids use one of the simpler capabilities of their device – the timer, the calculator, the compass, the camera – to create a new game where they make up the rules.

12.  Geocaching:  Geocaching is a real life treasure hunt where you find the GPS address and clues online.  They can be done with the aid of a smart phone or table that has 3G, or even with the GPS device you use in your car.  Find more details in my Geocaching blog post.

13.  Be a Critique:  During the summer, children “consume” more movies, songs, games, events and books than during any other time of the year.  Give students a chance to critique what they consume.  Let them write up a review and post it on Amazon, Good Reads or Trip Advisor.  Check out this blog post on writing book reviews for more ideas.

14. Download an Instrument App and Create Your Own Songs:  There are lots of great apps out there that let you “play” instruments – like the Free Drum Set app for the iPad or the Virtual Keyboard for the PC.  Children can create their own songs and even choreograph dances to go along with them.

15. Math and Science Simulations:  There are tons of Math and Science simulations on the internet.  Even if students haven’t learned these topics, playing with simulations can help students build background knowledge that will help prepare them for future lessons, or help them connect between different topics.  PHET is a great starting point for finding simulations.

 

What do you suggest that students do with technology over the summer?

Tracking Summer Reading

Ask any teacher, and they will tell you that the best thing a child can do over the summer is to read, read, read.  Students who read over the summer not only practice all of the good decoding and comprehension strategies they have learned all school year long, they also build their vocabularies and background knowledge. 

I always remind my students of the “portability” of books during the last few weeks of school.  Books can be read on the beach, in the forest, in a tent, in a resort, in the car on the way to summer camp, on an airplane or train, or anywhere else they are going during summer vacation.  I encourage my students to explore all these places during the summer with our summer internet scavenger hunt which you can find explained HERE. Also, if students for some reason can’t bring books with them, I give them this list of online books that they can read anywhere that they have internet.

 This year, I am also going to recommend the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge.  Scholastic has a wonderful site set up where students can log the number of minutes that they read each day from May 5th – September 5th.  There is a weekly goal for them to build up to and badges to download if they have met that goal.  There are also extra challenges to allow them to download free chapters from books and enter sweepstakes to win free books.  For parents, Scholastic provides suggested book lists for different age ranges.  Overall, the entire site for the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge is easy to use and provides a good motivation to keep kids reading all summer.

In addition to charting their reading, I also provide my students with an Online Book Report project that they create using their favorite book from their summer reading.  This project gives students the freedom to pick books they like and present information about it in lots of different wasy.  Last year, I had one student create an iMovie trailer for his book report while another created a Prezi with all the important information about the book.

How do you encourage your students to read over the summer?