Since I have a carnival/circus theme in my classroom, I made a “Reading is Sweet” bulletin board with some cute lollipops I found in the Target Dollar Spot. This board is used to track home reading minutes. For every 100 minutes read at home, my students earn a pony bead to put on their necklace. My students can also earn special “gold” beads or reading brag tags for challenges during fall break, winter break, spring break, and other holiday breaks.
All of my students have a dog tag necklace with their names and “grade 2” stamped on them. If you want to stamp your students’ names onto dog tag necklaces, then it is important to get a soft aluminum. I couldn’t find the original ones I got, but I found some similar ones on Amazon HERE. Click HERE to see a metal stamp set, similar to the one I used.
To start out the school year, each necklace had a piece of candy. My students got to trade in their candy when they read their first 100 minutes (at home) and earned their first bead. I will continue to put a small candy on their necklaces every so often to keep up the motivation. The candy also helps me keep to the theme “Reading is Sweet!”
Even though my students have only earned one or two beads so far, they are so excited! They are talking about the patterns they want to make with their beads… and all I tell them is: Keep reading at home and you will get that pattern!
I require my students to read at least 20 minutes each school night for homework. I send home a reading chart each month. In one week, they should be able to get 100 minutes read, which would earn them at least 1 bead a week, and 4 a month.
I have list of these items on my Amazon Storefront. This list has everything you’ll need to start these reading necklaces in your classroom HERE or click on the pictures below:
