Skills for the Future: Preparing Students for Lifelong Learning by Fostering a Love of Reading at Home and in Schools Inquiry Blog Post #1

This year I will be starting a new job as a teacher librarian at a rural high school. One of my goals moving into this position is to create a space where students and staff can share a united love of reading and learning. During my interview, I learned that a part of the school’s growth plan for the coming year is to increase student engagement. By carefully reviewing the current collection for relevancy and user interests, and keeping these factors in mind when adding additional materials to the collection, I can ensure I am working towards this shared goal.

When reflecting on past experiences relating to a school-wide reading program, my contributions have been quite positive. I think this is largely due to the fact that I was able to build lasting relationships with the staff and students I have worked with. Unfortunately, both of these positions were temporary but I feel that if I had been given more time, perhaps it could have grown into something more.

At each of these schools, I asked for student input and staff recommendations. I placed a box in the library so my library users could fill out requests for materials they wished to see brought in. I would routinely look into these requests to ensure that they were appropriate, and whether or not they would be something I could incorporate into our school’s collection (and budget). Not only did this give my library users choice, but also allowed them to do so without judgment, as the requests didn’t require them to submit their names. In addition to this, I promoted books by setting up creative displays to entice readers. I also incorporated mini lessons on writing citations and analyzing sources for credibility, but these were a rarity and lacked the substance I longed for when asking to collaborate with classroom teachers.

Now that I have officially accepted a continuous contract, I will be able to make the library my own. It is a very exciting and nerve-wracking time. While my anxiety sometimes gets the better of me, I must take this opportunity to connect. Building strong relationships will allow me to get to know my students and colleagues. This knowledge gained will enable me to better meet their educational needs through the library learning commons’ resources and programs. Ultimately, I intend to have a thriving library but understand that this is a process that takes time and a great deal of advocacy. I plan on continuing to promote books through creative displays and recommendations. This, in addition to the previously mentioned connections, will ensure the library learning commons operates successfully as both a place for readers and learners.

I know that in order to support a school-wide reading program there are a number of things I must consider incorporating into my current practice. In chapter three of Literacy libraries and learning: Using books and online resources to promote reading, writing and research Doiron outlines “six major ways teacher-librarians can work with students and teachers to promote literacy” (2005). They are as follows:

1. “sharing the excitement of reading
2. showing how resources promote students’ diverse cultures
3. making links to the wider community
4. leading school-wide reading incentive programs
5. developing other literacies, including visual and media literacies
6. working in traditional literacy activities, to help students with writing projects, reading comprehension, and information skills” (Doiron, 2005)

I found this list to be of great use when reflecting upon my minimal teacher-librarian experience. While I was able to check off a number of these roles, I struggled to feel satisfied with the quality of my leadership given the time constraints and my longing for more collaborative inquiry. Reading incentives were one of the ways I have previously promoted student literacy. Not only did I want to recognize the reading progress of individual students, but also encourage participation from those who were more reluctant to read. I think that taking the time to recognize individual progress goes a long way, especially for students who may not have this kind of support at home.

As a parent and educator,  I appreciated the simplicity of this article: https://www.speechbuddy.com/blog/language-development/creative-ways-to-embrace-literacy-artifacts-to-promote-language/ which outlines some “creative ways to embrace literacy artifacts to promote language”. It ties in with the “book breaks” offered in the video I have linked below to help get parents involved with their child’s reading at home. They present some neat ideas I plan on using in my future practice!

Additionally, I love the idea of the “book breaks” promoted by the staff at Auckland’s Mahurangi College and Kingsford Primary School. By encouraging reading at home during the breaks and making it a family affair, these schools are seeing a passion for reading and literacy in their students as well as a culture of reading within their schools.

Since I will be starting at a new school, I don’t yet know my students. Having said this, I would like to dabble in various activities to help foster a love of reading and learning. I want students to be able to practice digital literacy in my library and encourage their creativity through collaboration. When I am confident in these abilities, I would eventually like to incorporate an area for makerspace activities. Rather than delve right into a makerspace I would like to take the time to get to know my school and library users. I want to ensure that the addition of a makerspace be widely accepted before investing a great deal of my time and budget. As Moorefield-Lang asserts “start small” with “workshops after school or collaborating on projects with a peer educator” (2015). Doing so will work to encourage students who may not otherwise visit the library to find something they are passionate about. Finally, I would like to present the idea of a scheduled schoolwide reading time within our day. As this brief video demonstrates, a program like “Drop Everything and Read” works to improve student interest and success.

References:

Doiron, R., Asselin, M., Arsenault, A., Beaudry, R., Filipenko, M., Gabriel, M., . . . Moffat, L. (2005). Ch. 3. Teacher-Librarians and Classroom Teachers: Partners in Promoting Reading. In Literacy libraries and learning: Using books and online resources to promote reading, writing and research (pp. 33-46). Canada: Pembroke.

F., H. (2015, February 12). Creative Ways to Embrace Literacy Artifacts to Promote Language – Teaching You Child to Read All Around You. Speech Buddies Blog: Speech, Language & Pronunciation Guides. https://www.speechbuddy.com/blog/language-development/creative-ways-to-embrace-literacy-artifacts-to-promote-language/

Moorefield-Lang, H. (2015). Making, Libraries, and Literacies. Library Media Connection, 33(4), 30-31.

National Library New Zealand, 2014. Creating a school-wide reading culture. Available at:<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiOZQFLTwmQ> [Accessed 22 July 2020].

Province of British Columbia, 2012. Drop Everything and Read. [Video] Available at:<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUCnQnif5k4> [Accessed 24 July 2020].