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I have been thinking, writing, speaking about reading identity and building joyful reading opportunities in school for more than a decade. Ideas still come, but at times, they slow down. After all, there are mnay tried and true ideas that still work, even as they get re-shared throughout the years. We finetune, we adapt, we consider, we reflect, and we put things into practice to see if this little tweak, this little idea is THE idea for helping a child build their reading culture.

We all know so many of the components of a reading environment that works a for a lot of kids. Independent reading time, book choice (As my niece said today, “I only like to read books I decide myself�), embracing diverse preferences not just in reading material but also in how we read, who we read with and how we work with reading. We allow and encourage book abandonment, and we spend precious minutes recommending books to speak books with our students. We lead the way as a committed adult reader who wants to showcase all the paths into reading and why it matters.

Bit it doesn’t always work. Even this, is sometimes not enough. And I get asked a lot; then what. But how can we take it further? Because an adult-centered reading community is an artificial one at length for students. It has an expiration date that lines up with when the adult says goodbye.

This is why some of our time has to be focused on that shift in who is at the center of the reading culture. How can we shift from being the sole source Ìýof reading knowledge to cultivating a shared knowledge base? How do we establish and grow a Ìýcasual reading community that goes beyond just the teacher-student Ìýinteractions and start to draw in each other as fellow readers?

Like I said, I Ìýhave shared many ideas throughout the years â€� in my book, Passionate ÌýReaders, this community, and on social media. But here are a Ìýfew more to get those readers talking, sharing, and seeing each other Ìýas the valuable resources that they are.

I have linked to the resources I have created as well.Ìý

Choose my Book for Me

Have each child fill in length, genre, format, favorite previous reads etc � see sheet for questions and to make your own.

Then have students identify four people they would like to find a book for � 2 friends and 2 not-yet-friends. Assign two students to each child, ensuring everyone has two individuals to find a book for.

Share the reading desire sheet and let them loose, pulling books they think these people may like.

Pile them up and have them add them to their to-be-read list.

�Then You Might Like

Have students fill out their favorite themes of books Ìý

Then group 3-4 kids into small groups putting them in charge of their chosen theme.

Each group creates an “If you like this book, then you might also like these books…� poster.

Hang and share in your classroom.

Adult Favorites

What do the adults in your schools and community love to read and what would they recommend to someone in your classroom?

Have adults come in or share a recorded brief (2 minutes or less) book talk with students offering their favorite reads for this age group.

Play one every day or create a library where students can access at their leisure.

For ideas for adults with guidelines,

Fill a Box

Grab some shoe boxes or other smaller boxes and group 4-5 students together.

Let them loose in your book stacks Ìýâ€� collaborate with your librarian if you don’t have a classroom library â€� and as a group, have them fill each box with recommendations of books they have loved.

Swap boxes with other groups, give a short rundown of titles selected if you want, and have kids write down book recommendations on their to-be-read lists.

1 Minute Book Talk

At the end of independent reading once a week, have students stop and do a 1 minute or less book talk to their table group (or group them together).

Have them share what they are reading, why they chose it, and one other question from this list or ones they make up themselves.

Share the most shocking or surprising moment you’ve encountered in your book so far.What keeps you hooked and motivated to continue reading this book?On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rank this book in terms of enjoyment?Who do you think would enjoy reading this book?ÌýIf you could ask the author one question about the book, what would it be?Share a favorite quote or passage from the book that resonated with you.Has this book made you see something in a different way? How has it changed your perspective?Make a TikTok dance or gesture that represents the overall mood or theme of the book.Imagine if this book were turned into a movie. Who would you cast as the main characters?Share your favorite character from the book and explain why they’re memorable to you.If you could recommend this book to anyone (real or fictional), who would it be and why?Share an interesting fact or trivia related to the author or the book’s setting.What emotions has this book made you feel?Show us your reading spot or favorite place to dive into this book.If you could live in the world of this book for a day, what would you do or explore?Share a book-related tip or hack that has enhanced your reading experience.In three words, describe the overall vibe or atmosphere of the book.

Think Like a Marketer

Have students find a book they would like to advertise. Can be one they have read or not.

The goal is now to create an advertising campaign for this to entice as many readers as possible. What should the tagline be? How should the book be photographed? ÌýThink like a marketer â€� how would the book be placed, what props would be present, what would the angle be?

Have students create posters using Canva with their images and taglines and share them around the school as a way to entice further readers. You can even run a campaign and see how many kids end up borrowing the book.

Giving students an opportunity to be the ones that speak books more than the adults is a way to shift ownership. It becomes commonplace when we give it value, time, and space to be developed.

So what are ideas that you like to use? How have you shifted the ownership of the discovery of books into the hands of your students?