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Monday, September 15, 2014

Be a Genre Star!

It has only been a week since I started the Genre Star reading incentive program with my students, and they are reading up a storm! I absolutely love seeing my students so excited about reading. The best part is that they are reading genres they wouldn't normally read! Double bonus!



Why are my students so excited about reading different genres? This program gives the students a chance to earn different badges for the different genres they've read. Once they earn their genre badge they glue it to their Genre Star bookmark. During the school year they have a chance to earn ten different genre badges (nonfiction, historical fiction, realistic fiction, mystery, biography, folktales, fairy tales, science fiction, fantasy, and poetry.)

During guided reading, I have my students fill in a reading log to keep track of the books and different genres they have read. I check their reading logs when I meet with them during small group instruction. After a student finishes reading a book, I ask them a couple of questions to check their comprehension. If I feel that the student truly read the book, I will initial beside that entry on the reading log. To earn a badge, they have to read two books from that genre. Once they earn a badge, they just glue it to their bookmark. They use this bookmark all year during reading instruction. When a student has earned all of the badges, I laminate it for them as a reward. I know that this sounds so simple, but my students are so excited, and I have already had a couple of students each their first badge!


What do you use in the classroom to encourage your readers?