Incorporating a regular period of independent recreational reading into your daily classroom routine will introduce your students to the joy of reading—simply for fun! What’s more, recreational reading provides students with the opportunity to select their own reading material and practice their reading and word-attack skills on their own. Best of all, research shows that students who engage in recreational reading are more likely to become avid readers—for life!

Here are some fun ideas to make recreational reading a hit in your classroom:

	Name It & Claim It There are many acronyms already in use to describe independent recreational reading time in the classroom (e.g., SSR–Sustained Silent Reading and DEAR–Drop Everything and Read). Encourage students to take ownership of their recreational reading time by creating their own fun acronym for the class to use, such as SURF (Sustained Uninterrupted Reading Fun) or DIRT (Daily Independent Reading Time). Then, have them create colorful bookmarks to accompany the theme. (For example, “Second Graders love SURF time!”)
	Set the Mood Dim the lights and provide inexpensive book lights or soft reading lamps during SSR time. Allow students to make themselves comfortable by taking their books to any spot in the room (e.g., sitting under tables or desks, lounging on pillows in a reading corner, or lying on the floor with their feet propped up on a chair). Turn on soft classical background music to drown out any outside or hallway noise.
	Share the Story At the close of each recreational reading period, select one or two volunteers to share something interesting or exciting about the story or book they are reading. Encourage students to offer a short book review without giving away the ending to other students who might be interested in reading the story.
	Keep a Record Have students keep a personal reading log to record the daily reading progress they are making. Students will be encouraged to review their reading log and see that a few pages a day really adds up!
	Graph the Class Create a class line graph using chart paper or poster board. Graph the number of books or pages that your class reads over a one-month period. Save the graphs over a period of time. Then, after a few months, compare the graphs from the first part of the school year and allow students to see for themselves the astounding progress they have made!
	Model Good Reading Resist the temptation to shuffle through papers, tidy up the classroom, or engage in other tasks that may distract students during recreational reading time. Instead, demonstrate your own love of reading by grabbing a good book of your own! Reading is contagious and your enthusiasm for reading will be an inspiration to your students!