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It is a truth universally acknowledged… that students love stickers. I’ll be honest—so do I! It’s no wonder that one of my favorite tools to use in the Read Live lab is the sticker sheet.

Over the years, I’ve continued to perfect the way I structure the sheet. Is this truly to maximize its benefits for motivating my students, or to fulfill my own obsessive desire for my tools to be that much more satisfying and visually appealing? Maybe a bit of both. I’m sure some of you can relate.

In my first experiences working in a Read Live lab, I followed the practice of Read Naturally Educational Consultant Karen Hunter, giving students sticker labels with story titles for each story they completed. The students got satisfaction from peeling the sticker off the label sheet and carefully aligning it on the front of their folder. It was also motivating for them to see the accumulation of all the stories they’ve passed. This visual proof of progress is so helpful in encouraging them to keep working hard. They’re often proud to show off their collection to their parents, peers, and classroom teachers.

I no longer have my students place their story labels on their folders, though. Sometimes the stickers would be damaged, and we’d eventually run out of space. Instead of replacing the folder, I thought it’d be more practical to give them a sheet of paper to keep inside their folder. And oh, wouldn’t it feel so special for them to have study sheets of cardstock? This was indeed a huge improvement. It was easier to maintain over time, and students did find them to be extra special. Then I thought, how fun would it be to use colored cardstock? Not only would the sheets be even cuter, but it would provide another opportunity for student choice. Students were thrilled to select their favorite color for their sticker sheet.

I had heard of another Read Live teacher giving out stars for stories that students scored 100% on their first quiz attempt. What a great idea to encourage students to be careful on the quiz and not rush through. It was a very effective motivator, but sometimes students would make a desperate plea in hopes of acquiring that star when they had failed to score 100%. And well, I’m a sucker who loves stickers too...

In my next iteration of the sticker sheet, I decided that students would always get a star sticker for completing a story, but they would get to choose a special, unique sticker from my variety pack in addition to the star sticker if they scored 100% on their first quiz attempt. I now allow students to put their story title label on their sheet when they select the story. When they pass a story, I always give them a star. Together, we check if they got 100% on their first quiz attempt, and if they did, they get to visit the sticker station to pick out their special sticker. I quickly learned that I needed to put a time limit on the selection process, so I use an old Read Naturally timer that they start when they get to the station. That way, they get to feel special and celebrate their success without wasting time that should be spent reading.

If you don’t have the time or funds to maintain the sticker system (or if you don’t share my sticker obsession), there are many other ways to provide that visual motivation for your students. Read Naturally has lots of printable tools, like story trackers, blank graphs, surveys, and more! You could use a reusable stamp instead of single-use stickers. Or you could simply set up a classroom-wide story tally on the whiteboard.

What are your favorite tools and strategies to help motivate students in your Read Live lab? Share them in the comments or in the Read Live Community Facebook group to help inspire other teachers.