Thu. September 19, 2024
Never in my wildest dreams did I think a Reading Chair Contest would be a global sensation – but sometimes dreams come true!
I've had the honor and privilege to speak around the world about my favorite topic – innovative school library programming. One of my all-time favorite programs is the Reading Chair Contest. This program always seems to be the one people want to try! I've seen tweets from the Netherlands, Singapore, Florida, Kuwait, and more with images of young people sitting on reading (carpet) squares or reading chairs, all working together to create a reading culture.
Are you looking to provide instant student engagement and meaningful connections? Need a way to advocate for reading and celebrate it all at the same time? Want a great way to get a book budget that's healthy and viable? If so, then try a Reading Chair Contest!
The Reading Chair Contest is simple and fun.
Students, faculty, staff, and administration can (and should) participate. First, you need to get team captains (most likely teachers/adults) who'll recruit teams based upon the schedule in your school building. If you have 10 class periods a day, for example, you’ll need 10 team members to keep your reading chair “hot” all day with a reader. That team will need to be in their designated “hot seat” the minute the bell rings and the period starts. If a member of the team doesn't show, that team loses points.
10 periods. 10 points per period. 100 points to win!
For added fun and engagement, I suggest you create a theme for your Reading Chair Contest.
Are you planning your contest close to Winter Break? Make it all about “winter reads.” Want to do it during Valentine’s Day week? Create a romance theme.
Follett Content can easily support your needs in this arena. They can curate titles by grade, reading level, or by theme to elevate your contest. They have specialists at the ready to help create innovative themes and threads to support this program and so much more. Plus, Titlewave® gives the user access to millions of educationally relevant titles.
And while you're creating a reading culture, you're also advocating for literacy. My Reading Chair Contests were held, literally, in sight of the library doors. Teams would have large posters indicating their team names and rosters above each chair. As students, faculty, administration, and staff walked by, all could see reading made fun! This backdoor advocacy is genius in that you have your principal sitting next to your library aide who's sitting next to a student – all reading!
And when the winning team is announced, ask the building principal to put a date on the calendar and host a pizza luncheon party for the winning team! Put all the names of the students who participated on the winning team in a hat at the party and ask the principal to pull one name. That student is the grand prize winner and gets a gift from the principal. The gift? A book, of course!
About the author: Janine Asmus
Retired School Librarian
Janine Asmus is a recently retired school librarian from West Leyden High School in Northlake, Illinois. She’s the past president of the Association of Illinois School Library Educators and was honored to be selected as the 2019 Illinois School Librarian of the Year. She has spoken about innovative school library programming all over the world and is thrilled seeing her shared ideas come to life in libraries and classrooms around the globe.
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