Reading is without doubt, a valuable skill today, and reading for pleasure, has been shown to have so many academic, social and emotional benefits that making it a part of students’ lives is essential. A school with a reading culture is one that values, supports, respects and encourages reading amongst its students, staff and entire community.
Here are some ways in which you can build a reading culture in your school
1.Teachers and leaders as readers: It is important and essential for teachers as well as principals and other staff in your school to read and to make their reading lives visible to students. It helps create good role models, build relationships with students and is invaluable in having important conversations with students around books and reading.
2. Build vibrant and active classroom libraries: Classroom libraries with a rich and diverse collection that are part of the student's daily lives, provide students with book access and choice, which are essential for building a habit of reading for pleasure.
3. Schedule times for independent reading: Having daily, non-negotiable times in students’ daily schedules that allow them to choose their own books and read independently creates a powerful message on the value and importance of reading
4. Read aloud daily: Planning interactive read alouds with students daily can have numerous benefits for students of all ages and reading levels by exposing them to different genres, texts and authors, modeling good reading skills and showing them that reading is and can be an active, fun activity.
5. Create opportunities to share reading: Giving students a chance to share their reading with their peers and others through book talks, book reviews, shared/paired readings, book clubs and other activities will help build a strong community of lifelong readers and learners.
Contact TREE to learn more about our Reading Magic Program — where we enable schools and teachers to curate book lists, organise the school library, do read-alouds or structured reading, and create a culture of reading for pleasure.
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