All right, elementary teachers: Raise your hand if you ever earned a certain 5″ diameter mini pizza from a popular pizza chain. Or collected gold stars on a button? Reading for kids can be a struggle and we all know that an innate love isn’t quite enough for some early readers.
As teachers, we are always looking for ways to incentivize students to read more. We want to celebrate them passing reading levels in elementary school. We want them to love reading!
But here’s my question: Why do we celebrate reading with other things like food and prizes? What would happen if we celebrated reading… with more reading?! Read below to find gather some ways to celebrate reading for kids – in your classroom and beyond!
Why other incentives are less effective to celebrate reading
Reading for kids: two scenarios
Scenario 1: Your teacher promises that whoever can go up 3 reading levels by Winter Break will get to have lunch with the teacher. The connection forms in your brain: me reading = special time with my teacher.
Scenario 2: Your parents tell you that you have to read 5 books a week in order to do a movie night on Friday. The connection forms in your brain: I read 5 books = I get to watch a movie.
In both of these scenarios, there is an important implication: the student needs to slog through the reading part to get to the fun part. Work first, play later. Something is not fun, but we put up with it to get to the fun part.
How to get kids to read: Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation
This type of incentivization is known as extrinsic motivation: you do A to get B. You don’t really want to do A, don’t really see the value in doing A, but you’re willing to put up with it because you get to earn B eventually.
Is this how we want our students to view reading? Something to get through; as a simple means to an end?
The opposite of extrinsic motivation is, of course, intrinsic motivation. When we are intrinsically motivated, we are doing something for the love of it – for the joy of it. We are doing it for its own sake, because we WANT to. The activity itself is a reason to do it.
I’d be hard-pressed to find a teacher who doesn’t want their students to be intrinsically motivated to read. Read more about how we can bridge the gap between extrinsic celebrations of reading (pizzas and prizes!) to more intrinsic celebrations that are equally as motivating and meaningful.
Be mindful of your language!
How we talk about reading shapes the reading mindset of our students. As you know well, teacher friend, they are listening all. the. time. If we make reading sound like a chore or something to “get through before recess,” guess what they will think?
I am very intentional about the language I use to talk about reading in our room. Our library is introduced as the most special part of our classroom. Books are to be treated with care and deserve our respect. (Yes, we give a round of applause for each book we read.) I especially love to wordsmith how I talk about Independent Reading time. It is “their precious reading time” that I promise I won’t “steal” each day. I say things like, “Don’t worry, you’ll get all your reading time” even – especially? – when I know student weren’t worried. The way that we talk about reading matters! Be strategic!
How to encourage a child to read
Celebrate with reading accessories!
OK, so this one isn’t technically celebrating reading with more reading, but it is the lowest-hanging fruit. Celebrate everything from passing reading levels to reading stamina goals with a brilliant new bookmark. Extra points if it’s printed in color and laminated!
Celebrate reading for kids with books!
Did a student move up a reading level? Did they master decoding the long vowel sounds? Gift them a book to celebrate! Hot tip: this doesn’t mean you have to buy a bunch of new books! In my classroom, I’ll often select a book from the next leveled bin. I attach a hand-written note and you should see their smiles! I will also print out a book from a site like Raz-Kids, pop a personal note on it and bing! That student feels seen and celebrated.
Celebrate with reading experiences!
Not to be all biased, but my FAVORITE way to celebrate reading for kids is with reading experiences. Here are some reading experiences for individuals – read on to find ideas for your whole class!
- WHERE: The celebrated student gets to choose where they will read for the day. Reading on the bean bag in the library is a HUGE flex for a first grader. Choosing to read under your desk? Silly and SO cool. Allow your readers to choose where they read indpendently for a day!
- WHO: The reader gets to choose who they read with for the day. Them: “Why does Charlotte get to read with Ben today?” You: “She worked really hard on her reading goal and met it! Isn’t that awesome.” Mic drop. Pro tip: Students also LOVE the opportunity to bring in a stuffed animal from home to be their reading buddy.
- WHAT: The literary star of the day gets to choose what they will read. Ok, ok, students should always have at least partial choice in what they read. I’m talking about *extra special choice.* Maybe they get to read the class’s favorite book of all time. Maybe they have temporary access to the entire bin of “Who Would Win” books (their favorite!). In my classroom, we have “special” books on a blue rack. These are usually just books we’ve done as read-alouds and that the students loved. Let me tell you: they are JAZZED when it’s their turn to choose from that coveted rack!
What are ways to celebrate reading for kids as a whole class?
Now that you have some great ideas to celebrate individual readers, how about entire class celebrations? I can’t wait to hear how these tried and true ideas ignite your young lectors!
Take a reading field trip!
Grab your book bins and take reading time on the road! My students love when we bring our reading outside to the local garden or the playground. We’ve also been known to park ourselves on staircases or even in the school gym. Simply moving where independent reading happens is a thrill for young learners!
Make reading for kids a sensory experience!
It really doesn’t take much, teacher friend. Allow students to choose the background music for independent reading. Set up some lovely twinkle lights and read by those. Igniting students’ senses can heighten their reading experience. I guarantee they will ask about when they can do it again!
Throw a reading party!
If you say it’s a party, it’s a party. Extra points if you blow up 5-10 balloons to tape around your doorway. Pass out invitations to the class’s book party! Allow students to bring books from home! If your district allows, have snacks! Bring your own book and set the party vibe!
Use reading to celebrate successes beyond reading!
Want to really encourage kids to read? Make reading the incentive for non-reading goals! When we ourselves truly believe reading is its own reward, we can sell it to our students. Making reading a celebration sends the message that it is truly valuable.
My simple star solution
My favorite way to incentivize following our class’s shared set of expectations is to mark 10 stars on the board. 10 stars = 10 minutes of reading aloud a chapter book of the students’ choice. When we make positive choices, we can earn more stars. Simlarly, we can lose stars if our choices are not so positive. At the end of the day, we read that number of minutes. Especially when you’re underway on a juicy or silly book, students will go through great effort to save every minute of read-aloud time.
Signs of success
When students start saying things like, “when do we get to read?” – success! When young readers cheer when they earn an extra minute of read-aloud time for being respectful in the hall – YES. How to encourage a kid to read? What’s the secret for reading for kids? Celebrate and honor reading in the way you speak & allocate time and resources at school.
Read more about reading for kids!
Check out these other articles to learn more about intrinsic motivation & reading for kids!
- Reading Rockets: Teacher Practices that Impact Reading Motivation
- Edutopia: Motivating Students to Read
- Ed Week: 22 Strategies for Encouraging Students’ Intrinsic Motivation to Read
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