As part of our focus, our Literacy Committee identified that part of increasing students’ literacy skills is also rooted in their motivation to read.  We note that in survey data, students sometimes indicate that reading is “boring,” “too hard,” “too long,” and something they “have to do.”  In addition to skill development, and time honing in on areas that need improvement, we want to foster joy in literacy, and a love a reading.  A major way we do this, is by learning about student interests and identity, and ensuring that our reading material is accessible in terms of skill, interest, and representation. We teach students explicitly about finding a “just right book” that fits their skills and interests, and is then more likely to engage them.  More time with their eyes on print, will support them in developing their reading skills.

Another way we tried to boost joyful literacy, and foster a culture of reading, is by having a Read-a-thon in May.  Ms. Mui, our teacher librarian, created a month of reading challenges for students to engage in individually, as a class, and as a whole school community.  There was a Book Swap- an opportunity for students to bring in books they had read to give away, and exchange them for new-to-them texts of their own choosing.  Throughout the month students earned entries into prize draws based on their minutes of reading… and when the whole school read more than 150,000 minutes, Ms. Livingston, Ms Mui, Mr. Ledesma, Mrs. Boettcher, Mr. Williams, and Mrs. Schuette all ate (food-grade) roasted crickets in front of the whole school at a special Read-a-Thon celebration assembly.  For that assembly we also had a Dress Like a Book Character spirit day, and saw many creative costumes from Harry Potters, to Elephant and Piggies, to Dogman and many, many more.

All of these fun activities aimed to:

-provide opportunities for students to select texts of their own choosing

-increase time of eyes on print

-instill joy in literacy and thus, increase motivation for reading

-create a culture that celebrates reading

Reading should be joyous and fun!  This is our hope for all of our students.