There is always that point in the school year, after everyone is settled, orientation is complete and the excitement of our first library book check-out settles, where I find students start returning to their favourite reads. But we have so many great books in the library! I wanted to gently nudge them into trying something different. What about nonfiction? Or a brand new series? That’s how our Read the Library Challenge came to be.
The idea was simple. Each participating student picked up a challenge card with a 3×3 grid of categories to explore across the library (including digital options). After reading each text, students would share what they read or liked about it, and I would punch their card.
For every 3 in a row completed, they received a blind box with LLC treats (including buttons with images from recycled weeded books – the blind boxes came from our repurpose shop). Anyone who completed the whole punch card was added to a final super draw for some of our very own library merch.
The challenge worked really well for our grades 3-8 students that came to the library for free flow, but what about our younger friends? In looking for a solution, the family Read the Library edition was released. This time the card became an interactive experience for families. As they clicked on each category, a second page provided a description and a reminder of where to find the texts in the LLC as well as digital options to explore. Families submitted pictures of the 3 categories they completed via a google form to be added to a weekly draw.
The best part of the challenge wasn’t only the excitement for the blind boxes (we couldn’t keep up) but seeing students supporting each other – helping each other navigate through the library collection, book recommendations for various categories and defining categories for friends (we learned procedural was a word we had to revisit). Even better was finding families waiting for me at the end of duty to grab a new book to read together that night or the requests to show them off reading together.
Are you looking for a way to encourage your readers to ‘read outside the box’ this year? Try creating your own “Read the Library” challenge and you’ll be amazed at the excitement it brings to your school community. Feel free to remix the templates below if you are looking for place to start:
Meet the Author
Tina Zita
Editorial Board Member, The Teaching Librarian
Tina Zita is a teacher-librarian at Aylesbury Public School in the Peel District School Board.
For more information about The Teaching Librarian, please refer to the Terms of Reference.
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