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Get Them Motivated to Read

Shelby Moore

March 1, 2011

Reading should be a fun activity for children, but sometimes kids need a boost to get them to practice a little each night. Twenty minutes should be set aside every night just for reading, and with everything else kids can chose from to keep them occupied (video games, TV programs, etc) books sometimes are left up on the shelf.

This March there are several different programs going on to encourage kids to keep READING, READING, READING! One of the events that I blogged about last year, to get kids motivated about reading is Read Across America (RAA). 

This year the event that I am using to get my students excited about reading, in addition to RAA is the Iditarod. The Iditarod is an annual sled dog race in the Alaskan Interior and western coast, known as "The Last Great Race". 

You may be asking yourself, "How does this tie in with reading?" Great question! Like the Iditarod mushers, your kids will be logging reading minutes and hours just like the mushers that are logging minutes and hours on the Alaskan trail. There is a great website dedicated to using the Iditarod as a motivator to get kids reading. They have cleverly named their event the Idita-READ. 

The Great Race starts this Saturday, March 5th and goes until April 22nd. Student "mushers" in my class have been busy trainning for the reading event by logging practice reading minutes to get them prepared for their reading race coming up in just a few short days. Each minute the kids spend reading is like a mile on the Iditarod Trail. This year the trail is 1,131 miles long, which means our total reading goal is 1,131 minutes. This breaks down to about 141 minutes/week or 20 minutes/day--completely doable. 

Here are some things you may need to help you with your reading journey:

  • Tablet to log reading minutes.
  • Map of Alaska's Iditarod trail.  If you choose to sign up with Idita-read you can log your minutes online and the website will automatically show your little musher their location on the trail. It will move them ahead just like on a game board.
  • Rewards. Determine appropriate rewards to give your child as they get to each checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail.
  • Books, books and more books.
Not only will the Idita-read event get your child excited about logging reading minutes but they are also likely to want to learn more about the Iditarod race.
In my classroom I have assigned each of my students a musher to follow during the Iditarod race.  Click on the link to find the official list of mushers competing in this years race. In addition to following a musher, I encourage you to check out these great stories about the Iditarod:
Books
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Movies
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So log onto the Idita-read website and grab some books and start reading! 

Ready, Set, READ!

~Shelby Moore

P.S. See you at the finish line:smileyhappy: