I want to set up a reading reward scheme in Yr 2 - any ideas ?

[Iwanttoseethesea]

Hi, I'm at TA in a year 2 class and I'm looking to set up a good reading reward scheme for the kids when they read at home. We tried one last year where the kids had stickers on a chart for how many times they read at home , then the child with the most got a dip in the teachers box of treats ( pencils, rubbers etc) .

The only problem was the same boy won every week and always got the treat so the scheme kind of withered away.

I'm looking for a fun way to reward reading at home - help!

TIA

Hi,
At my DC’s school they earn a raffle ticket for every 5 times they read at home. They write their name on the raffle ticket, pop it in a box and every few weeks one ticket gets pulled out and they chose from a range of prizes, as per your OP.
This way, the more you read, the more chance you have of winning, but it's not always the same child...
Good luck with setting it up.

Our whole school runs one. Every family is encouraged to listen to their child read for 10 minutes every day and then mark it in a reading record. The TA's keep track with stickers on a chart. When a child reaches 25 reads they get a book, same at 50 and 100. At 200 reads the child becomes a reading champion and gets a nicer book and if they reach 275 reads over the year they get a lovely book and certificate and become a reading ambassador. It's a lovely scheme, set up by a TA and has been picked up by other schools.

Ds has a card with 100 squares on it. Parent signs and dates a square when they read.

10 reads is a sticker
30 reads a small certificate
100 reads a bigger certificate presented in assembly.

Seems to work well.

I would keep it simple and just give them something like a sticker or raffle ticket (Ds's school do the latter) if they read 5 times in a week. Then there is a bit of emphasis on the parent as well to encourage ones who don't do it perhaps as often as they should.

DD's old primary had a whole school scheme. Read 4 times and your name was entered into a weekly class draw. One name drawn per class got to choose a book from the book chest.

Regularly being in the draw you had the chance of something extra like visit the local bookshop, or go to an author visit.

It helped me incentivise DD2 to do reading practice.

Send home engaging books. Or failing that let home books count too. Engage with children in school about home reading and find out what's up if they don't change their book for weeks on end. In year 2 DS was reading for fun all the time, but would refuse to change school books as there was nothing he wanted to read. And I stopped writing in the reading diary as I don't think anyone was reading it, and anyway what's the point of writing in random book titles the teacher won't know?

As far as reward schemes go I think raffle ticket for say 4 times a week a good way to go. So it sets a sensible target but children aren't penalised for having a busy day with after school club/activities.

In my children's school they have a new incentive this term. Who ever reads every single night and has their reading record signed daily gets entered into a prize draw to win a Kindle! It is a whole school thing though not just a year group.
Maybe something bigger then a pencil or rubber would be a good incentive? How about a book voucher or a colouring package (stuff out of pound shop) for the person who has their reading record signed every night?

I set up a scheme where the children were expected to read so we could change their books Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
On those days they had to line up and give me their book as they came into class. Massive loud high fives when they did and the children ticked their own name on the class chart.
Anyone who didn't read I spoke to their parents, every time. We went from 4 readers to every child (30) within 2 weeks.
The children with the most ticks won a prize (usually a book).

I hate giving children prizes for something that was expected, but it worked and we phased it out, they all carried on reading.

Two children's parents wouldn't/couldn't read with them so I told the children to read their own book and sign it themselves. Then I asked them questions to check they had read.

We found home learning went up massively too and children were bringing more and more into school.

Our school did tea on planet Zumzee as the reward - read three times and get entered into a draw, a handful picked each week. DS was reminding us to read rather than vice versa.

We do 'read 5 times at home ,get a dip in the box' , that way it is available to everyone, so it is not just one person all the time.Also, no timescale on it, so if someone doesn't manage to read every night that week, it carries over till they have managed 5 times.
I have a box of 100s of extra nice stickers (sheets from Poundland,which I cut into individual stickers) that the children can have if they've read with me, or worked really hard with me. They really like them!!!

We use reading race tracks, each track is between 25 and 30 blocks long (each block needs to be signed and corresponding pages read written in the reading record. When they finish the track they get a rubber/pencil from the reward box once they complete 5 they get a book/certificate presentation from the head in assembly if they manage 10 then they get a £10 book voucher and a certificate from the Governors .

The school funds the £10 vouchers and the teacher and I fund the books via The Bookpeople multipacks. We have fantastic reading rate in our class.

I'm interested in this - our school have a 'bookworm' ladder and they go up a rung every time they read 5 times, there is an end of term certificate if read over 80% of the term. Problem is that the same kids go up and the same ones languish at the bottom. I wonder if parents aren't part of it and relying on kids to pressure parents to listen ever night isn't working.

Our infant school has a bookmark scheme.
Each child has a bookmark in their classroom on the wall.
Each time a child reads their reading diary is signed - could be a parent/adult at home, a teacher/TA at school or a volunteer.
After 5 reads they stamp their diary, and then stamp one space on their bookmark.
After 12 stamps (60 reads) they receive a Reading Challenge certificate in celebration assembly each Friday.
The children seem to really like it; its spoken of positively.

In EYFS it is slightly less reads required.

Thank you all for the replies. Plenty of ideas to think about ! We have a class where probably only a third read regularly at home. I think we need a hook to fully engage parents - the kids love any rewards but sometimes it feels like an uphill struggle to encourage parents. I think some of them regard reading as something that just happens in school

I'm not sure I am convinced by reward systems for what is essentially homework in Y2, and thus usually outside of the children's control.

IMO ideally children should read for fun, not for stickers. Putting an external incentive on reading can contribute to reading becoming a chore.

Ok so some children in Y2 should ideally read more, because they need more practice, even if they don't enjoy it. They need to read more so they develop to the stage where they can start reading for fun. But IMO, if reward systems are your method of choice, these children need an individually targeted reward/incentive system, not a class or school wide one.

With any incentive system you have to think carefully about what you want to achieve, and who you need to target. The children or the parents? Those who already read as often as they can (which may be once or 5 times per week), or those who can't be bothered?

So if you want to increase how many times/week children read at home, you need to figure out why children are not reading at home (enough). For example, in my DS' class, which is very middle class with very engaged parents, the majority of children read daily or nearly daily. Those that don't are those whose parents are in the middle of splitting up, those who have recently had a new baby, those whose parents both work full time with the child in before- and after school club from 8-6 every day, those who hate reading and whose parents have decided to take the pressure off, those who have a parent with mental health issues.There are perhaps two children where the parents seem uninterested in what the child does at school.

So what does a system that rewards how many times a child reads at home achieve in circumstances such as ours? It won't make anyone read a single book more, because those who read lots already, can't read even more, and those who don't, have reasons for it that won't change just because there is a reward. With maybe one or two exceptions.
It will however have 'side effects' - every incentive system does. In my example it may cause those children who aren't reading at home daily to feel even worse about themselves, or about school, than they are probably already feeling. Because they will see their friends receive rewards for things that are, for them, unachievable, and out of their control.

Your aim may not be to increase the frequency of home reading. It may simply be to show those children who do read at home, that you value and appreciate that - which is fair enough. In which case, just keep in mind what message you are giving the other children at the same time.

Chamenager you make some valid points there. Our school is recognised as one of the most deprived in the county (children not the actual school). It's going to require a bit more thought on my part , thank you.

Ours is a whole school system. Read 5 times per week, parents sign the sheet in the reading record each week. There's a suggested amount of time for each year group, and in the younger years reading to your child and/or listening to audio books was counted too.

At the end of each term there is a class reward for those who've achieved 5 of 7 each week of the term.

Rewards have been things like watching a DVD, bringing a game from home etc. One of the favorites for the older classes is always bringing scooters/rollerblades for a half hour scoot round the playground.

When it started there was a fundraiser day and the proceeds were used to buy some extra books for the classrooms and the library. For my two that probably made as much difference as the rewards. We also have second hand book sales at various events, which are often run by the older children.

There are a few parent volunteers who come in to school to listen to children read, and the teachers prioritise those who aren't reading at home, in that case the volunteers fill in the child's reading record and it's counted towards their total.

They also buddy up some of the older children to listen to the younger ones, and indeed read out loud to them each week.

Chameneger that is certainly an argument I have heard a lot.

But I don't agree I am afraid. You haven't given a reason why children cant read, you have given a list of reasons to allow expectations.

There is NO reason why a child cant read for ten minutes every night. If they are being cared for, (they aren't sitting alone at home), then there is an opportunity for reading.

We MUST not allow excuses for low expectations.

We praise the children and we tackle the parents, make it clear it is something that has to be done.

And in the rare circumstances that parents still refuse to read, there is nothing stopping a child from getting their book out, reading it themselves and then ticking/signing to say they read, then asking them questions to make sure they do.

Like I said, I work in a deprived area, where some parents cant read, or are EAL. We went from 4 reading to 30.
Last year I took a class over that has approx. 10 a day and had every child reading.

Today we went through books and found 17/30 children are rarely reading and only 1/30 read every day this week.
I am starting my above reading scheme on Monday, the children know the expectations. We will nail it now so that after half term we have 100% reading every day.

I am willing to bet

1. I get 100% reading so we change books three days a week within 2 weeks of next term and
2. you cant give me a scenario in the UK where a child genuinely can't read every day

• allow LOW expectations (typo in second paragraph)

We do 5 reads at home (no time scale) for a prize out of the prize box. It's filled with stickers, pencils, rubbers, bouncy balls etc (get bags of 15 balls for £1 in the pound shop!)
It works really well. The kids are old enough to nag their parents to read because they want a prize

herman that kind of is a problem though, which I think chemaneger was alluding to.

If children do something just for the reward (nagging parents so they get a prize), then nothing changes internally.

It is the reason I rarely give out stickers and things in school (my point of view is, children should do things because it is the right thing to school). I have incredibly high expectations and they nearly always meet those expectations.

That said, I do the reading reward not to reward reading, but to change behaviour. Does that make sense?
So, it comes with a reward, but is backed up with praise (praise for effort, never EVER for end product) and also the negativity when I speak with parents.

The change we see is amazing, with increased home learning.

The message that I repeat often (and very loudly), is that we are all learning all the time and it never stops.

So I kind of break my own rules by giving prizes, but it is just one small part of a massive message I am trying to send to the children.

And the prizes are always books, so they get to read more. That said, my classroom is immersed in reading, most of our class is a jungle for jungle stories atm.

In isolation though, just a reading reward scheme on its own wont work, chemanger is right about that.
It is an ethos that needs to be promoted through all learning to make change.

right thing to do * typo paragraph 3!

My typing is shocking when I start talking about something I am passionate about!

DS2's school has a whole school reading scheme (there is a slightly different name for each year group, e.g. Rainbow readers in Y2). There are bronze, silver, gold, platinum and 'superstar reader' certificates that children can achieve by earning stamps on their bookmarks. Every time a parent records reading in the reading diary (this can be the child reading themselves for more confident readers) the child gets a stamp. Once the bookmark is full they get the certificate.

The bronze bookmark only has a small number of spaces for stamps on it. DS2 finished it really quickly (we do read every day so he accumulates plenty of stamps). The silver one is double sided. The final bookmark is huge with loads of spaces. Or at least the one DS2 gets is. I suspect the teacher probably uses different sized bookmarks with different children so that it can be motivating for everyone in the class.

DS2 finds it incredibly motivating. He's the kind of kid who'll do anything for a sticker. He finishes the entire scheme by Easter every year (and is super competitive about being the first in the class to get his superstar reader certificate). But he'd never realise if some of the children have single-sided bookmarks while his is double-sided, or if some of them have bigger boxes on them than the ones he gets.

Also he continues reading everyday once he's exhausted the certificates for the year and he reads at school, after school club, at home beyond his 'official' reading so I'll write in his book. He just really enjoys being rewarded for the reading, even if he would do it anyway.

I find TeacherBob's suggestion of public humilation (no high-5's etc. no loud cheers as you walk in) and berating of parents for the reading might increase reading - or reported reading at least. But I can't see it really a good motivator in itself that would encourage reading.

Both myself and it appears my DD seem to be unusual in that sticker charts or raffle tickets for a prize would not be a motivator at all, nor is it something I would want to be a motivator - the aim is surely to build intrinsic motivation to learn, and good personal recognition of what you need to revise.

Throughout reception, and so far in Yr 1 DD got two books a week, and probably 1/3rd of the time it was only one for some varied reason. It was never 10 minutes, normally less than 5 the books were so simple, and we didn't do any other specific book reading practice. She read loads of stuff - chatted to people on skype, searched for stuff online, read the menu all sorts.

Of course she found learning to read very easy, so it was of course irrelevant to us what she did, she didn't need any motivation, so I don't know.

But she would've been quite disenchanted with any of the reward schemes described here so far - because she's not motivated by them, and would turn what was a pleasure to her a chore as she had to write it all down in her reading book etc.

I'm certainly with chamenager in that a reward system that relies on child nagging, or having both the confidence and ability to read without an adult, is not a good one. I also believe the actual evidence for regular reading shows the value comes from the adult listening / conversation / explaining about the words etc. rather than simply reading text they can already deal with.

Doesn't help with me giving any suggestions on what to do.