Lost in books: How to Foster Reading Culture In Schools

Reading goes faster if you don't sweat comprehension!

Fostering a Reading Culture

To foster a reading culture I will discuss 4 areas I focus on and although the information is presented in linear fashion the areas do overlap. 

Personal Story in the Home

I am very fortunate as both of my children love to read and they can read for hours on end! Although, the most difficult time I found was when my son transitioned to his teen years as we struggled to find an author or series he truly enjoyed reading. Eventually, we did find the Dune by Frank Herbert and he was hooked. 

As a teacher I am asked by parents and guardians how do we foster the love of reading in our household? My answer is to model, read with your child, and allow for choice. If they want to read Diary of a Wimpy kid, graphic novels, or Archie comics support them! 

In the Classroom

In my classroom I tried to ensure I offered ample opportunity to read for pleasure as well as for academic learning.
  • Classroom Daily 4: this allows for student autonomy and choice which is very powerful!
    • Read to Self: Students read a book of their choice
    • Listening to Reading using the Epic! app: This is a free app that allows students to read a variety of books
    • Work with Teacher: Students will learn reading comprehension skills in a guided small group setting
  • extensive, modern Classroom Library: I try to ensure that my books are relevant to student's interests, a mix of fiction and nonfiction, and there is a wide variety of reading levels
  • model reading: During Read to Self I will read as well I will read outloud a Battle of the Books novel during our snack time
  • Physical space is Indigenized and set-up to create a safe space which has multiple modes of seating which include comfortable reading areas  
  • promote participation in school and district reading initatives

In the School

  • TL promotes and organizes Battle of the Books: Students read a set number of novels, compete at the school level to form a team, winners move onto Zones, then to districts!  
  • TL promotes and organizes Sagebrush Book Awards: Students read a variety of genres and vote on their favorite book/novel
  • TL organizes DEAR - Drop Everything And Read: A yearly event in which the entire school drops everything and reads for 20 minutes
  • TL promotes Unplug & Play: Family Literacy Week: A week long event that encourages families to participate in literacy activities 
  • TL promotes the TNRL Thompson-Nicola Regional Library Summer Reading Club
  • TL and TL Assistant create monthly displays that promote reading
  • TL and TL Assistant give book talks during the library book sign-out time

In the District

  • Bright Red Book Bus: During the summer a bus filled with books travels around to different schools and kids can get free books
  • District library committee organizes Unplug & Play: Family Literacy Week 
  • District library committee organizes Battle of the Books

In the Future

When I get the opportunity to develop my own SLLC program I will be guided by the First Peoples Principles of Learning. I want to honour the land we are situated and Indigenous ways of knowing. 


I want to ensure that the physical and virtual space reflects the school community and the land.  I want to ensure that there is flexible seating that allows for students to find those comfortable places to read thus encouraging it. I want to ensure I collaborate with staff and students to create a safe space for all and reflective of student voice. Along with district and school events already occuring I would like to create some of my own. I enjoyed the virtual tour of Darcy McNee's SLLC and I the events she incorpated in her program that I would like to attempt are; Blind Date with a Book, grab bags, Mixed Up Meal and Book Tasting. I thought these events were very ingenous and would pique student's interests. Another idea I had was to invite an Elder or Knowledge Keeper from the local Indigenous community for storytelling once a month. I would also think it would be great to incorporate the idea of creating a book review either through Youtube or Flipgrid. 


Since learning is a journey I realize once I do have the opportunity to develop my own SLLC program I will have learned many more wonderful ideas, activities, and events that I can incorporate to foster a reading culture within my school! 

Work Cited

(2020). YouTube. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://youtu.be/vyFCZPgM5sY.

Reading goes faster if you don’t sweat comprehension. thecuriousbrain.com. (2012, March 8). https://thecuriousbrain.com/?p=124350

SD73 Sagebrush Book Awards. SD73 SAGEBRUSH BOOK AWARDS. (n.d.). https://sagebrushbookawards.weebly.com/

Emily_TNRL. (2023, May 18). Summer reading clubs. Thompson-Nicola Regional Library. https://www.tnrl.ca/programs-events/src/

McNee, Darcy. (2023, May 23). LIBE 477B 93Q 2023S1 Special Topics in Teacher Librarianship - SP TPCS TCH LIBR [Zoom Meeting]. 

Welcome to battle of the books. Welcome To Battle Of The Books. (n.d.). https://bob.sd73.bc.ca/

Comments

  1. D.McNeeJune 1, 2023 at 7:19 PM

    This is a strong post filled with excellent strategies to foster a reading culture. The embedded links provide many great takeaways for your reader. I appreciate the balance you have created here between personal, reflective narrative and outside reading in research.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mrs. LauJune 3, 2023 at 6:23 PM

    I really enjoyed reading your post especially the video showing the engagement of students and their wanting to do video reviews of novels as it teaches students so many additional skills besides the reading. Collaboration, writing a script, considering the audience, how to actually film, edit and load these videos. Exciting stuff! Plus, they go home with a summer reading list full of recommendations from their peers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dianna S.June 4, 2023 at 9:01 AM

    I totally agree that reading culture begins in the home. If only all parents got on board from a young age. This post got me thinking about the fact that, though I read to my little guy all the time, and I always have an audiobook on the go (multitasking!), he doesn't often SEE me reading for pleasure, and I should be modelling that. I love your idea of having an elder come in to do storytelling once a month. While it's not "reading" per se, it definitely gets students engaging with story and requires them to use the same comprehension skills. Plus, it ties in with the elementary Big Ideas! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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