Motivating students to read!

After reading several other teacher blogs about how to motivate students to read {and snagged some great ideas}, I decided to share {again} my own little trick! :)

I previously wrote about this trick of mine when I first started blogging.  It is the most simple kind of trick.... "magic reading glasses!"  I purchased some reading glasses at the dollar store {you can also get packs of 2 for cheap at Micheal's} and popped the lenses out of them.  I tried them with my first grade class this year and they went bananas over them!  I also knew that this class loved anything that allowed them to 'dress up!' So my real test on these fun little "magic reading glasses" came this past week.  I was hired for the Summer Reading Academy program that is held in my district yearly to allow for intense instruction with struggling first and third grade readers.  This is my first year in the summer program so I spent the first half of this week figuring out what's going to work and "mesh" well with my kids.  I was placed this year at a Title 1 school where I am teaching nine boys.  These boys not only are struggling with reading but so many other life challenges.  These boys weren't interested in my puppets or silly games that I tried initially to excite them about reading and/or working with words, however, when I brought out the "magic reading glasses" they were SOLD!  They now beg me at least 30 times a day if they can wear them!  

With their embrace and excitement I decided to try it with the 'big, bad, third graders!'  I stopped by one of the third grade classes and my class and I showed them how the glasses worked and how much we love them...... SOLD!!!  The big kids could not be more excited to read with them on either!

I love that something so small and somewhat of a silly ideal can be so effective! These sweet little boys don't know it, but at the end of our intense 20 days together, they're going to get to take their magic reading glasses home!  My hope is that they will continue to be wrapped up in reading when they go home with them.

Now onto my first summer read: "Math Work Stations" by Debbie Diller!!!  My book just arrived in the mail!  I've got a lot of reading to do to catch up with the rest of you wonderful teachers! :)