3 Fresh Ideas for the New School Year

We all know that one of our goals for students year after year is to help develop a love of reading. It’s so important that our students don’t just learn to read, but learn to see it as an important part of their lives, both now and as adults. Especially as a third grade teacher, where most of my kids are moving out of the “learning to read” phase, I spend a good chunk of my summer thinking of strategies that will help get my students to pick up books and JUST READ. I’ve done lunch time book clubs, raffles, and more. Here are 3 ideas I am going to use this year with full force - and how you can do it too!

1. Book Talk Podcasting

I am very excited to begin podcasting with my students this year! Podcasting is a rapidly growing form of taking in content. When I came across the website & app Synth (gosynth.com), I knew I had to do it. Now, I know many people are using podcasts in their classroom as a way to get their kids listening to interesting information - and I love that. But I am talking about a class podcast - with students talking about BOOKS. With Synth, I can create a podcast channel for my class only. It is private, so only our class can get in and listen to the episodes (but we will also share it out with our neighbor classes, parents, and administration so they can hear our talks too!) Here’s how I am going to set it up. When students finish a book, they can fill out a Book Talk page.

I will go through the submissions, making sure that I am picking various students that I am sure are ready to talk about their completed book. That student will get to bring their lunch up to the classroom and record an A200 Book Club podcast episode with me about their book. The podcast episode will then go into the library, which will be available to my students through the app.

I think this is going to be a perfect way to get my students reading and excited about sharing their reading! If you are interested in starting a podcast, go to gosynth.com and start thinking of what your kiddos could talk about!

2. Friday Book Raffles

This is something I started last year that I want to get even better about this year. In our class, we have weekly read aloud picture books as well as chapter books. I also love to get new books from the Scholastic book clubs website. On Fridays, I use a randomizer app to pick students who get to read the mentor text (keep it in their book box for a week), the chapter book we’ve finished (that’s always a big deal) or the new books we received in the mail. Students get their name entered by showing great reading habits, which we talk about at the beginning of the year. Great reading habits include picking good books, not giving up on every book we start, having stamina, talking about our reading, spending our reading time wisely (i.e. really reading, not goofing off), doing our home reading the best we can, excelling in reading small group, etc. Basically, anything that is helping us become better readers is a positive reading behavior. Last year, I would simply note them on a sticky note I kept through the week. When we would share our reading summaries on SeeSaw, I would add more names of students with amazing summaries. I take the names from my sticky note and put them in this generator: https://wheeldecide.com/ -And I’m not too stingy, either. I really try to get a lot of names in there. That makes it a bit more fair, and also more exciting. Friday book raffle time is really fun! And students LOVE to read those books!

3. Sticky Note MAGIC!

Sticky notes are probably my favorite school supply. We use them with graphic organizers so the pages can be used again, I use them to write positive notes to students throughout the day, and I also use them to help my readers.

Sometimes, I need my students to be reading books on their just-right-level. I will stick a note on the book, and leave it on their table or in their book box. I do my best to find books that match the students interest, and i include their name at the top. Students love feeling like the book was chosen just for them.

Another fun way to use sticky notes is to have students fill one out after finishing a book, recommending it to someone else. I have them write on a lined sticky note about what makes the book so great and put it in the front cover. Students have a great time looking through the classroom library, reading recommendations from their classmates or my previous students (I don’t take them out!). Just make sure you are routinely checking the notes to be sure they are positive and appropriate.

There are my top 3 ideas for the new school year that I am hopeful and sure will encourage my students to read more!

What are your favorite ways to encourage reading in the classroom? I would love to learn more!

Happy teaching!