How to Help Students Develop a Love of Reading | MindShift | KQED News. Even though Laura Baumert’s son Andrew can choose whatever book he likes for the 20-minutes daily sustained silent reading program at his middle school, he still finds reading a chore. Over the years, the sixth grader from Washington, Michigan, has been on the receiving end of various incentives to gently nudge him into doing more reading: his elementary school used reading logs and rewards for time spent reading, and at home he is allowed to stay up 30 minutes past his bedtime if he reads an actual book.
But so far nothing has done the trick, and Andrew rarely reads of his own volition. Baumert doesn’t really know why her second son doesn’t like reading but keeps on trying anyway, finding places to fit it in between his other interests, which include typical middle school boy stuff: lacrosse, basketball, riding his bike, and playing video games. Schools have traditionally taught children how to read, and have always tried to encourage reading. Parents often want to do the same at home. 10 Innovative Learning Stations That Get Students Reading. Whenever I would introduce a new novel to my students, I always got the same reaction: Students moaned and groaned about the storyline, expressed their lack of interest in the author’s writing style, and proclaimed their everlasting boredom with the class as a whole.
In order to avoid student complaints, I decided to implement book clubs in my classroom—students now have the opportunity to work in groups and choose what book they as a group want to read for a given unit. In order to make this work, there are a few things you should do. Have the students work together in groups of three or four, and offer the groups their choice of books—you should select options that ensure that students are still following Common Core standards. Next, have each group create a reading schedule. In my classroom, I use the station rotation model of blended learning. I set up five or six stations around my classroom. 10 Ideas for Engaging Learning Stations What are your suggestions?