Celebrating Reading through Library Challenges... and Prizes!

Our year goals for 2022-2023 took the theme of “bringing excitement to the Library Learning Commons.”  

My partner and I noticed how our Library Learning Commons came alive during our two book fairs last year. During book fair we read trivia questions during morning announcements: one question for Primary, one for Intermediate, and one for Staff. Answers are submitted into draw boxes and after lunch each day, the three draw winners are announced and awarded $5 to spend in the book fair. The trivia questions become a point of discussion in classrooms, all are eager for the next day’s questions, and folks are celebrating one another across the school community. How can we spark this kind of energy at other times? 

We came up with a few interconnected projects: 

• - New Library Monitoring program 

• - Library challenges with prize draws 

• - Reading log program for Grades 1-3 

 
Library Monitoring Program 

Last year we didn’t have much of a library monitoring program. A few kids came in to help. They would shelve the books, and we would give them first chance to read new books, origami paper to work with, and access to the iPads and Spheros. 

This year we are setting up a structured program with more kids involved. We are offering the program to Grade 5 students. At our school, Grade 6’s are responsible for lunch monitoring, and Grade 7’s have a variety of leadership projects... with Library Monitoring, Grade 5’s can start taking a leadership role in our school, too! Meanwhile, we hope that building ownership in the Library at this stage, these kids will remain more connected going into the upper grades (when visiting the library generally seems to decline).  

In September I circulated Library Monitoring applications, and 17 have come back! We will set up a schedule where teams of three come in once before school and once at recess each week. They will have a log book where they sign off that they’ve completed the monitoring duties, and work towards a prize from our prize box of squishies, keychains, etc. Before winter break we will share a treat as a Library Team. There will be another chance for kids to apply after winter break, and we will set up a new schedule for January through May. This way new kids can get involved, and we can reflect and adjust the program as needed. 

We will have a “Library Team” corner that celebrates our Monitors. They will have their names up on the wall, display book reviews and artwork, and stock one shelf with “Library Team Picks” for the school to browse.  

 

Library Challenges and Prize Draw Tickets 

This one is more open-ended to evolve through the year. We will have a weekly challenge, like these from the Book Wrangler: 

Emoji Story Title Challenges

Dewey of the Week Challenges

Book in Disguise Challenges

When kids solve the challenge they get prize draw tickets. We can also hand out tickets for kids just being exceptional in the Library Learning Commons: organizing the shelves, helping others find books, etc. I also can’t wait to give tickets to some of our struggling kids; if keeping hands to self in Library is super challenging to them, and they do great, that’s exceptional too!

We may also add in some tough staff challenges, as well - the adults love book fair trivia just like the kids, after all.

 

 

Reading Log Program  

We will introduce an eight-week Fall Reading Challenge, October 17 to December 9. We are copying a reading log onto coloured paper, and stapling it into Grade 1-3 planners for families to use. Families and caregivers can record minutes of reading time. Teachers and Librarians can enter silent reading time, too! When kids reach milestones, every 200 minutes, they will earn a prize. The prizes will get bigger as they go, until they reach 1000 minutes when they get to pick a book for their grand prize!  

Like the Library Monitoring above, we are running this as a Fall program. Based on the “Fall Reading Challenge” – teacher, family, and student feedback, and our reflections – we can then run a Spring challenge as well.  

This is a chance to promote family literacy. On the back of our first coloured log page going home, we are going to include the Reading Rockets tips for families: 

Reading Rockets Tips for Families 

We can offer this in other languages too, if teachers feel it could be helpful. Because kids will fill up several pages, we can offer other communication to parents on the back of future sheets. We have a low-tech channel of communication to families with access for all. Here is a space to promote reading for fun! At-home activities like scavenger hunts or reading bingo might be good offerings. Kids can earn Prize Draw Tickets (above) for completing these too.

Conclusion

Our three initiatives help to move us forward with the Canadian Library Association's Leading Learning framework. Giving kids more of a presence in our space and program, we are "facilitating collaborative engagement to cultivate and empower a community of learners."

We also have equity in mind. We are building reading culture, but allowing kids to be successful no matter their reading level. The Grade 1 to 3 reading logs count minutes, not the number of books read. Maybe those minutes are spent cooperatively reading with an adult or bigger kid, as suggested in the Reading Rockets handouts. As a matter of fact, sometimes this is even better! Family literacy is about connection, sharing, and honouring that "wisdom and cultural wealth" (1:45) that Safir and Dugan discuss in Street Data. Reading together at home connects to a practice of sharing families' own stories. This is the precious "good medicine" (Dasgupta) that isn't contained on our shelves, but that we can celebrate in our program.

Works Cited

Canadian Library Association. "Leading Learning Framework." Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. 2020, https://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/

Dasgupta, Sayantani. "Stories are Good Medicine." Vimeo, uploaded by Business Innovation Factory, 9 April 2014, https://vimeo.com/91542327.

Safir, Shane and Jamila Dugan. "Street Data: A Pathway to Transformation." YouTube, uploaded by Shane Safir, 31 May 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCAYvxjOOxQ.