A Shameless Attempt to Read More Books

I wouldn't call myself a competitive person.  I was never the kid who would freely take a dare, and would probably run screaming from just the words "Double Dog." I'm not coordinated enough to be a competitive athlete, and I'm just as likely to not purchase Marvin Gardens when playing Monopoly if I know you're trying to collect that real estate.  But, give me a personal best challenge, a competition against me and myself,  and it's a whole different story.

Reading Lady by Sadie Wendell Mitchell, 1909

As an elementary school librarian I'm constantly trying to think of ways to engage my students to read more books.  Sharing book trailers, author interviews and videos, and creative book displays are all tactics I've gleefully tackled in shameless attempts to get kids to read.  And most recently I've started thinking about personal reading challenges. 

Personal Reading Challenge

A personal reading challenge is, in my mind, a guide that a reader can use to help them focus their reading and perhaps even increase the amount of what is being read. These challenges can be participated in privately or publicly.  There are some fantastic Reading Challenges available in the library world, for example, I've followed with fascination the work of elementary librarians, Colby Sharp and Mr. Schu who have created the Newbery Medal Reading challenge as well as the work of the busy Librarian and his yearly Shelf Challenge.  Both of these challenges inspired me to look at what I did as a teacher librarian to encourage my students to read, read, read.

My first attempt at a student Reader's Challenge focused on the different genres that were available to read in the library.  My students could pick up a copy of a reader's passport and read their way around the library focusing on one genre at a time.  Students could have their passports stamped when they checked out a book from a specific genre and those who read their way around all of the highlighted genres could add their name to a display of Well-Traveled Readers.

A similar Reader's Challenge that I've sponsored in the library is Library READ-O (similar to bingo).  Students used individual READ-O sheets to help them select titles for check out and kept track of the books they read on their game sheets.  Students could work for a traditional bingo or for the more motivated, a complete black-out (reading all suggested).  This fall I'm considering creating a Reading Challenge list for my students similar to the list shown here.

Taking the Challenge

Summer is the perfect time to tackle a Reading Challenge and this weekend I'm diving right in with a 48 Hour Reading Challenge! I won't be going it alone though - I've convinced my husband and 8 year old to join me.  We've stacked our books, selected our snacks, and plumped up our pillows.  This weekend we'll be taking the challenge (competing for our personal best) to read, read, and read some more.

Game on.