The Missouri Reader Vol. 37, Issue 1 | Page 43

want to sign up after seeing other kids read aloud. For
those students who were having trouble really getting
involved in the sign up, I encouraged them to sign up
and said to make sure they got signed up for the next
round. All 25 of my students eventually chose to sign
up to read. This was my first indication that the
students were enjoying the strategy.
To maintain organization and fairness, my
students read in the order of how they signed up,
unless someone was absent. Before beginning the
―Sign Up for Reading‖ strategy, I modeled reading
aloud so they knew that when they took their turn to
read that they needed to 1) pick a book with a topic
that interests them, 2) practice the book several times
so they know all of the words, and 3) read in a loud,
clear, expressive voice.
A procedure I always had my children do was to
say why they chose the book at the beginning of the
read aloud. After reading the book, I allowed time
for 2-3 questions from the other students. These
were two very important components to my students.
If a student accidentally skipped one of those parts,
the other children reminded him because they wanted
to know why he chose the book, and there were
always several questions at the end. I usually had to
say they would have to finish asking questions at
recess because they wanted to keep asking questions.
This was a second indication to me that the students
were enjoying the strategy.
I further believe my students enjoyed the strategy
because I had to make a point of keeping the list
posted so they could always see the order. If not,
there were lots of questions such as, ―When do I get
to read?‖ As their turn approached, they always asked
me questions about a word in their book with which
they were having trouble. I would see them
practicing, and they would ask me questions about
preference choice for their classmates between two
books.
This strategy is one I will use in my class in the
future. I think my second graders handled it better
the second semester than they did the first semester,
so I will continue using the strategy during second
semester. This strategy is great because it gets the
kids excited about reading. I no longer hear ―Do I
have to read?,‖ but now ―Do I get to read?‖ or ―Is it
my turn?‖ Not only do my students enjoy reading and
spend time practicing their fluency and working on
vocabulary in an independent manner, but the other
students really enjoyed listening to their classmates

read. They enjoyed the variety of topics from people
their own age who share similar interests.

Conclusion
Overall, students are influenced by their peers.
There were a variety of students at different reading
levels who signed up to read, and they all enjoyed
reading to the class no matter what their reading
level. They were not only encouraged by their peers
to read books on the same topic, but were influenced
by their peers to want to read in general. The ―Sign
Up for Reading‖ strategy worked to encourage
reading and influence of topics to other classmates. It
was a great experience for them to get in front of
their classmates, and it helped them practice reading.
I‘m glad I tried it.

References
Anderson, R.C., Hiebert, E.H., Scott, J.A., &
Wilkinson, A.G. (1985). Becoming a nation of
readers: The report of the commission on reading.
Washington, D.C.: National Institute of
Education.
Applegate, A., & Applegate M. (2010). A study of
thoughtful literacy and the motivation to read.
The Reading Teacher, 64(4), 226-234.
doi:10.1598/RT.64.4.1
Edmunds, K.M., & Bauserman, K.L. (2006). What
teachers can learn about reading motivation
through conversations with children. The Reading
Teacher, 59(5), 414-424.
Hurst, B., Scales, K., Frecks, E., & Lewis, K. (2011).
Sign up for reading: Students read aloud to
the class. The Reading Teacher, 64(6), 439-443.
doi:10.1598/RT.64.6.6
McKool, S. (2007). Factors that influence the decision
to read: An investigation of fifth grade students‘
out-of-school reading habits. Reading Improvement,
44(3), 111-131.

©The Missouri Reader, 37 (1) p.43