A lot has been said in research and professional literature about the need to establish a school-wide culture of literacy and appreciation for reading. I would also add that we need to instill a sense of the importance of writing in our students’ lives. If we want our students to value reading and writing, we need to show them we value these literacy activities, too. We need to model for our students how adults use and benefit from literacy skills daily. We need to practice what we preach.
In my post today, I would like to challenge all of us to envision a school where students are reminded daily that reading (and writing) matters.
How do we do that? We use our imagination and ask ourselves: “What if…?”
What if teachers did exactly what they asked their students to do? What if they…
- made time outside of school to read for pleasure daily
- read books alongside their students during silent reading time
- created book clubs and literature circles with their colleagues to discuss professional or other literature
- set aside 5 minutes at staff meetings to share about something they read
- shared with their students about books they are reading in creative engaging ways (posters, videos, book trailers, poems, jingles–yes, you can sing about it!)
- made time to write daily
- wrote alongside their students during creative writing time
- created a blog with their colleagues to discuss professional or other topics of interest
- shared their writing with students in creative ways (class blogs, or a class library of original work where everyone can check out and read each other’s writing )
- had a mailbox in the classroom where students can keep a correspondence with the teacher
What if principals initiated school-wide activities to promote reading and writing? What if they…
- created a display in their office that showcased the value of reading / writing
- visited classrooms to share about their favorite books
- kept a lively correspondence with the classes through a blog, or “Ask the Principal” column, or an old-fashioned mailbox in the main office
- organized school-wide “Read-a-thons” and “Write-a-thons” in the gym
- organized reading fairs modeled after science fairs (like this example)
- read aloud to individual classes, or over the loudspeaker, or in the cafeteria
- designed and/or designated reading (and writing) spaces all over the school
- invited classes for tea parties with author readings (they would dress up and pose as the author; they would have to do research and be ready to answer biographical and other questions about the author from the students)
- invited families and community members to participate in book talks or to exchange letters with students
What if students stopped viewing literacy activities as something to do in school for a grade? What if they…
- used blogs to share their book recommendations and writing
- created school newsletters (or broadcasts over the school’s PA system) to share about reading and writing adventures around the school
- created a school-wide (or classroom) publishing house to publish, advertise, and promote student work (from assigning literary agents, to discussing book jacket designs, to making promotional materials, to writing reviews, and organizing author talks around the school)
- created videos interviewing their teachers, family members, other adults, and peers about their reading habits and the books they read
- participated in designing school-wide literacy displays (quotes about reading, quotes from favorite books, author bios, testimonies from students, staff, family, and community members about the importance of reading)
- collaborated in planning literary events for families and community members
- rewrote books (book excerpts or poems) as plays and performed for various audiences
- gave reading assignments to teachers and created quizzes and other assessments for them
- gave writing assignments to teachers and critiqued their writing samples
Your Turn
What if someone asked you how to create a school-wide culture of literacy and appreciation for reading and writing?
What do your schools do (or have done in the past) to further this important mission of promoting literacy and to increase family and community participation?
Please share your ideas and thoughts in the comments below!
Thanks!
Aleksandra's Literacy Blog 
Thanks Aleksandra for the great “Choice Selection” for your blog.
You nailed two key components in your ‘What If’ scenarios: 1. Leading by Example and 2 Administrative Support.
Often times, I know you have said to your own babies–‘watch Mommy do it’ or ‘look, see how this is done’, so too, in our classrooms, we must do what we want the students to carry-out.
Your next poignant component are those administrators, who think–my teachers have everything they need to do their jobs–but I caution to the administrators–one element is YOU.
A teacher who has ample resources PLUS the administration on her side would probably garner a much higher success-rate and having a feeling that ‘I am not Alone’ in this pursuit.
Thanks Aleksandra for bringing these two pivotal issues to the forefront! as you usually do!!!
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Hi Aleksandra,
I love your deep questions that cause great reflection on creating a school-wide culture of literacy and appreciation for reading and writing. Your challenge at the end caused me to really stop and think about my school’s culture of creating an appreciation for literacy. Our school sets aside time for independent reading and encourages read alouds. It is a priority at our school. In addition, our school is on a mission to create literacy-rich environments in every classroom that represents our diverse learners that walk through our doors. We are analyzing our current offerings and brainstorming together on where to purchase books for our students. Many students found that the books that were currently in our libraries were about animals or White characters. We also created a caught you reading display and have invited guest readers into our classrooms. We also promoted our school’s love of reading on our Facebook page. It highlights how teachers are making reading fun for their students. This includes special days such as flashlight reading near a fake campfire, reading by a fireplace (winter), reading buddies, etc. Furthermore, we also partner with our community library and have a bookmobile come to our school bi-weekly. Students are excited for this and are able to check out brand new books. Last year, some grades funded through grants author visits. Also, we have literacy family nights where families can share their favorite books in multiple languages (translators). In addition, students share their writings in fun ways as well. Family nights, classroom visits where students share their writing with one another (including older and younger grades), and interactive displays.
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Ah, what an intriguing thought! It would certainly be a great discussion to start (or end) a PD trainin too.
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YES YES YES.
This is all I need to say to summarize my thoughts and feelings towards your perspectives on the importance of reading and writing. I attended the CSS 21st Century Teaching and Learning conference this past June and went to a session on the importance of teachers engaging in a journaling and personal writing practice – reading should be in there too! I was so inspired by the presenter, from U of MN-Crookston (in case you want to find her on the web!) and she gave me great resources in engaging students in their writing practice. I asked her how she engages students and asks them to write, if they are anxious or nervous to begin, and how she counteracts that. My biggest concerns were how to integrate vocabulary instruction into these books clubs, writing prompts, Morning Meeting blog reviews, etc. to ensure academic standards were met through all literacy instruction practices. Her comments were to simply ask students to write, and to not worry about spelling, punctuation, or grammar right off-the-bat, as that instruction can occur later as supplemental instruction.
I wish to teach in a school where you are the literacy specialist, or presenter of these ideas! In an earlier post, and also my ‘choice’ post, I wrote about a similar topic (i.e. independent reading and teacher involvement in reading), and one of my arguments was that teachers will find themselves very busy and may be reluctant to pursue personal reading and writing and will need to learn to carve out time for this important practice!
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Hey, Brittney! Sounds like we attended the same session at the CSS conference! I was the one who walked in a few minutes late, haha!
I loved the whole presentation and the activities. Writing has always been very important to me since I was a little girl, so it was truly a pleasure to hear Shari Daniels endorse the message that ideas matter more than the conventions when you want to motivate reluctant students.
Thanks so much for your response!
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