Recording Reading And Incentives 2011
Ideas for keeping track of books read and keeping motivation high during the summer reading club:
Reading log templates
* official reading logs are available to download from the State Library of Queensland website * use the official graphics to design your own * NB: a great tip from Kiama Library - put your reading log templates up on your library website for downloading ... that way kids who are keen readers can print more as required.
Individual incentives
* Reading logs / reading records / reading passports can be used to count books read or minutes spent reading
* Wollongong City Library create a reading calendar for kids to record what they've read - it also features the dates for library activities during the summer reading club
* 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.
Community / group incentives
* 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
* Create a community ‘score sheet’ on a notice board to show how many books have been read
Teen Reading Programs:
* cover the wall in our teen area with a maze of some sorts where the teens move their person around every time they turn in a log, moving closer to the goal of the end-of-the-summer party / lock-in