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

Huh?

You are against praise and don't want me to talk to parents?

LMAO

It's not the praise TeacherBob, it's the fact you don't praise in such an extravagant way the kids who didn't manage it, ie you shame them.

Excessive praise of the kid who is made to read every night by his over obsessed parent does not help the kid who hasn't had much of the chance to read and is trying their best.

And no, every day berating uninterested parents who'll just lie to shut you up will also not give the goal you actually want. It might seem like it does - in that you'll get more people saying they read, but that's not quite the same thing.

sirfred, certainly your dc or my ds or many MN children may not need these reward system, but in RL, a lot of children might benefit from good reward system.

It is something EVERY child can achieve. No low expectations in my class.
My parents don't lie.

Every child can find 5 mins to read

Sure irvineoneohone I just think something that is within the capacity of the children to achieve, rather than something that relies on the adults - yes a kid who can read, can read for 10 minutes. But a kid that's learning and needs help, needs help which they can't organise without an adult.

As I said, I don't have a constructive suggestion which is why I'd typed up something similar but so much less eloquently than chamenager a few times and not sent it. But something that doesn't need an adult would seem to be ideal.

Families that are going to read will read and their children will win the rewards week after week. Those that don't (and there are many good reasons why some don't) will never get the rewards.

Agree with mrz. But realistically, especially at ks1, parental involvement is inevitable, so the results always will be unfair for some children.
When my ds's school had reading reward system in the past, they announced they will count the ones they read at school as well. But it's still not fair, since most children wants to play during play time rather than read to get a reward.
I think RosieBdy 's raffle system maybe the most fairest of all, when think about the children with parents can't/won't help them. My ds has a friend from ex-cul who both parents work loooong hours. They are lovely people, who loves their children(I can see that from how he was raised, and short encounter with them at pick up), and their son is one of the best behaved, most polite child. But he never get time to do work with parents.The life is unfair.

There may be no reason why a child cannot read for five minutes every day. But there may be reasons why some days it is not the highest priority or even a good idea to force it. We have read with DS since he was a baby but in reception year there were times he was just exhausted and it was miserable to persist when the child just needed his bed. It's a great way to make a child hate reading if that' what you want to achieve. In those days we left the house at 7.30 and returned after 18.00.

There was a chart on the classroom door in year 1 showing which children had done the most reading at home. One child did virtually none. Why, I do not know but I was gutted for this little girl that this unfavourable comparison was on display for all children and parents to see and at 5 years old how could it be within her gift to alter that?.

A child in DS class at his current school has learning difficulties. The dad is a teacher and I think gets really stressed and frustrated that he can't get his son reading. School have told parents not to put their son under any pressure to read at home, and let him pick up books when he wants to, just for fun.

DSIL was a teacher before having children and couldn't understand how a parent could possibly say they don't have time to read with their children. Now she has 3, she gets it. And she is a full time SAHM!

We have done reading on the bus home, on the bus on the way to school, in the car park before swimming. But please don't set up a system where children miss out because they do sport or other activities, they have siblings or their parents work.

I'm all in favour of reading, if we left DS to it at bedtime we'd find him fast asleep with his head on an open book. But some days it is not the most important thing.

I'm afraid that's not true. Some parents can't read or write well enough to read with their child. Others work long hours or many jobs to survive so aren't around to do the things others take for granted.

We have a "reading rocket"
there is a rocket display, the bottom section of the rocket says I read 3 times, middle says 5 times, top section 7. The child's picture goes on the corresponding number of days the child read fri-thurs the previous week.
The teacher chooses a 'rocket reader' every Friday to be the astronaut at the very top of the rocket for the following week.

Along side this each child has their own reading rocket, which is a rocket sheet on which they receive a stamp every time they read daily fri-thurs, when the sheet is full they choose a book- I'm sure it is 8 stamps.

Also, The children who have a stamp on their own reading rocket get to stand up in Friday assembly, which currently is around 1/3 of the school. The children look forward to it, and it isn't always the same children.
The head will talk about the rocket display and how many children are on it (read 3 times a week or more), and how important it is to read as often as you can, and encourage the children to try and get further up the rocket next week.
It works really well in our 'deprived area' school.

Teacherbob I think your reward scheme is fab but I think expecting all children to read every day is a bit tough.
I have 3 dc, dd is in year 1 and was 5 in the middle of August. On a Monday she does an after school club until 4.15. We get home around 4.35. Then I haveuntil 5.15 to give her tea and get her changed before we have to leave for Rainbows. She gets back from Rainbows at around 6.45 straight into the bath and then into bed.
That's a long busy day for a 5 year old and unless she asks I'm not going to force her to read on that schedule. Luckily her teacher recognises that trying to fit reading in on a day like that is too hard for dd.

The child who doesn't make it to the rocket is probably the one in most need of books.

Mrz, I don't understand. What's not true?

It's not true that there's no good reason why every child can't read for five minutes at home

I got it, sorry! Yes, agree. There are lots of parents who want to help but just can't.

I don't like the idea of a scheme which is based on just the week. Chances are that will be pretty much the same children week in week out getting rewarded. Do the schools who do this do any sort of follow up to find out why some children aren't reading and what could maybe done to help?

The scheme at ds school is ongoing and individual, a sticker every 10 reads and a certificate after 30 and 100 reads. Can take as long as needed to get throughout the school year but most manage to get the 30 certificate at some point in the year.

Some children will never read at home so will never achieve that certificate

A parent not being able to read is NOT a good reason for the child not to read. The books are accessible for the children and they should be able to read approximately 80% of the words independently. The parent can help by discussing the story, what comes next etc, from the pictures and from what the child has read. But I have had plenty of parents who couldn't read and all of them read with their child and signed their book daily, after my intervention. Teamed with sending books home that they have read with an adult in school, it is the ethos that we are changing in families. I am not prepared to give the message 'your parents cant read so it doesn't matter too much if you cant'.

Rather than low esteem, it creates the opposite effect. Children start reading and then loving the feedback read more. Then homework participation goes up and everyone brings something in. Homework goes into a class book (I do a termly 'menu' where children get to choose which home learning to complete) or photos of things they make. All the children bring something in. Parental involvement goes up too.

I guess it depends on the ethos of the classroom. I think regular posters will by now know that I live and breathe both reading/home learning and growth mindset.
My view is, they are so young and I have them for only one year, that it is critical that we get all this in place ready for the rest of their lives, to make them love reading.

Kinglooie - I have never had it that a child never virtually reads. I have two children in my class now that have not read at all this term. I will prove my point by ensuring they are part of the 100% that are reading daily!

Sproglets, one could argue that if a child is doing all the after school club stuff, then they are probably fully involved with parents anyway and so reading isn't so critical because they read plenty of other times anyway.
That said, my expectation is that the children read at least 3 times a week so we can change books on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you cant ensure that then yes, a child is being failed.

I believe that reading with a child every day is just as fundamental a right as food and drink. If you cant find 5 minutes to read with a child, then don't have so many.

mrz yes the child that doesn't make it to the rocket is the one in need of reading the most. That is exactly why we should do everything we can to make it happen, by educating parents, reading with children and putting in an ethos that makes children want to read.

My children (in my class) don't read because I tell them to. They read because we have a whole class ethos that reading is simply an amazing thing to do.

Sirzy (and others)

That is totally something that would affect a child in a massively negatively way.
Knowing they will get a reward eventually, no matter what, is promoting a very fixed mindset.

Mrz - when they read to a TA in school that gets marks on there so I am sure they make sure that throughout the year people aren't missing out. They do also seem proactive in offering support for families where needed.

So children read to themselves and skip any words they can't read easily or substitute words changing the whole meaning of the text because there's no one listening to them ...great idea

Why would that affect them in a negative way more than watching the same children be rewarded week in week out and missing out?

TeacherBob, so what do you do with children who's parents work unbelievably long hours to make ends meet, so they have virtually no time to help children at home?

If only I had a TA

mrz I know you like to always argue with whatever I say, but please make the effort to what I have written.
It comes with a combination of myself reading the same book with them, so they are consolidating rather than new learning and are practising, whilst also building an ethos that learning is good.

Sirzy because it gives the message that they don't have to try as hard, or put in the effort. That is very damaging in life and to children. Children make the most progress when they realise effort is what it takes to get better.
It is why you should never tell a child things like 'good girl, good work etc'. It should always be about praising the effort.
This is well documented but maybe some time I will start a 'why growth mindset changes lives' thread.

Irvine, I don't believe anyone works such long hours that they cant be read with. That is almost laziness. Would you say 'I work such long hours I cant find time to feed my children'.
Because even if you are at work, someone is with the children. Whether it grandparents, after school club, nanny or whatever, someone can find 5 minutes to read. That really is all it takes.