Fostering Reading Cultures in Schools
My school has implemented several different ways to foster a culture of reading with students, teachers and parents.
Special Family Days
The students love the after-school family events when families are invited to the library after school for fun activitiesThis school year was kicked off when ISZL Reads. One of the activities was an online scavenger hunt to help the students get to know the library.
We also celebrated Mo Willams birthday and the students contributed to a digital birthday card .
The School Library Journal offered great ideas for Summer Reads Help Kids Imagine, Learn, and Have Fun! Displaying some of the recommended books would be a great way to end the year.
Book Club Buddies is a great way to have students engage with other children outside the school walls and chat about what they are reading.
Sharing a Padlet for Student Book Reviews can encourage the student to take the lead on reading ideas.
Book Creator Analytics is a great way to share students' thoughts and they can see how far their ideas have reached the global community.
But the best way to spread the look of reading is by reading ourselves. Let the students see us reading to ourselves, read to the students, and talk about what we have read and what we want to read.
The week before and after the events, corresponding books are on display at the entrance of the library and information about the event is played on the TV. You can feel the excitement grow as the day draws nearer.
Golden Cowbell Book Awards
We participate in Switzerland's International School Golden Cowbell Book Awards. Competing books are displayed in the library and the students vote on their favorite. One of the books is read to the students at the beginning of each library class. The students vote on which book will be read each week. There are several copies of the books so the students can take the books home to read with their families.Variety
We offers a wide variety of literature including novels, comics, graphic novels, jokebooks, non-fiction, and almanacs to capture all types of interests. Students can also view online stories on the iPads through Bookflix, Tumblebooks, Epic Books and audiobooks. Catching a student's attention with the right media can be a game changer. For example, I had a grade 9 class that did not want to read, at all, during our DEAR(Drop Everything and Read) time. I decided to play the Divergent audiobook. Student interest increase instantly and several started signing out the other books from the series or other similar series.Additional Resources
There are so many other great ideas for fostering a culture of reading it can seem a little overwhelming and finding the time is always an issue. However, here are a few more gems I would love to try to implement.The School Library Journal offered great ideas for Summer Reads Help Kids Imagine, Learn, and Have Fun! Displaying some of the recommended books would be a great way to end the year.
Book Club Buddies is a great way to have students engage with other children outside the school walls and chat about what they are reading.
Sharing a Padlet for Student Book Reviews can encourage the student to take the lead on reading ideas.
Book Creator Analytics is a great way to share students' thoughts and they can see how far their ideas have reached the global community.
But the best way to spread the look of reading is by reading ourselves. Let the students see us reading to ourselves, read to the students, and talk about what we have read and what we want to read.
Works Cited
"Book Club Buddies." Book Club Buddies, bookclubbuddies.com/. Accessed 1 June 2023.
Kemp, Dan. "Book Creator Update Remixing and Analytics." Book Creator, 30 June 2021, bookcreator.com/2021/06/book-creator-update-remixing-and-analytics/.
Pierce, Dennis. "Summer Reads Help Kids Imagine, Learn, and Have Fun!" School Library Journal, 2 May 2023, www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/summer-reads-help-kids-imagine-learn-and-have-fun-230401. Accessed 2 May 2023.
Virtue, Lynn. "Student Book Reviews." Padlet, padlet.com/lmslynn/student-book-reviews-v33zkoj2m1id. Accessed 1 June 2023.
Example of a book review
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Kim, you and your school have some fabulous methods for engaging your readers. I love the scavenger hunt in the library with families afterschool. Your idea of playing the audiobook version of "Divergent" was a brilliant way to motivate students to sign out the book and find out more. I think the idea of promoting student voice by encouraging book reviews is a great way to engage students. Of all the programs your school uses, which have you noticed to be the most effective in creating a reading culture?
ReplyDeleteI think the themes create a huge push for the different theme books. The student really like seeing the new theme books at the entrance and that really ups the interest.
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ReplyDeleteThis is a strong post filled with excellent strategies to foster a reading culture. The embedded links provide many great takeaways for your reader. I haven’t heard of Book Buddies before. Is this something you have used with your students?
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried the Book Buddies yet but I would like to look into next year. I am not sure if I would join the site to just create my own. So many great ideas to try and next year will be an exciting one.
DeleteHi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI love your ideas of family events after school! I think that's a fun and meaningful way to bring in community members and create strong relationships. Plus, by opening up the school in this way, family members feel involved and welcome to a place that can often feel like a mystery to them. Well done!
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteYou have share such fantastic ideas in you blog about how to engage your students and community by making reading a joyful community experience! I love your Book Creator scavenger hunt idea. I have used QR code scavenger hunts for older students, but appreciate the ease of audio and video integration that could make a Book Creator LLC scavenger hunt so accessible for even the youngest students - thanks so much for sharing that!