My Story of Becoming a Reader:

I'm just going to lay this out there.. I HATED reading as a child and young adult.. I saw zero need for it and would have rather played hours worth of basketball than to touch a book for fun. The good news is that I eventually did find a love for reading but it took a long time. It was hard for me to determine what books interested me and it took a long time to find my purpose for reading. Luckily, I don't give up easily because if I had, I still wouldn't enjoy reading. But what about those kids who never have an adult in their lives that urge them to keep searching for that one book that will change reading forever? I look at my husband as an example of this.  He hasn't read a book since college and has never read a book for the sheer enjoyment of it. When I think about it, my heart honestly hurts for him because everyone deserves to love reading. 

When other people find out that I was a reluctant reader and sometimes still am, they ask me- what changed? Did you force yourself to like reading? Was there a specific book or teacher that changed how you felt about reading? The truth is, there were two people and a specific book series that changed my reading habits.. But it still didn't happen right away. So here it is.. the story of me becoming a reader. 

When I was in grade school, the first 3 Harry Potter books were released fairly close together and my grandpa thought they would make a great Christmas gift along with one of those razor scooters.. you know the ones, right? Well to no one's surprise, I loved the scooter and the books sat on a shelf for who knows how long. One day, my mom started reading the first book. I'm not sure she even put it down to use the bathroom, let alone to do anything else. I thought she was insane but to each their own.. She immediately read the next two books in the series. When she was done, she told me that I should really give them a chance. I honestly think she must have bribed me in the end to read the first one because I have no recollection of what made me pick up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and start reading it. Needless to say, I couldn't put it down and just like my mom, immediately read the next to. I think we had withdrawals waiting for the 4th book to be released. 

When the day finally came, my grandpa took my mom and I to Barnes and Noble at midnight to the release party they were having. I still remember the excitement in the atmosphere. If I wasn't sold already, it was hook line and sinker after that. Grandpa continued to buy me each book as they were released and take me and a friend to the movies when they started being produced. When it came time for the final book to be released, my grandpa was terminally ill with cancer. He passed away on July 16, 2005; 5 days before the final book was to be released. Bless his hear though because he made sure my mom had pre-ordered the book because he was determined to finish the series for me. Talk about a rough time- I lost my grandpa and finished the one series of books I ever enjoyed. It took quite awhile to recover from that. These books clearly hold a sentimental value to me but they also taught me that I could find books that I wanted to read for pure enjoyment. 

Not every student will have a story like this nor can we provide them with one  but there are some ways that we as teachers can help foster a love for reading in our students. 

10 Ways to Cultivate a Love of Reading in Your Students

  1. Don't put a level on their books during independent reading time. When have you ever checked the level of a book, article, poem or website before you read it? Ya, me either.. Is there a time and place for students to read at their level? Absolutely.. Do we want students reading books that are at their frustration level? Absolutely not.. But it's our jobs to teach them find good fit books. Nothing kills the love of reading more than to make a student read books that are only at their “level.”
  2. Read to them. No matter their age, students love to be read to. This is also a great way to introduce them to new books, genres, author or series that they may have never thought about reading. 
  3. Let them see you read for enjoyment. Practice what you preach… If you want students to read for fun, they need to see you read for fun. Don't be afraid to talk about the books, articles or texts you are reading. Show them that you have a purpose for reading everything even if it is just for fun. 
  4. Don't have them fill out worksheets when reading for fun. Teachers want accountability and to make sure students are actually reading; I get it. I do! Trust that they are reading and give them opportunities to discuss their reading with peers or to show their knowledge of the book through hands on activities. Once again, do you fill out accountability sheets while you read? Me either..
  5. Utilize book clubs/literature circles. Many of you probably already do this, but do you allow your students to pick their books? Let them decide on the book they want to read and form groups based on interest instead of you choosing what they read. It will give them ownership and they will be way more excited to read the book. 
  6. Make sure students have access to a wide variety of books. How many of you have a classroom library? Is it diverse? Does it meet the needs of all of your readers and their interests? If you answered no to any of these questions, that's ok! It's expensive to build up your own personal library BUT you can teach kids to use the library. You would be surprised by how many kids don't step foot inside the library unless they have to. Teach them that it's normal to check books out and that it can actually be fun choosing different books they may have never thought of reading. 
  7. Allow students to interact during read alouds. This is something I wish I had thought of earlier in my teaching career. I always thought read aloud time was a time for students to relax, sit quietly and just let me read. And now I'm going to admit it.. I was WRONG! Did you read that? I actually admitted to being wrong. Read alouds should be a time where students get to interact with the text and with each other. Allow them to share their thoughts, ideas, inferences, predictions and anything else the book brings up and makes them think about.
  8. Help students connect their reading to everyday life. This is something you might already do but it can drastically change how students feel about their reading. It all ties back to having a purpose for reading. If they are reading for fun, it's often times beneficial to them if they can relate it to real life. 
  9. Help students find books of their interest. This can be hard. I was a tom-boy who loved sports but I couldn't ever really get into books about sports. Most teachers assumed that they would interest me because that's allI ever wanted to do. In reality, I love to read any book that I can really connect to the characters in. I like to be able feel like I am part of the book. This is different for everyone though. The key is to keep searching and finding what works and better yet, what doesn't. Don't give up on students because it appears that there aren't books that will interest them.
  10. Celebrate the completion of books. How many of you abandon books? I am the queen of abandoning books always have and don't really see myself growing out of it. If I can't get into it or I no longer need the information I was getting from it, I just quit reading it. How can we help students who do this? Celebrate when they actually finish a book. Set goals and celebrate the heck out of them when they reach them. Wouldn't you be encourage to finish your latest book if you knew someone was going to celebrate you when you were done? I would! 

I hope you have read a few new ways to reach your reluctant readers and help them learn to love reading. If you have other ways you teach your students to love reading, drop them in the comments below!