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a ready-to-run workshopReading Motivation & Volume
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Building Reading Motivation & Volume (Workshop)

Skilled readers are made partly by how much they read. Beyond teaching the skills, building students who want to read, and who read widely, matters: volume of reading grows vocabulary, knowledge, and fluency, and motivation is what sustains the volume.

Key takeaway

How much students read grows their vocabulary, knowledge, and fluency, so building reading motivation and volume, students who want to read and do, matters alongside teaching the skills.

Format
PLC / team meeting
Length
45 minutes
Group size
Any (works 4-40)
Who can run it
Any teacher-leader
You will need
Slides (5)Printed handoutYour class and library in mindA timer
Aligned to
Learning Forward: Rigorous ContentInTASC 1: Learner DevelopmentResearch on reading volume and motivation
Share / assign

Why it works

Reading volume, the sheer amount students read, is associated with growth in vocabulary, background knowledge, and fluency, and motivation is what drives volume. Research on reading motivation points to access to books, choice, time to read, seeing oneself as a reader, and texts connected to interests and identities as levers teachers control to build students who read widely and well.

The research: Research on reading volume, access, and motivation.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

    The core activity: build motivation and volume

    Teachers leave with a plan to grow how much and how willingly students read.

    Volume makes readersStudents get better at reading by reading a lot. Build access, choice, time, and motivation, so they read widely, not just when required.

    Facilitator notes

    Skills without reading is not enoughTeaching skills but never building the desire and volume to read leaves much growth on the table. Motivate and make time for reading.

    Adapt it

    Participant handout

    One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

    K12 Academics · Professional Learning

    Reading Motivation & Volume: make readers

    <b>Volume makes readers:</b> access, choice, protected time, interest-connected texts, and reader identity.

    1. How much my students read and their book access:
    2. How I increase volume:
    3. How I connect texts to interests and identities:
    4. How I help students see themselves as readers:
    5. My plan for reluctant readers:

    Make it stick

    Access, choice, time, identity:

    Common questions

    Doesn't teaching reading skills matter more than motivation?
    Both matter. Skills let students read; motivation and volume are how they get good. Students who can read but do not miss much of the growth that comes from reading a lot.
    How do I build motivation?
    Access to books, student choice, protected time to read, connecting texts to interests and identities, and helping students see themselves as readers.
    What about reluctant readers?
    Find the right book, honor choice, reduce pressure, and build small successes. Reluctance is often about never having found a book that hooked them.

    Go deeper

    Build it into a bigger day

    Workshop
    Reading Comprehension
    Workshop
    Student Engagement & Motivation
    Workshop
    Reading Fluency