Thoughts From A Librarian: How To Encourage A Love of Reading

By Sahar Rajabali

Students don’t do things that you tell them they “have to do”. This causes something of an issue when Ofsted have insisted great schools should be continuously promoting a love of reading. By trying to encourage reading for pleasure it can sometimes feel to students that they're being forced to read rather than wanting to for themselves. There are a few points that are generally considered important when engendering a love of reading;

• 
  Reading to students
• Talking about Reading
• Motivating reading

These seem abstract, but there are lots of ways to put these into practice to get your students excited about the wonderful world of literature.

In a secondary school, reading to students can sound a little forced or patronising but it has a lot of benefits; not only does it make sure students aren’t just staring at a page, listening to someone reading is shown to improve fluency and comprehension. I’ve implemented this in some of my reading classes by reading through a book of their choice which has proven to make a lot of students more enthusiastic about what they’re reading - especially since they were able to choose the texts themselves, rather than it being part of the curriculum. This might be a bit much to do during TTB reading but what some schools have done is, every Friday morning, instead of getting the students to read their own book, Tutors spend those ten minutes in the morning, reading something that they’ve enjoyed with your tutees. Whether it’s the first scene of a play, the thesis of an article you’ve read or played some of the audible books you’re listening to, sharing these with your students by reading them out loud with them will begin to grab their attention and get them excited about a range of genres. Also, by sharing texts that you, as their teacher, are enthusiastic about, you’re leading by example and acting as a role model to enforce the practice of reading for pleasure.

However, reading in itself is not the only way to get students to learn to enjoy reading. The key is to make reading seem like something informal which can be done by beginning casual conversations with your students about reading. When you see a student reading a book that you know and enjoyed, talk to them about it, compare your opinions and you’ll show them that reading is a way we can connect with people, and get them to evaluate the books for themselves. And if you haven’t read the book? Ask them about it! You’ll get to know them a bit better through what they read and you’ll be able to expand your own “to read” list as well.

The next step is then to get students to keep reading. The most obvious mode of motivation is by showing them that you’re reading - once in a while bring out your book and give yourself 10 minutes to read in the morning. It’ll be great for your health and theirs. You can also help motivate them by giving them some other recommendations. A lot of students are glued to only one series of books and become uninterested if that book is unavailable. Once you start having more informal conversations about books with these students, you’ll be able to recommend other books and genres that they’d be interested in, boosting their motivation. If you’re unsure of what to recommend, there are recommendations on the Reading Cloud website, and I’m happy to answer any questions on recommendations as well. When it comes to non-fiction books, it might even be worth asking other departments which books they would recommend for budding physicists or philosophers. Looking into their chosen subject will show that student you’re taking an interest in their reading, making them feel that this is an achievement they should be proud of and a hobby that’s worth investing time in.

You don’t need to get your students into Dickens (even I haven’t gotten that far) but reading in itself is such a valuable skill. As a school, we need to do our best to make sure that reading doesn’t become something that students are forced to do but something we encourage. By creating a suitable environment for reading, especially for those who can’t find this at home, we will help students to stretch their imagination, explore their interests and find some headspace in what is a scary and uncertain time in their lives.