Issue 132

Teacher librarians have been forever stumped by the question: How do we get our male students to read? After 6 years at a comprehensive boys school of 950 students, I figured that getting back to basics is probably the way to go. Jabbar and Warraich (2022) conducted a systematic review that indicated that boys are hesitant readers and require teachers to support their engagement with literature.

Students always fondly remember Book Week at their primary school and reminisce about the book fair that came to the school, or dressing up as their favourite book characters. They tell us about purchasing their first Diary of a wimpy kid book, or flipping through the pages of the latest Guinness book of world records and how books like that kick-started their love of reading. Evidence indicates that young people are avid readers during primary school, but as they enter secondary studies, their engagement with reading decreases. Merga (2014) claims that there is a growing number of young people who are choosing not to read even though they have the skills to do so. The common perception is that reading is unpopular.

Since starting in the role of teacher librarian three years ago, I have actively encouraged the spirit of competition through the creation of games associated with literature. Each year, the boys compete and of course the library staff encourage teachers to get among the fun through dressing up. The teachers have featured as characters such as The Drover’s Wife, Elizabeth Bennett, Hermione Granger, Wendy from Bob the Builder and Elinor Dashwood. Each prize pack given includes inexpensive books, sweets and toys. The spirit of competition has united the students year in and year out. León et al. (2022) further affirm the connection between gamification and learning strategies to improve engagement with literature among boys.

I have been inspired by the hard work of teacher librarians, not only in my local network but also internationally, in fostering a reading culture through friendly competition with high-engagement activities. Using some of their great ideas, we have run major competitions, including:

 

Mini foam books from a mini scavenger hunt.

• Scavenger hunts – A theme or pictures of laminated book covers are posted around the quad. Whoever collects the most by the end of the day wins a prize. This is a relatively easy game and often our younger students enjoy this challenge.
• Kahoot! students versus teachers literature quizzes – The quiz is on both YA/Children’s literature and classics. Over the years, our Stage 6 participants requested that we have more questions about challenging texts. We recognise the importance of responding to student voices, but I have ensured that the quiz includes achievable questions for all stages to differentiate for boys who are not avid readers, or who read at a lower level. Each year there is a student and a staff winner. Small prizes are given to participants. Last year we had 42 participants and in 2022 we had 29 participants. 

This year, we furthered the competitive nature of the students and competed with Fort Street High School using the same Kahoot!

We also feature mini games, such as:

• Creative writing – Students compose a short piece of creative writing. This can be a narrative, a poem or a song. The most popular story receives a prize.
• Mini scavenger hunt – Students have to find a collection of mini foam books hidden in the bookshelves. Whoever finds the most books wins a prize.
• Guessing the shredded book – Using a weeded copy of an old text, we run a few pages through the shredder and place the snippings in a clear jar. The first student to correctly identify the book wins.
• Finding 15 quotes in 15 books - Students are given a copy of 15 quotes in 15 books. To make sure that the game is achievable, we provide students with the spine label. Their challenge is to find the page number of the text and record the title and author.
• Guessing books using only 20-word summaries – A short synopsis of each book is listed on an A3 poster. Whoever gets them all right first and tells the librarian wins a prize.
• Re-creating book covers – Students receive a blank book cover template and they re-create their favourite book cover. The best re-creation wins a prize.

Being an ex-English teacher helps when it comes to getting students to complete the more academic challenges like writing short stories. I often collaborate with the English faculty (NSW Department of Education), visiting English classes to let them know that we are running a competition. If time permits, their English teacher may let them start composing a written response to a stimulus. The students feel a sense of accomplishment when they complete their compositions and submit them for peer review, as we are a school that promotes the value of peer marking. Double, McGrane and Hopfenbeck (2019) support the notion that peer assessment positively impacts academic performance. With the enticement of potentially winning a prize and the encouragement of their teachers, we have had many student entries, which has brought in more library users.

Through collaborating with the Head Teacher of Teaching and Learning, we have extended the spirit of competition further by creating tasks for our Enrichment students in their Literacy classes to enhance their learning. Stage 4 Enrichment students have individually dressed up as their favourite characters and composed a speech as to why they were inspired by that particular character. This year, we asked the students to compose book trailers in groups of six and displayed them in the library (with their permission). The Enrichment classes are always up for the challenge and whether the students work independently or in groups, their creativity shines with each response.

Inclusive Education students, comprising 35 students across five classes, visit the library at least twice a week as a class. They have always been keen to celebrate Book Week whether reading is their passion or not. Being our most frequent borrowers, these students always actively participate in Book Week games. We have worked on enhancing the way in which we differentiate our tasks to ensure that all students are able to access the benefits and feel included during Book Week. In 2022, the theme for the scavenger hunt was ‘Where's Wally?’. The student who collected the greatest number of Wally images throughout the quad won a prize. Our Inclusive Education students loved this challenge the most.

This year brought all the students to the library at once to participate in a range of arts and crafts activities related to books. Some of the activities we ran included designing masks for the students to decorate and creating story-catchers. The students enjoyed the session and were proud of their creations.

While some of these ideas might not be new to teacher librarians, our emphasis on fostering friendly competition, linking in with high-engagement activities, connecting students with reading from primary school, and on differentiation and inclusion have all been part of our journey towards building a reading culture that promotes a love of literature for our cohort.

References

Double, K. S., McGrane, J. A., & Hopfenbeck, T. N. (2019). The impact of peer assessment on academic performance: A meta-analysis of control group studies. Educational Psychology Review, 32(2), 481–509. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09510-3

Jabbar, A. & Warraich, N. (2022). Gender differences in leisure reading habits: A systematic review of

literature. Global Knowledge Memory and Communication. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-12-2020-0200  

León, A. M., Ferrer, J. M. R., Parra, J. M. A., Campoy, J. M. F., Trigueros, R., & Martínez, A. M. M. (2022). Play and learn: Influence of gamification and game-based learning in the reading processes of secondary school students. Revista De Psicodidáctica (English Ed ), 27(1), 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psicoe.2021.08.001

Merga M.K. (2014). Peer group and friend influences on the social acceptability of adolescent book reading.

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 57(6), 472–482. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.273 

NSW Department of Education, (2023, March 28). What works best: Reading 7–12. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/literacy-and-numeracy/resources-for-schools/what-works-best/what-works-best-reading-7-12#/asset7