What Motivates Your Students to Read?

My fourth graders and I were in the library recently, when I spotted one of my favorite books on display: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. It’s a huge, thick book that none of my students ever picked up, probably based on its overwhelming size. It isn’t too long of a read, though, because half of the story is told by illustration. I grabbed the book and sat down at a table, lost in the story. One of my girls (an advanced ELL who claims not to love reading) sat down beside me, curious. She took out the book from the library, and had finished it within three days. The book traveled with her almost everywhere throughout the school, she even read while walking through the hallways. Her devotion intrigued some of my other students- and before she was finished, there was a ‘line’ for who would read it next.

I think that there were a few motivating forces here… in class yesterday, someone made a comment about how amazed students are when they see that teachers have reading lives, too. I agree, and think that this is particularly important for elementary-aged students, possibly of a non-mainstream Discourse, who may not realize that reading isn’t just ’school work.’ Peer influence is also a major motivation. I’m reading Eat, Pray, Love right now, which I originally had no interest in- but wanted to see what all the fuss was about! Based on word-of-mouth, my students inadvertently began their own book club. Lastly, I think the “coolness” factor of the book drove that group of students to read it. The thickness of the text makes it look more advanced than it actually is, and my students had an air of accomplishment when they each had finished it.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I’ve had some trouble with one ELL student in particular this year. Even though I've conferred with him about picking a just right book, he continues to chose texts based on their thickness- even though they are way too advanced (like Eragon or Harry Potter). Although he can decode fairly well, the meanings to many of the words are lost to him. I think he does’t want to be seen reading books that are on his level. Has anyone else had this problem?