Recording Reading And Incentives

Ideas for keeping track of books read and keeping motivation high during the summer reading club:

Reading log templates

The official reading logs are available here along with the graphics to create your own designs

Please contribute any reading log designs you create to share as well

Reading logs / reading records / reading passports can be used to count books read or minutes spent reading
- The official READ on the WILD SIDE! incentives are:
1. Temporary Tattoo
2. Sticker
3. Wristband
Use animal stickers or stamps (eg. paw prints)
Lucky-dip – children who have read a certain number of books receive a lucky-dip prize. Once they have received their lucky-dip, they are encouraged to keep reading by gaining an extra entry into a major prize draw held at the end-of-club party.

One librarian challenged her summer readers: if they read 2500 books, she would dress as a chicken and do the chicken dance on the library steps! The children were so anxious to see the spectacle, 355 children read more than 5,800 books!
add strips of paper to a paper chain that gradually works its way around the library
kids put a marble (or other small item such as a paper clip, coin, etc.) in a giant container so they can see how many books everyone read over the course of the summer
collecting a popcorn kernel for every book read and having a popcorn party at the end of the summer
puzzle pieces / beans / beads in big jars or containers to represent books read
one library built an enormous bubblegum machine out of hoola hoops and vinyl - children put one gumball in for each book they read...at the end of the summer they used the gumballs for a mosaic art project
one library used this great idea for a "Catch the Summer Reading Bug" theme, they made a container out of a large cardboard box, cut out the front and placed a large piece of plastic, decorated the box like grass with little bugs and bees, then placed the cereal through a hole in the top of the box. The kids could "feed" the bugs.
Create a community ‘score sheet’ – add animal tracks (or eyes in the dark) to a notice board to show how many books have been read