Strategies for Motivating Students: Lisa Ortiz

I am a first grade teacher, and I feel that it is important for me to find what motivates my students to read. Since, they are at the beginning stages of the reading process, I find that they are very interested in any text or piece of literature that is at their reading level. I tend to do a lot of read alouds in my class and enjoy reading texts in which my students can relate to, I find that by having them make those necessary connection with the texts, they will be more inclined to picking up a book and reading it. I also try to get very excited about the books I read to them. Every book seems to be my "favorite". They always want to read the book that was just read to them, so I find this to be an easy way to motivate my students to read. Also, each week my students choose two books to check out from the school library. Often, they choose books that we have read in class. As a primary grade teacher, I feel that I have a huge impact on motivating my students when it comes to reading and will do what it takes to make sure they stay motivated.