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Motivate Your Child to Pass More Stories!

Madeline Waters • July 10, 2023

The more stories students pass, the more they improve.

The quickest path to reading competency is to successfully complete as many stories as possible while maintaining accuracy and comprehension. And yet, you may notice your child prefers to work at a leisurely pace—unconcerned with how many stories they're passing each week. How can you motivate them to increase the number of words and stories they read?


Over the years, we've collected a few tips and tricks for parents like you:


  • The Point System. This good old-fashioned incentive program can yield great results. Give your child a certain number of points every time they pass a story—for example 10 points per story. When they reach a certain number of points—for example, 100 points—they earn a reward. Young readers love small prizes like stickers. Be sure to verbally recognize your child's achievements, too. You will get the best results if you pair point distribution with well-deserved verbal praise.


  • Story Options. Celebrate your child's success with appropriate program adjustments. Offer a reduced number of required read alongs or practices as a reward for consistent accuracy on the quiz and pass timings. If your child scores 100% (or whatever you determine is appropriate) on several quizzes in a row and passes stories with a low number of errors (ideally two or fewer) on their first attempt, allow them to drop the number of required read alongs or practices by one. This will help them move through the program more quickly. In order to maintain this privilege, their scores need to stay high.

    These incentives can also be tied into the points system. Reduced read alongs or practices can be offered as rewards for a certain number of points earned.
     
  • Personal Progress Monitoring. When developing readers take responsibility for their own success, they can progress more quickly. While progress monitoring is already built into the One Minute Reader program through points and progress graphs, we also offer several free printables to make the reading process more interactive, motivating, and progress-oriented for your developing reader. Click here for Blank Graphs, Student Surveys, Story Title Labels, a Weekly Story Tracker, and more!


Note that we are not encouraging students to skim or speed read. Passing stories requires careful reading, comprehension, and accuracy, and readers are held accountable to meet the pass criteria in order to move ahead. As they build fluency, they will be able to read and pass stories more quickly, which will accelerate them toward reading proficiency. Be sure to keep tabs on their comprehension and accuracy throughout the process, and make adjustments if these elements start to slide. 


Parents are awesome at motivating their children to do things they may not want to do. Use this superpower to help your child make optimal progress in reading. And if you have additional tricks up your sleeve, please share them! We would love to pass your wisdom along to other parents.


Highlighted Posts

By Anne Hauth September 23, 2025
Reading fluency is a crucial skill that bridges the gap between decoding words and understanding their meaning. One effective strategy to build fluency is repeated reading —a technique where a student reads the same text multiple times until they achieve a level of fluency that feels natural and confident. What Is Repeated Reading? Repeated reading involves selecting a short passage at an appropriate reading level--ideally at or slightly above the student's instructional level. The student reads this passage several times, focusing on improving speed, accuracy, and expression with each reading. This practice allows for mastery of the text, leading to fluent and confident reading. Fluent reading should sound like conversational speaking--natural and expressive. Why Does It Work? Research shows* that repeated reading can lead to significant improvements in reading performance. The benefits include: Improved Word Recognition : By encountering the same words repeatedly, students become more familiar with them, leading to quicker and more accurate recognition. When these words become automatic, the students no longer need to put effort into decoding them. Increased Reading Fluency : Reading the same passage multiple times allows students to build fluency--each time reading it more smoothly and with greater expression. Enhanced Comprehension : As fluency improves, students can focus more on understanding the text, leading to better comprehension. This improvement in comprehension extends to unpracticed passages as well. Increased Confidence : Repeated reading is a form of mastery learning. Many beginning or struggling readers don't often get the opportunity to hear themselves sounding like fluent readers. After reading a passage multiple times, they've mastered it--and they sound great! This is a huge confidence boost that motivates them to keep reading. Repeated Reading at Home Incorporating the repeated reading strategy into your child's home reading routine doesn't have to be complicated or boring. In fact, many kids already do it! You've probably noticed that they often want to read the same book over and over. Don't discourage this--as long as they haven't totally memorized the entire text, they're building skills each time they read it. To work on repeated reading with your child at home, here's a simple strategy: Use an Appropriate Passage : Have your child choose a new short text that is slightly challenging but still within their level. Listen to Your Child Read : Have your child read the passage aloud to you. Note any words that are difficult for them to decode. Read Aloud Together : Read the passage aloud with your child, modeling fluent reading. Do this one to three times. Identify the difficult words together, and provide definitions. Independent Practice : Encourage your child to read the passage independently a few more times, focusing on improving their expression with each reading. Celebrate Progress : Affirm how much your child improved from the first reading to the final reading. Acknowledge their hard work and progress to build confidence and motivation. Additional Tips Keep Sessions Short : Aim for 10- to 15-minute sessions at first, to maintain focus and prevent frustration. Consider Using a Timer : If your child is open to the idea, set a timer each time they read the passage. Note their improvement in time, and celebrate their fluency growth. Make the timing element a fun challenge, but emphasize that this exercise isn't about speed reading--it's about building fluency. Repeated reading is a powerful strategy that can significantly enhance your child's reading ability. If you're looking for an easy-to-use program that incorporates this research-proven strategy, check out One Minute Reader . This program uses repeated reading and gamified learning to help kids at various reading levels build fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and confidence. * Dowhower, S. L. (1987). Effects of repeated reading on second-grade transitional readers’ fluency and comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly , 22(4), 389–405. Kuhn, M. R., & Stahl, S. A. (2003). Fluency: A review of developmental and remedial practices. Journal of Educational Psychology , 95(1), 3–21. LaBerge, D., & Samuels, S. J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology , 6(2), 292–323.
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Simple back-to-school reading routines that help kids build strong literacy skills, improve homework success, and develop lifelong reading habits. Get practical tips for creating a daily reading schedule, cozy reading spaces, and fun ways to make reading stick at home.
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