Many Trials Some Errors

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            I have slowly been working to develop a reading culture at my school but I don’t think it’s been in any real defined way, other than I’ve wanted students to come to the library, know how and where to find what they want, and feel comfortable. The following is a list of things I have tried or am currently trying with a few reflections on the process and their success or failure.

General Student Engagement

• Students know they can come to me and recommend books they like and think others would like for me to purchase in the library. I try and ask what they’re interested in, what they’re reading at home. I have found this has made many students more open in giving recommendations to their peers as well. Building a display space around student recommendations is something I would like to grow further. It’s also something I’ve considered adding to our library website in a blog section that could be updated weekly.
• There are a few different student-lead book clubs that have asked to use the library at lunch time for their discussions. I encourage this and try and give them as much support as they ask for: finding extra copies, etc.

Monitors

• Our library has student monitors who are grades 4 - 7. Empowering the monitors has changed the culture in the library: they give recommendations, they take ownership, they enjoy the responsibility (and the perks of getting to take out more books).
• There is another special group of executive monitors who I teach to do more clerical tasks and they really are stars. They’ve come up with a few events to do during the year and often come in on their spare time to help with extra things. The exec monitors also go through catalogues with me and mark what they find interesting and would like to read. These suggestions help inform what I purchase for the library.

Space

• Once when our Helping Teacher visited our library she recommended that I reduce shelves to 3/4 full at max to leave room for displays. Once I did that I immediately saw a difference in what was being taken off the shelves.  Students would take most things that were on display. This was both encouraging and frustrating though as it only affected the English books. The French books require much more promotion and even then they are not the majority of student’s first choices, they are a requirement. French books are a must as we are a single track French Immersion school, but it strips a lot of joy from reading for the students.

Special Events

• We do a number of draws and competitions throughout the year. Most are book and library focused but there are a few (like hosting the pumpkins from the decorating contest) that are just to connect and get students and families to come into the library.
• We have a few programs affiliated with the public library that run such as Reading Link Challenge for grades 4 and 5 and Summer Reading promotion in June.  
• This year I tried introducing the Tower of Books challenge for grades 2 to 4. Students choose their goal (20, 30, or 40 books read by the end of the year) and we keep track with paper book stacks on the walls of the library. It has been successful in encouraging students to try different genres. I have noticed interest has waned for most students that signed up. I think if I choose to try the program again it will take a more concentrated effort on my part to introduce different genres in a more focused way. I have been hearing a lot about and looking into genrefication for our fiction section. Both Anna Crosland (http://annacrosland.edublogs.org/2019/01/27/step-by-step-guide-to-genrefication/) in my own district and Jennifer LaGarde (http://www.librarygirl.net/2018/10/genrefying-your-collection-without.html) in Washington have written about the benefits of taking the “Chapters” model plunge.
• We tried a new event this year a “Milk & Cookies Night” where students and their families come in PJs in the evening to listen to stories and then enjoy milk and cookies together after. We had a lot of good feedback and a fairly good turn out from our families. Because we’re a FRIM school it can be difficult for families to engage with the books we send home so events like this helps us to promote reading culture despite language barriers.  
• We’ll also be trying a “Reading Under the Stars” event during the day in June. Where students can come into the gym and enjoy a story by flashlight around the “campfire”
• Last year I tried participating in Global Read Aloud. We exchanged postcards with a class in Nova Scotia and another in the States. It was really exciting for the students, but it was difficult to maintain momentum. We couldn’t stay on track with our reading and fell behind. There was also one class that received their postcards and one that didn’t. I liked the idea of sharing an experience with others from around the world, but I think it might be more suited to a classroom situation where making up time lost here and there is easier.

Here are a few things I found while researching this week’s blog topic that I’m interested in promoting or trying at my school for the coming year. They’re taken from an article created by the National Library of New Zealand and Auckland's Mahurangi College and Kingsford Primary School.

https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/reading-engagement/understanding-reading-engagement/a-school-wide-reading-culture

• Every level of school staff from administrators down demonstrates the importance of reading to students. They often include a book talk in their assemblies and the principal discusses something he’s read.

• There’s a focus on reading for pleasure as a weekly school wide initiative (3 x 15 min blocks). Most classes in our school have a silent reading block during the day. There is an added level of difficulty because we need our students to be immersed in the French language while they are at school but it is more difficult to read for pleasure in a second language that you are learning. For us, having high interest books in French is a priority to overcome some of that reticence.
• They focus a lot on promotion of reading (hallways, boards, staffroom...) and reading statements in their school.
• One point suggested students should books with them during waiting times. For someone who loves books and always has one in their bag, why did I never think of that when I was trying to figure out ways to keep my class calm while waiting for music?
• They also suggest doing teacher interviews and books reviews. I thought this might be something I could add to our library website and also have posted in a display case.

Works cited:

"A School-wide Reading Culture." Home | National Library of New Zealand, Jan. 2019,

www.natlib.govt.nz/schools/reading-engagement/understanding-reading-engagement/a-school-wide-reading-culture.

Crosland, Anna. "Step by Step Guide to Genrefication | Anna Crosland TL." Anna

Crosland TL | Anna Crosland TL, 27 Jan. 2019, www.annacrosland.edublogs.org/2019/01/27/step-by-step-guide-to-genrefication/

LaGarde, Jennifer. "Genrefying Your Collection Without Changing Call Numbers." The

Adventures of Library Girl, 23 Oct. 2018, www.librarygirl.net/2018/10/genrefying-your-collection-without.html.

National Library NZ. "Creating a School-wide Reading Culture." YouTube, 16 Nov.

2014, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=246&v=kiOZQFLTwmQ.