10 Days of Back to School Frenzy: Day 4

Welcome back to my Back to School Frenzy! Today on Day 4, I'd like to share and talk more about the Student Interest Survey I mentioned back on Day 2. Along with the Classroom Scavenger Hunt and the Grade Level Trivia sheets I have ready on each students' desk, I also provide a Student Interest Survey. This survey goes hand in hand with my 40 Book Challenge as inspired by The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.

If you haven't read this great professional book, I strongly recommend you get your hands on it. Not only is it truly inspiring but it will have you thinking about your current approach to reading instruction and how to motivate your students to read beyond the classroom. It's just plain AWESOME!

I implemented the 40 Book Challenge last year with my fourth graders. Students were asked to read 40 chapter books from nine different reading genres. So not only did they have to meet the number of chapter books read but also the genre requirement that goes with the challenge. Many of my students met the challenge and some even surpassed the 40 book requirement. One student in my class read over 60 books and his mom was amazed with his progress. I was proud of each and every one of my students, even the ones that only read 10 or 20 books because that was still more chapter books than they had ever read before in a single school year.

So...how is the Student Interest Survey related to this 40 Book Challenge? Simple. In order to help students get motivated for reading, our job as teachers is to tap into their interests. We need to learn what they aspire to be when they grow up, what they do for fun, what kind of activities they like to do, what type of TV shows they like to watch, what their favorite subjects are, and so forth. This information will help determine what types of books students will be interested in reading. That's where the magic of awakening the inner reader in every child begins. By tapping into what students are interested in, we then know what books to recommend and how to encourage students to read, read, and READ some more!

The Student Interest Survey is 2 pages.
This is only a sample of  page 1.

Once students fill out this interest survey, I review them carefully and meet with students as needed to talk about what books they have read in the past and what books they'd like to read. If I have a student that's not too interested in reading or doesn't know what books to read, the survey can help me learn more about their interests and what they like so that I can recommend possible books for them to read.

So, if you'd like to use this survey with your students this year to learn more about their interests and tie it into the reading, you don't have to go much further. Click on the image below to be able to download, from my Teachers Notebook store, your own copy of the survey I use with my students.

I hope you will find this idea resourceful. Take care and I hope to see you back tomorrow for Day 5 of my Back to School Frenzy. Have a fabulous day!