Motivation

Teaching Tips: Authoring with Video

By: Barbara K. Strassman and Trisha O'Connell (2007)

Help students engage in reading and writing by asking them to write captioning for audio-less video clips. This article contains step-by-step instructions for using the technique as well as links to digital media and suggested teaching ideas.

Family Literacy Bags: A School-to-Home Project

By: Reading Rockets (2007)

The home is the child’s first classroom and parents are the first teachers. Parents who read to their children everyday and talk about what they are reading together promote a joy of reading and literacy achievement. How can teachers encourage reading at home and support the role of parents as educators? One way is through the use of Family Literacy Bags — a theme-based collection of books and related interactive activities that kids bring home from school to share with their family.

Literacy-Rich Environments

By: The Access Center (2007)

The literacy-rich environment emphasizes the importance of speaking, reading, and writing in the learning of all students. This involves the selection of materials that will facilitate language and literacy opportunities; reflection and thought regarding classroom design; and intentional instruction and facilitation by teachers and staff.

Day Trips for Book Lovers

By: Mary Seehafer Sears (2005)

Not everyone lives near Chincoteague lsland off the Maryland and Virginia coastline (Misty of Chincoteague) or has a chance to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder house museum in the Ozarks (Little House on the Prairie). But books can inspire some exciting day trips.

What Parents Can Do: Reading Tips From Kids

By: Reading Is Fundamental (2005)

Parents can make reading more motivating by letting children choose books and making reading a memorable family event. Find out what children themselves have to say about these guidelines for parents to increase motivation.

Reader's Theater: Giving Students a Reason to Read Aloud

By: Cara Bafile (2005)

The reader's theater strategy blends students' desire to perform with their need for oral reading practice. Reader's Theater offers an entertaining and engaging means of improving fluency and enhancing comprehension.

Family Literacy Tips: From A to Z

By: Hamilton Mountain News (2005)

Encourage literacy in your home and community. Here are some great tips to start everyone on the road to reading.

When Kids Hate to Read

By: Anne Svensen (2004)

Children who aren't motivated to read can benefit from support at home. Learn what parents can do to make reading a more enjoyable experience for struggling readers in this interview with Dr. Marie Carbo.

Motivation: The Key to Academic Success

By: LD OnLine (2002)

Motivation is key to school success. Just as the actor asks a director "What is my motivation, for this scene?" the child turns to teachers, parents, and peers to discover the "why" of learning. Motivation is often defined as a need or drive that energizes behavior toward a goal.

Tips for Encouraging Kids to Read

By: Jessica Snyder (2002)

We asked the parents and teachers who frequent our web site for their ideas about how to encourage kids, especially those who aren't excited about books, to do more reading. Thanks to all you tip-sters out there, we received tons of advice, which we've summarized in the seven tips below.

The Little Reading Cafe

By: Brenda Dyck (2001)

Looking for new ways to motivate students to read? This teacher borrowed ideas from bookstore cafes to create a comfortable atmosphere for reading in her classroom.

Hooking Struggling Readers: Using Books They Can and Want to Read

By: Lori Rog and Paul Kropp (2001)

One of the keys to helping struggling readers is to provide them with books that they can and want to read. Fiction for struggling readers must have its own textual integrity: realistic characters, readable and convincing text, and a sense of the readers' interests and needs. Texts such as non-fiction books, newspapers, magazines and even comic books can also hook students into reading.

How Can Something as Simple as Reading to a Child Be So Effective?

By: Jim Trelease (2001)

We read to children for all the same reasons we talk with children: to reassure, to entertain, to bond; to inform or explain, to arouse curiosity, to inspire. But in reading aloud, we also condition the child's brain to associate reading with pleasure, create background knowledge, build vocabulary, and provide a reading role model.

Encouraging Your Child To Read

By: Beverley B. Swanson (1998)

When reading is an enjoyable part of everyday life, children will develop positive attitudes about reading. These tips for parents demonstrate how to make reading a part of life for preschool and school-aged children.

Motivations for Reading

By: John T. Guthrie, Lois Bennett, and Karen McGough (1994)

Reading motivation isn't a simple matter of desire to read, because there are many different reasons for this desire. This article describes several motivations for reading, both intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external.)