Motivating Readers: Reading Karate Kicks Reading into High Gear!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) April 2, 2011 -- Motivating students to read is not difficult with Reading Karate from Primary Education Oasis. Reading comprehension activities become exciting when students are actively working towards specific goals. If teachers want to get children reading, these teaching resources will do the trick.

Reading Karate was developed when the author noticed a lack of motivation to read in her students. Research shows that the quantity of books a child reads directly impacts their development, so it was critical that the children be reading much more, choosing books appropriate for their level and interests, and learn how to respond to literature in authentic ways.

Many children are intrigued by martial arts, so the idea of tying in karate to reading achievement seemed to be a natural fit. Since increasing stamina, moving through different levels of difficulty, and having to "show what you know" with proficiency works well with karate, the same principles are applied to improving reading comprehension and fluency.

The excitement grows as the children earn their different belts for reading various genres and quantities of books. The white belt is easy to earn: read two picture books and respond at an authentic and connected level to the text. The number of books and genres gradually increases to provide scaffolding, support and continued success.

But wait until the Black Belt: science books, poetry, biographies...and the students cannot wait to read aloud to the class to show their fluency and prosody! The best part is that Reading Karate can be done at any reading level, from Guided Reading C to a Z. This is a great solution for struggling, unmotivated readers and for teachers looking for a Tier 1 reading intervention.

children reading     guided reading     reading comprehension     reading intervention     teaching reading strategies     teaching resources