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

Well

1. that is probably a safe guarding issue, an 11 year old cant look after an 8 year old. That said, if they are saying he is the responsible as he adult, then yes, he should read with them.

2. I did say that it needs to be a love of learning promoted so that by that age, the children want to read with each other and it isn't a chore. It is almost too late by that age, and certainly incredibly harder. It is easy to get 5 year olds to read :)

It's a tough one...I think that you simply can't make kids read at home if parents are not on board. You've already recognised that the same kids will keep winning prizes...they are the kids who love reading, probably have parents who very much encourage it, and would do it regardless of being rewarded.

You say you work in a deprived area...might there be a need to put on some adult literacy classes? Or sessions in school that show how you can help your kids to read?

I think the bottom line is that the kids need to take the lead, and have to WANT to read. Maybe you could help by encouraging ANY reading at all....maybe comics, audio books with a paper copy to read along with, iPad games that encourage reading etc. How about reading a book in class and encouraging the kids to watch the film at home to see if they thought the characters looked the same as they should from the book? Discussion work about someone's book? A book review sheet as homework..... What was the main character called? What I liked about the story, what I didn't like?

My kids school have sessions every few weeks that ask for parents/nans/uncles/neighbours etc to come in and read a chapter of their favourite children's book to the class... Might something like that work to get families on board?

Once the kids are enjoying reading, I think half your battle is won. Good luck!

"mrz you mentioned a safeguarding issue. If a parent is sneaking out and leaving a child alone over night"

I certainly didn't say the parent was sneaking out and leaving a child alone overnight"

ok I misread but doesn't change the fact that whoever is with the child during the day can read with them

And I'm saying that it isn't always the case of the parent "won't" sometimes there are reasons why the parent can't and it's extremely unfair to make those kinds of judgements or make the child and parent feel guilt about not reading at home which is a common problem with reward schemes.

someone can

always

Thank you for all of the brilliant ideas . It sounds like many schools have a good system in place.

I think it's true about parental engagement. I like the idea of parents / carers coming in to share books - especially as our school has a relatively new (and large ) library space.

We've been talking this week about taking the class to the local library and getting them all signed up. I wonder if you need parental permission for that or you can just get them a card ? Anyone know ?

TeacherBob you sound exactly like the kind of teacher I hate!
Publicly humiliating the children who didn't read one night, telling off their parents?!

School books are shit, boring, repetitive, dull - kids hate them
The quickest way to turn a child off reading forever is to give them a Biff & Chip book
We don't read them, we read our interesting books at home, magazines, comics, recipes, instruction manuals, signs, the little synopsis thing on the TV guide
We read

And if a teacher tried to tell me off, a grown adult, for not reading the shit they give me I would not be impressed!

I run a reading cafe and parents are encouraged to come along and join in. No rewards just lots of fun laughter and cake

Luckily for you (and me), I am exactly the teacher my children and parents love. And I don't have to put up with you :)

"whoever is with the child during the day can read with them" erm they're at school

Wow you are truly awful
I can only imagine what the parents really think of you
Haven't come across anyone so sanctimonious in a long long time, I bet you're the kind of teacher that speaks to parents like they're 5 years old too
Thankfully none of my children's teachers think they're perfect and are nice human beings

Actually im the kind of teacher who on starting in a class, starts dismissing children at the end of the day from the playground instead of the door, so that I can more easily meet the parents and tell them the good things their children do each day.

But you made a sweeping statement based on my high expectations, and im too long in the tooth to care what you think :p

"whoever is with the child during the day can read with them" erm they're at school

If the parents are left the house when they get up, and come home after they are in bed, someone must be taking care of the kids :)

Yes ... Getting them up, washed, dressed and fed and bringing them to school ...not reading with them.

Like I said, I view reading as a basic human right and that is my expectation.
You obviously don't. I am not here to make judgements on your expectations. But it works for me and for the children and parents, they know what I do and why.

I am looking to make a change for the rest of their lives, not just a year

I see reading as a gift and one that I want all to enjoy. I also see it as my job to ensure all children in my care receive that gift.

You can be assured my children love reading

I see a safe place to live, warmth, food and a loving family as a human right but unfortunately I know there are many who don't have that.

When do you run your reading cafe, mrz? Sounds like a brilliant idea, especially the cake

Tuesday at pick up time for an hour for KS2 but I'm thinking of starting a story sharing one for KS1

And how does it run? What kinds of things do you do?

I see a safe place to live, warmth, food and a loving family as a human right but unfortunately I know there are many who don't have that

Indeed and we always do our best to fix what we can don't we.? We wouldn't just say 'well some children aren't provided with warmth and food so that's fine, we wont expect it to be provided'

When it started we were targeting those children who had no one at home to read with so they could come along and share a book in an informal setting and just get dome extra reading time. Early on we had one mum stop her son attending because the book was too hard and she couldn't read the words and didn't know what they meant but generally parents are really keen. Now anyone who wants to come along and talk about what they were reading making recommendations for what to read next.Oh and eat cake or doughnuts!

I'm thinking for younger ones we might do some craft activities linked to the books we read.