Use your classroom bulletin board to create a frequent flyer-style reading program for your students. Cover your bulletin board with a map of the United States. Then have each student cut out and decorate an airplane with their name on it. Have students put their planes on the board wherever your school is located. Then tell them that they'll get to travel around the country based on how many pages they read or how many minutes they read. Each week they get to move their plane 10 miles for every page or minute that they read. When they reach certain destinations, provide prizes based on that destination. For example, if they make it to Orlando, they get a pair of mouse ears and frequent flyer wings. You can also give out awards to frequent flyers such as a cushion for their chair, preferred seating for a week or a special beverage served at their desk.
Put the picture of a large ice cream sundae in the middle of the bulletin board. Then have each student cut out an ice cream dish and draw ice cream in it. Then have them put their dish on the board with their name on it. Cut out several pictures of ice cream toppings. Every time a student reaches a reading goal of a certain number of pages or minutes read, he gets to add a topping to his ice cream. At the end of the motivational period you pre-determine, hold an ice cream social for all the students who have achieved their reading goals.
Bulletin boards can do more than just display the goals students have achieved. They can also motivate students to read by giving them a place to share what they have enjoyed and to express their passion for what they read. Create a Wall of Fame where your readers can share their favorite reading experiences on an ongoing basis. They can create a top 10 list, draw a picture of something they liked from their reading or write a description of it. Give each student her own spot on the board and encourage her to change what she has displayed there at least once a month. Self-selection of reading material is motivational, so let students choose whatever they want to feature in their area of the Wall of Fame. This can even include things they read on cereal boxes, road signs or on the Internet.
Create a bulletin board that starts out sparse but grows through the year, building excitement among your students as it fills up with evidence of their reading accomplishments. Create a display of an empty book shelf on the bulletin board. Cut strips of paper using different colors and different sizes. These will be your book spines. As members of the class read books--either as part of group classroom reading or silent reading--have one of the readers write a title on a strip of paper and add it to the bookshelf. Have them add stars to show how much they liked or disliked a book.