Incentivizing Reading

Like any teacher or librarian, I want kids to read for the same reasons that adults read - to grow as people and to have fulfilling reading experiences. Sometimes kids read for those reasons, but a lot of times they don't. In school, kids read for assignments, to take reading tests, or to complete readings assigned by the teachers. This is reading not of their choosing. Often they consider reading a chore that they would rather not do. So how do we get them in the habit of reading? How do we convince them that reading can be fun? How do we show them that reading is fulfilling if they find the right books to read?

One way that we help kids develop the habit of reading is to incentivize reading. Now, we do this because we want to hook kids into reading and, after kids find the books they love, let them read and read and read. So often, kids will not even give reading a shot unless we can somehow hook them. Our incentives often provide that hook. A student may not want to read just to read or complete an assignment, but if there is an incentive or a competition, they often will give it a try.

We have developed a fun incentive program here in the Lely Elementary Media Center in order to encourage more kids to reach their reading goals. First, I got a huge reading trophy that will travel from quarter to quarter to the class that has the most kids reach their reading goals. This quarter, it went to Mrs. Knudsen's class. In addition to keeping the trophy for the quarter, they also received a banner proclaiming them Reading Champions that they will keep forever in the classroom.

Mrs. Knudsen's kids had no idea that they were the reading champions. Principal Tammy Brown and I unlocked their classroom door one morning and were greeted by a stunned group of faces. Mrs. Brown held the trophy high in the air and announced that they were the Quarter 1 Reading Champions. I unfurled their banner to show them. Then, we took a few pictures to commemorate the moment and made the appropriate school announcement. While this class is proud of what they have accomplished, other classes are now vowing to take that trophy away. I think we have started a fun little competition.

We have also incentivized reading individually. Any student who has reached their reading goals is brought to the media center to spin our big wheel. When they spin the wheel, they land on a space that tells them how many prize box items they can pick. Everyone wants to spin the wheel!

While we know that we want kids to read for pleasure and fulfillment, sometimes we have to incentivize them to develop the habit. That's what we're doing here and it seems to be working. Circulation is way up in the media center, kids are reading more, and they are feeling better about their reading. They are seeing reading more and more as something they want to do. Some are doing it only for the incentives, but more of them are figuring out that they really like reading, especially when they find the books they love.