Make Reading Fun with The Reader Tracker Game

How many times have you asked your young learner if they have read their assigned readings? Sometimes that question seems to become your new greeting for your student. Instead of repeating yourself numerous times throughout the day and sometimes the entire school week, take a new approach. Just like us adults, children do not like to be "nagged" about doing a specific task but what they do like to do is have fun. So here are a few ideas to make reading fun for them while in actuality they are getting their assigned work done.

In most cases you already have the list of books that the student must read and take a test on. You can turn that long list into a Saturday afternoon craft session with a few materials. The items you will need are as follows: The Book List

An unused calendar or Large Calendar

Construction Paper (2 to 3 pieces depending on the book list)

Stickers of the student's choosing

Magic Markers or Colored Pencils

A special treat for the student (such as a candy bar, an extra hour of video game time,
a personal pizza or whatever the child is interested in that is not extravagant)

With these materials you will gather the child at a table and create a "Reader Tracker". Make sure to create a header above the calendar titled "Reader Tracker". The purpose of the Reader Tracker is to encourage the child to read while making it a game with rewards. Take the construction paper and in a row have the child write the titles of the books on it. By each book title have the young learner put a specific sticker next to it that will represent that book. With the calendar and the book list you should note when certain books or numbers of books must be read and tested on. Then you will tell the child while writing on the calendar that if these specific books can be completed on such date they will score 5 points on the Reader Tracker. Pick the date and write 5 points under it on the calendar.

After putting together the Reader Tracker ( header, calendar and book list), hang them side by side. Explain to the young learner that the objective of the Reader Tracker is to read all the books on the list by the dates written on the calendar. Also each day that a book is read the child puts the specific sticker of that book on the calendar. As the days go by and the learner is participating in the game use positive encouragement such as "Wow look at all those stickers on the Reader Tracker!" To make it more challenging for competitive learners have them set dates to have books read or for extra rewards have them write you a short summary of each reading. These skills will enable the child to understand deadlines and it works on their comprehension all while getting them to complete their readings.

Although this is only one way to make reading fun for the learner, there are numerous options to engage them. Just think about what their interests are and try to incorporate that into the learning process. Remember that reading does not have to be a task; it can be a fun one.