Three Reading Challenges — Reading Log Alternatives — Reading Incentives

Click here to see the full PDF preview of the Three Reading Challenges.

FAST FACTS ABOUT THESE READING CHALLENGES

• Recommended for: Grades 4-8
• Lesson Duration: n/a — This is a long-term project (full school year or several months)
• Formats: all files are in PPT, Google Slides, and PDF formats
• Editable: YES, all text is editable
• Number of pages: 29

YOU WILL NEED:

• printer (color or black-and-white)
• ability to make 2-3 copies per student on letter paper
• ability to make 11X14″ (or larger) posters — one poster per student
• small stickers if using the Sticker Chart
• Students will need pen/pencil, colored pencils, and/or crayons

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL GET:

• A to Z Reading Challenge (4 pages)
• 33-Book Reading Challenge (4 pages)
• Sticker Chart Reading Challenge (9 pages)
• Presentation to introduce students to the challenge (8 slides)
• Detailed teacher directions for each challenge (4 pages total)
• 21 total pages, editable in PPT, Google Slides, and PDF formats

TIRED OF READING LOGS?

I tried requiring reading logs with my seventh grade ELA classes for only one school year. Many students didn’t turn them in at all, even when I knew they were reading every day. The reading logs dragged down some grades while artificially inflating others.

In the end, I nixed the reading logs. I quickly grew tired of chasing down the reading logs and watching students forge their parents’ signatures in the minutes before class started. Reading logs were certainly not a reading incentive that worked for me or my students. I needed a new plan.

I did the A to Z Challenge with 5th graders at an elementary school, then again at a 6-8 middle school. A few years later, I started the Sticker Chart Reading Challenge, which was my favorite because it was so flexible.

For me, these were a school-wide library challenge, but they can also be used in the classroom as a reading log alternative.

CAN THESE READING CHALLENGE POSTERS BE USED WITH OLDER OR YOUNGER STUDENTS?

Yes! The photos in the preview are actually from my Grade 6-12 school. I also used the A to Z Reading Challenge with Grades 5-8. All three challenges are flexible and customizable, so you can design the challenges to work at any level, from K-12.

INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP GOALS

The Sticker Chart Reading Challenge is my favorite, and it’s the one my secondary students have liked best. Several small groups of students have gotten together to create group reading goals. I love this because it encourages less-enthusiastic readers to read with their avid reader friends.

PRIZES AND INCENTIVES FOR COMPLETED READING CHALLENGES

I used these in a secondary library (Grades 6-12). I personally did not offer any tangible rewards or reading incentives. The reading challenges were fueled only by student motivation, and I did nothing at all to track books read for the students. Yes, some Challenges will be started and forgotten, and others will be completed.

In most cases, the Reading Challenge Posters encouraged the students to read more than they might have otherwise. This was especially true for the group challenges that students organized themselves. The group challenges were their idea, not mine!

END-OF-YEAR AWARDS

If your library gives end-of-year awards, these reading challenges make great awards that don’t require you select from hundreds of students. Students who completed their challenges get a year-end award. Easy-peasy!

Prefer TPT? Find these Reading Challenges in my TPT store.