Winter break, a time for rest, relaxation, and reading! Students may not think of reading as their favorite use of time over break, but you can change that. Helping students formulate a plan and get excited about their reading choices will go a long way.
Student reading choice is an important factor in encouraging students to read. The debate between student book choice and assigning students books to read still rages on. Research conclusively shows that when students are allowed to use personal choice when selecting books to read, they are better students overall, are better readers, and are more motivated to read. Book choice can be scaffolded into the classroom for those that have not been given a lot of personal choice in their reading selections. Make it a recurring assignment in your classroom!
Reading over winter break should be your students’ only assignment. Students need to be prepared to read over the winter break before leaving the classroom, especially elementary students. The first step is to make it fun! Many free and quick-to-use activities are available to make reading fun over winter break. Make it a challenge, make it a game (in English or Spanish), or send home some family winter break reading tips for families! Another important step is to send the students home with books and fun bookmarks! Collaborate with your school librarian to make this happen or supply books from your classroom library.
Student reading choice and fun, a wonderful winter break combination! As always, check out more fun winter activities and resources from TeachersFirst and the TeachersFirst blog. We hope you and your students enjoy a restful, relaxing, and reading-filled winter break!