Motivating Readers!

Hey y'all! Today I'm talking all about getting my students motivated to READ! Over the years I've done several different things in several different ways. I've given out *no-cost* rewards as shown in a way-back post from August of 2011! I've done treasure chest, stickers, class celebrations, and who knows what else.
BUT, one thing I've learned over the years is that I don't always need to make things difficult. I don't always need to pass something out. Sometimes, kids just need to set a goal and reach it... so that's where our 2nd Grade Book Clubs Bulletin Board came into play. At the end of the year we give awards out for students who have joined a Book Club. All they have to do is read three books in the series and take (and pass) an AR test over those three books. Once they've done that, they're in the club! Keeping up with those clubs can be quite challenging, so I wanted to make a visual display that holds my students (and all 2nd graders for that matter) responsible for keeping up with their own Book Clubs.
Once a student has joined a Book Club (read three books in the series shown on the board AND taken/passed three AR quizzes over those same books), they will sign their names on the Book Club paper! Super simple, easy to keep up with, and zero teacher energy lost while trying to keep track. Our entire grade level will use this board to keep track of their book clubs.

I think that just walking passed our BB everyday, let alone seeing their friends SIGN the board, will help keep them motivated! I mean, who doesn't want to have their name big and bold for the whole school to see?!
To make this board I just used Kimberly Geswein's font: KG A Little Swag. I typed up the Book Clubs we needed and found a picture to represent that series. If I could share these without breaking copyright, I totally would, but I can't... so sorry! Then, I glued my labels to the top of a black piece of cardstock, laminated, and stapled folded copy paper on top so we have plenty of room for our kids to sign! I will be able to use these year after year because I can just remove the white paper and start over! I found those characters in my cabinets that I had made several years back and added those for a little decor... not so cute, but it'll do!

And then there's those times when kids need to have a reward because they worked really hard (during their summer vacation)... and you remember how precious and sweet they were for you all year long... and you miss them... and because they've grown a foot since you saw them last... and you're thinking "will my new class ever be as independent and helpful as y'all??!!"
At the end of last year my students set goals to read 400 minutes over the summer. Our school participated in the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge. You can read more about that HERE. I promised my kiddos that a reward would be waiting for them if they completed the challenge. Out of 40 students, I would say that about 1/4 of them accepted and killed it! I randomly purchased little goodies throughout the summer when I would see a decent deal. So, they ended up getting sunglasses, wikki sticks, a pencil, and slap bracelet. I've had so much fun handing these out over the past week! And I get to see my students from last year, so that is an added bonus!

And then there are those kids that went even a step further and actually did homework over their summer vacation. I chose to ignore the parents that told me it was pretty much pulling teeth and nails getting them to work and imagined my sweet not-so-little-amymore NOW 3rd graders sitting down at their kitchen table with a perfectly sharpened pencil completing their little booklets as soon as they woke up from a wonderful night's sleep :)

And because those precious little babies willingly accepted my summer challenge, I had these little prizes for them. They got shutter shades, superhero bracelets, and stickers.

Another one of my favorite reading motivators is The Teacher Wife's book chain! You can check that out HERE! My kids LOVE LOVE LOVE it every year!

How do you motivate readers in your classroom? I'd love to hear in the comment section below!