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| Speed Retelling (So Fun!) |
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| Reading to the Class (They Loved It!) |
After a couple of unsuccessful years with homework reading logs, I decided to retire that strategy. At the time, my homework reading logs required students to read each night, record the title and author of the text, and identify the genre. Returning a completed reading log at the end of each week would earn a student one-five star stickers. At the end of the month, 15-20 stars would equal a prize from the reading treasure box (Yes, I had a reading and a math treasure box!) This all sounded great, but the reality of it was that my students were NOT reading at home. How did I know? For starters, my below level readers wrote down book titles that were well above their reading levels. In addition, when I randomly asked about particular texts, they had no idea what I was talking about.
In order to make reading at home more meaningful for my students, I implemented 3 really fun activities!
1. Speed Retelling (Yes, it's like the speed dating game.)
2. Reading to the Class
3. Books and Breakfast
Speed Retelling: This activity occurred three days a week in the morning. All students were required to participate. No excuses. Each student was given a card with either a "1" or a "2" on it. I set a timer for five minutes and the "ones" retold the books they read at home. After five minutes, the timer was set for another five minutes and the "twos" retold the books they read at home. Students were asked to bring their books during Speed Retelling so that they could share pictures and etc. Two - three rounds were possible, but my students definitely wanted more. This activity was successful because as I walked around the room, I could tell that my students were reading and very happy to share!
Reading to the Class: I had no idea that my students watched me so closely during my read aloud time. However, I was made well aware of that when I implemented the Read to the Class activity. I took a fish bowl and labeled it "Read to the Class." Students who read a really cool book, article, newspaper, or etc. at home could write down their name and the title of what they read and place it in the fish bowl. Every Wednesday, I drew a name from the fishbowl. The lucky student would read the selected title to the class on Friday. In addition, the reader would get a certificate and a bag of goodies for reading to the class. It was an amazing strategy that exceeded my expectations in terms of motivating my kiddos to read at home!
Books and Breakfast: My students absolutely loved this activity.
Books and Breakfast started out as a one-day a week activity, but as the interest grew, I had to add more days. By the end of the school year, I had students signed-up for every day. This is a very simple activity. Students brought their breakfast to my class in the mornings and we would have breakfast while discussing the books/texts they read at home. They were required to bring their texts with them to
Books and Breakfast. The most amazing thing about this activity was that some students started trading books to read because they were interested in the books that their classmates had read. It was really cool to see that and know that they made those decisions on their own. Please enjoy the attached
Books and Breakfast sign-up sheet that I have attached!
Books and Breakfast Form
If you're looking for reading-log alternatives, these activities work great! If you try any of these, I'd love to hear about it!
