Teachers Talk about Literature

Cover 2 Cover had an unexpected benefit in terms of building up a culture of reading in a school and this is reinforced through articles that I have read.

One of my colleagues was assisting me with Library supervision several weeks ago. They actually leaked out their favourite book to a group of students. The teacher in question was one of those featured in the staff favourite books guessing competition.

I recall that they shared some details about the book and this got the students interested.

The students who took part in the guessing competition themselves and even after the answers were publicly revealed (once winners had collected their prizes) learnt a lot about teachers' reading preferences and I hope it might encourage them to read. If teachers can reveal their reading preferences and share it, it will motivate them to read, whether it is the books featured or other books.

Most importantly, the message conveyed to students was that teachers, even with their busy schedules put time aside to read.

Even I learnt a lot about what my colleagues like to read. I could tell that the books meant something to them.

But in the classroom, what could you do as a teacher to promote reading as a fun activity?

• Find books with storylines that relate to the work being studied in class e.g. The Lord of the Flies is fantastic in reflecting how important having laws are in society. 
• Sharing background information, especially classic novels can be used to relate them to history.
• Share quotes or extracts from books with your class.
• Talk to students about your reading and invite them to share what they read with you.
• Get students to try and identify books or stories that relate to the content studied.
• Share books relating to a specific subject, e.g. Adam Spencer's books on numbers are great for mathematics.

There might be some other ideas. What could you suggest?

Cover 2 Cover is over

Cover 2 Cover is now over. After the last logs were validated on Wednesday and scores tallied up, the winners were revealed today at a school assembly.

I was proud of our winners with juniors winning most of the prizes on offer. Our winners managed to read around 60 books in a seven week period. Time is limited, but reading is an activity that means something to them.

One of them is from a Non English speaking background and her love of reading stemmed from having to read at home develop her English language skills. She can read well above her age now.

Compared to where it began seven weeks ago, Cover 2 Cover came a long way. I noticed in the last fortnight, homeroom teachers were encouraging their kids to read to land the homeroom prize of a special lunch. The homeroom winner was well deserving with most students reading at least one book in that time.

Some students had also spread gossip about progress, especially after I stopped reporting points early in the week.

I had heard from one student that their friend normally doesn't read, but participating it made them rethink about the importance of reading.

We also had noticed more books being borrowed with some untouched books actually finding themselves in the hands of a student.

And the students today enjoyed and cheered on our winners. They were thrilled.