Changing the conversation around books - Ways to have fun with reading.
‘Not quite, sound it out again… What can you infer from the character’s expression here..? Who was cross with the cat..? Summarise paragraph 4 and note three key points… Just go and read until everyone has finished.’
Are any of these phrases familiar?
Phonics lessons, comprehension sessions, interventions, a fast finisher’s time filler; throughout the day, we bombard children with opportunities for reading. But how often do we stop to just celebrate the pure joy of a good book?
Finding the fun in reading is more than just dressing up days a couple of times a year. It is important to dedicate time to simply reading for pleasure and weave it through the school week, ensuring that as well as teaching the vital skills our children need to read and enjoy books, they also experience the fun and enjoyment that can be found through reading.
Here’s some easy to implement ideas for creating reading classrooms and adding those extra reading opportunities whenever possible:
Daily reading fun
A great class book can create a moment of collective calm, laughter or drama in each day. That feeling when the class beg you to carry on reading -‘don’t leave it on a cliff hanger… just one chapter more…’- is one to savour. Planning the class reader after lunchtime instead of the end of the day can make a huge difference. It allows you to be more flexible with your reading and time does not get ‘squeezed’ at the end of the day.
A poem a day is another great way to enjoy reading together. Does this feel a bit awkward to you? My advice – persevere with passion. Let the language and rhythm flow with no pressure to analyse the words or meaning unless children decide to take a lead on this. There are some wonderful anthologies for every day of the year and you will soon find children buried in these books looking up the birthday poems of everyone from themselves to their cat!
Weekly reading fun
Reading recommendations. A ten minute circle time sharing recommendations teacher to pupil and pupil to pupil can be extremely powerful in bringing a bookish buzz to the classroom. A personal post-it recommendation can turn a pupil on to reading and adding a graffiti wall to the classroom for pupils to recommend reads is also an excellent way to encourage pupil voice. Ask children on the playground about their reading or when coming into school or lining up. Make informal book talk an integral part of every day.
Add hot chocolate and a biscuit! Enjoying a special drink alongside the class story once a week or giving children an opportunity for their own reading with a treat definitely helps put the ‘pleasure’ into reading and inspires informal book chat.
Read where you want time. Where do you like to read? Sat straight backed on a chair at a table? That’s definitely not my preference. Allow children ownership of their reading spaces. In summer, throw open the classroom doors, let children read under the table in a den or reading with a friend.
Love library visits. Whether the school library or local library, make the most of these opportunities to immerse children in the joy and variety of books. Use activities such as scavenger hunts or ‘book tasting’ to give all children opportunities to experience a rich reading diet – fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, picture books – and discover their own personal reading tastes.
Bookish assemblies. Capture children’s interest using books or author videos during assembly times. Have teachers recommend reads in assembly. Children love to read what you enjoy.
Reading around the year - Whole School Reading Celebrations
On the first Thursday in March, there is a collective national excitement around children’s books as schools are filled with book characters and children eagerly await spending their World Book Day vouchers.
Imagine capturing this feeling throughout the year?
Planning termly or half termly reading events creates a book buzz around the whole school and celebrates the vibrant reading for pleasure culture within it.
Giving children an aspect of ownership over these events helps them further value and enjoy reading and develops their intrinsic motivation to read for pleasure.
There are so many events you can get involved in from Roald Dahl Day, to National Poetry Day, National Storytelling Week to Pyjamarama, and of course School libraries week!
A reading café or book tasking event is always very popular too. Check out the attached calendar of reading events to leave you brimming with ideas.
BRING ON THE FUN!
‘Tell me about what you’re reading today… How does your book make you feel…? What’s the funniest book you’ve read this year…? What would you recommend I read next…?’
Let’s change the narrative around reading so that we are using and hearing these phrases more in our schools.
Yes, teaching our children to read, access and understand books is a vital part of the curriculum, but we also need to remember the key indicator of a child’s future success is reading for pleasure (OECD) and dedicate the time to just revel in the joy of reading.