Literacy improvement is a priority goal and a key performance indicator for all schools no matter what stage or subject.
Leading Literacy agencies including National Literacy Trust, UK affirm that research has consistently shown that students with high reading skills perform better academically across all subjects, School administrators need to act upon this research and place raising literacy standards at the core of a school’s curriculum and values.
Listed below are ten effective and useful strategies to help build and embed a culture of reading among school leaders, teachers and students.
Always Lead by Example
The administration needs to take responsibility for ensuring that reading takes place in the classroom, in all subjects. Leaders should play an essential role in ensuring that literacy is a priority in the classroom. They can set an example by modelling good reading habits themselves, and by encouraging teachers to do the same.
Appoint Literacy Coordinators
Members of staff should be appointed to support all departments and help implement reading into the classrooms and lessons. By providing explicit instructions in literacy initiatives, teachers can become confident in helping their students improve their reading skills.
Literacy coordinators can introduce new strategies for summarising, visualising, and making connections between students reading and their own experiences. Another suggestion is to use mini whiteboards that engage students in collaborative writing exercises, brainstorming sessions, and other activities that promote literacy development.
Literacy coordinators can also help to assess student’s reading levels and provide guidance on how to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners.
Implement an Action Plan
The school should develop a literacy action plan to measure the increase in literacy standards. Key indicators of growth can include reading comprehension scores, vocabulary tests or writing samples, amongst other informative methods of assessment of literacy skills. The targets set should be specific, measurable, and achievable.
Throughout the implementation of the action plan, it’s important to monitor progress regularly and adjust strategies as needed. This might involve reviewing assessment data, collecting feedback from teachers and students, and making changes to the plan as necessary.
Most important is the reflection of the results and any revisions or changes from the data collected. This may involve celebrating successes, identifying areas for improvement, and developing new systems to continue to build on the progress being made.
Promote Reading for Pleasure
Although students need to be reading for progress, schools should also promote reading for pleasure. Provision should be made for a variety of books and other reading materials to be available to students, including books that are age-appropriate, culturally relevant and have interest to the student as a person.
There should be comfortable reading spaces designated at school that avoid distractions. Whole school events could also include literacy promotions such as ‘World Book Day’ or school-wide displays for book recommendations or new titles in stock.
Make Reading Accessible
Not all students feel confident reading independently. Those who are not so confident should be made at ease by developing ways that could include pairing them with those who feel more assured in reading or perhaps encouraged to join book clubs specific to their interest.
Podcasts and audiobooks can be used to expose students to a wide range of texts and genres and provide an alternative to traditional reading. Reading programs that offer incentives are rewarding as they can also be set in teams or year groups. Reading time should be built within the school timetable.
Use Appropriate Technology
Various forms of technology such as audiobooks or ebooks can be used to engage students in reading and provide additional support. Digital reading platforms can provide a wide range of books that can be read on any electronic device. These platforms often have features that allow students to track their reading progress and earn rewards for their achievements.
Although beneficial, it is important to ensure that technology is used in a way that is appropriate and effective for the students and the learning objectives.
Encourage Emergent Readers
Schools should provide additional help to students that are having difficulty with literacy skills. These services may include one-to-one instruction, accommodations, or assistive technology. Schools can also offer reading intervention programs that are specifically designed to help struggling readers.
Teachers can provide reading support in the classroom including modelling reading, using graphic organisers and differentiating their instruction to meet the needs of individual students.
Reading Outside of School
Parents and caregivers can play an important role in supporting literacy development by reading with their children, providing access to books, and engaging in literacy-related activities at home. Activities which should start from an early age can include reading aloud to children or shared reading by taking turns in reading or discussing the story.
Establishing a reading routine by setting aside a specific time each day or week for reading is also recommended.
Whole School Buy-in
Some teachers may feel they are lacking in confidence themselves or that literacy is not part of their subject’s curriculum. All teachers need to be involved in promoting literacy. If literacy is not explicitly part of their subject’s curriculum, teachers can still incorporate reading and writing activities into their lessons to help develop these skills.
Overall, creating a whole-school reading culture requires a collaborative effort from all members of the school community.
Offer Professional Development
Teachers need to feel supported. Professional development sessions should take place that are stimulating and engaging.
It is also essential that professional development is designed in a way that is relevant to the needs of the teachers and the students.
When professional development is not well-designed, it can feel like yet another task or target that teachers need to complete, adding to their already heavy workload. This can cause teachers to feel overwhelmed and burnt out, which can have a negative impact on their teaching and ultimately on their students’ learning.
Professional development is an essential aspect of the teaching profession as it helps teachers stay up-to-date with the latest research, trends and best practices in their field.
It is essential to involve teachers in the planning and design process. This can be done by conducting a needs assessment to determine what areas of professional development are most relevant to the teachers and their students. Teachers can also be given a choice in choosing the format and delivery method for professional development sessions.
Additionally, professional development sessions should be designed to be interactive with plenty of opportunities for collaboration and discussion. This can help to make the sessions more meaningful and an enjoyable experience for teachers, as well as give them a chance to share their ideas and experiences with their colleagues.
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Further Reading:
https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-themes/reading/