There’s nothing more exhilarating than when your students are truly engaged in your lesson. You feel a certain level of excitement in the air and you can even see it on their faces. On this type of day, the bell rings before you know it, and no one can believe the lesson has ended!
ReadTheory teachers compiled some of their favorite ways to up the fun-factor and student engagement with ReadTheory, and we welcome you to try one, two, or maybe even all of them in your class!
Host a Rising Stars Ceremony
Want to really boost students’ motivation? Try hosting a routine Rising Stars Ceremony once a week. Here’s how: Create a ReadTheory bulletin board (or decorate your classroom door) using these pre-made cutouts. Arrange the Knowledge Points vertically and label the stars with students’ names or use students’ photos.
Then, once a week during the Rising Stars Ceremony, let students move their star up the board to their most recent Knowledge Points Level! See how Amy’s class is climbing below!
Incorporate Printable Coloring Trackers
This printable tracker instills a sense of responsibility in students each time they complete a new level and color in the corresponding icon. Plus, coloring reduces stress. Pro tip: Follow us on Instagram @ReadTheoryNation, as we release seasonal trackers as well!
Participate in Competitions
ReadTheory periodically holds global competitions. This semester, we are holding a Test ‘Prep’ Rally Competition in the U.S.! From February 1st – April 30th, 2024, this nation-wide competition empowers teachers to make test-prep fun while using a proven method to improve reading comprehension scores on state assessments – ReadTheory! We are awarding weekly prizes, so every week your class has a new chance to start fresh and win. Anyone in the USA with an account is automatically entered! You can check the Leaderboards to see where your class stands, as they update every day.
If you’re looking to increase the fun right in your own classroom, you can use the built-in competition feature with a ReadTheory Premium account. Every quiz your students complete within the time frame you set will count towards the competition. You can monitor your students’ progress on the leaderboard located on your Activities page!
Give Tangible Prizes
Who doesn’t like prizes? Students of all ages feel important when their teachers give them a reward. Younger students have been known to enjoy items like stickers and small toys. One ReadTheory user purchased a treasure box that contains an assortment of small toys and she gives them out to students each time they reach a new level on ReadTheory.
With high school-aged students, economists have found that giving monetary prizes as rewards for performing well on assessments improves scores by about 5 percent. One of our ReadTheory teachers is working with a small group of teens and has offered a gift card as a prize for the top reader! Cha-ching!
Use Reporting to Give Custom Awards
You can use ReadTheory reporting features to view student progress by grade level, lexile level, or ELA standard. Then, you can give out custom awards to students based on these results. For example, you may want to acknowledge students who increased a grade level, no matter what level they are at. You can also print progress reports and send them home to parents to share any good news!
Do you have other ways you motivate students with ReadTheory? Email us, we want to know! carolyn@readtheory.org. Thanks to our educator community for these ideas, we hope you’ll try one of these, and tell us how it goes!
