3 Ways to Motivate Students to Read

There are several ways to motivate students to read, and all of them are much easier than you may think. Even if reading isn’t their strong suit, our students don’t have to be left behind or made to feel like they can never be good at it. Here are a few reasons why reading is important and how to encourage your students to master it.

Top Benefits of Students Learning How to Read

It’s a given that reading is the foundation of all we do in life. From driving a vehicle to holding a job, reading is an integral part of communication and understanding. Even more so, reading:

• exercises the brain.
• improves concentration.
• improves vocabulary and language skills.
• develops a child’s imagination.
• teaches children about the world around them.

These reasons alone are enough to motivate students to read, as well as encourage teachers to spend quality time fostering the skills needed for students to succeed.

3 Ways to Motivate Students to Read

If you are looking for a few innovative ways to help students get excited about reading, I have you covered. These can be implemented immediately, and take little to no prep at all.

Read together as a class.

Sometimes students are not motivated to read because they either cannot read up to their grade level or they simply do not understand what they are reading. In this case, when you read together as a class – either with you leading the reading time or choosing student volunteers – the story can be discussed along the way. You can also take the opportunity to expand on any vocabulary words that may be difficult to comprehend.

Set up a book club.

This can be done in your classroom and be carried over into your student’s homes. Choose a book that everyone can read, read some in class, and assign some to be read outside of class. Set aside time for group discussions about the book and consider adding some hands-on activities. Cereal box book reports and lapbooking projects are a couple of ideas to help motivate students to read.

Host a reading challenge.

Even though this idea has the word challenge in it, it’s meant to be fun, encouraging, and motivational. Reading challenges can have a number of activities, such as reading a certain genre of book or reading in a particular location. The overall idea is to give students a unique approach and perspective to reading all while allowing them to be creative. I created a Kid’s Reading Challenge to help motivate students to read. It comes with a challenge card and bookmarks, all in a colorful and attractive layout. Grab your free reading challenge below!

GRAB YOUR FREE KID’S READING CHALLENGE HERE!

Final Thoughts

Reading is fundamental, but it’s also fun. The ideas mentioned above can help students develop of love for learning and develop good skills along the way. Although exposure to this language can take many forms (classroom posters, frequent trips to the school library, and more), thinking outside the box can do so much more. Here’s to helping motivate, inspire, and encourage students to read, and read well!