Encourage students to take ownership of their independent reading by asking them to create a unique book box at the beginning of the year.

Snapshot: Independent Reading in my Classroom
Grade Level: Kindergarten

Book Boxes

I encourage independent reading and make it fun with this assignment early in the school year:

• Students and their parents make a book box from an empty cereal or shoe box. They decorate their box and bring it for “sharing time."
• Throughout the year, students will place books at their reading level, black-line master books from the reading series, and books that they have illustrated, colored, or written in their box.
• They are assigned to read books from their book box out loud to a family member once a week.
• They also turn in a weekly “Book Reading Log.”  Monthly, I award stickers and recognition for those who complete their logs.

Book Boxes Encourage Independent Reading