With Valentine’s Day taking place in February, there is always a lot of chatter about ‘LOVE’. Showing the ones you love and care for your appreciation, hearts and flowers displayed in every shop window… but I would like to talk about a different kind of love… a love of reading!

As educators, we know how important it is to teach children how to read. We know it is a life skill, one that enhances all academic areas but what happens next? What happens once children know how to read?

We need to teach them to fall in love with reading!

There isn’t a fairytale love potion to enchant pupils into falling in love with reading but there are some strategies we can use to encourage children to pick up their choice of literature and to continue picking them up because they want to, not because they have to.

We need to SELL IT!

As educators, we wear many hats- teacher, parent, nurse, performer… and salesperson! Our job is to sell a love of learning and a love of reading and we can do this through various techniques advertisers use.

FOMO

Create a sense of ‘fear of missing out’. Have you ever bought an item of clothing because there were only 2 left on the website? I know I have. Having a limited number available creates a sense of urgency and a fear that we may miss out if it becomes unavailable.

After reading a book to the class, telling them there are only 2-3 copies available is much more encouraging than having 30 copies displayed on the shelf. It gives a sense of scarcity. You can also use this tool to promote other books- “If the 3 copies of X have already gone, then you might be interested in Y because it is on a similar theme or even Z because it is by the same author.”  This technique not only helps to encourage children to broaden their reading choices, but instills a sense of urgency and excitement. Our job is to make reading so enjoyable and create an expectation that it is undoubtedly going to be a hobby loved by all, so that if you aren’t reading, you are the one missing out!

Audience

Know your audience. Know the children, their interests, their tastes in literature. If you have a select few who enjoy graphic novels, have some available in the classroom for them. If you have children who particularly enjoy adventure stories, have these available too. Get to know their tastes through book clubs, display boards or recommendations and lots lots of talk about books.

This also helps to find out what they don’t enjoy too and allowing children the opportunity to put a book down if they are not enjoying it. This said, don’t just fill the shelves- have a range of literature but a select few of each and rotate the ‘stock’ often.

Influencers

Who has the biggest influence on the choices the children in your class make? Who do they respect and look up to? It may be other members of staff or older children within the school- get them to read to individuals- have them actively showing how much they love books and recommending ones they enjoy.

Is it other members of their own class? Book talk every week helps to build up different recommendations for each other.

There may be influencers in the wider community too- the friendly postal officer, the local football coach, the village shopkeeper- get them involved to talk about their reading choices. Reading newsletters, photos on entranceway TV screens and use of social media are great ways to share reading recommendations from the wider community.

Make it Easy

Have you ever walked into a large supermarket to buy a can of beans, only to be overwhelmed by the mass of brands and choices in front of you- kidney, refried, broad, baked, ones with sausages added… the list goes on! Supermarkets often have their ‘special buys’ at the end of the aisles or displayed at eyeline to make it easier for customers and to help promote certain products and we can do the same with books.

• Have some books forward facing- front covers are more enticing than the spines
• Display a few books on a table or in a basket at the end of shelves- rotate these every so often to keep them fresh and enticing
• Declutter- ensure bookshelves and baskets are not overcrowded- think quality over quantity.
• Are displays, posters, recommendations and ‘special books’ at a child’s eyeline or an adults? Think about where shops keep their sweets and toys.
• Location- are books kept in a location that is easy to access and regularly used? I know many schools have now moved their school library shelves into corridors or communal areas so that children are able to visit more frequently
• Time- how easy it is for a child to choose to read in the school day? Are there pockets of time where they can just squeeze in one more chapter because they really can’t put the book down. Think about times in and out of the classroom.

Ultimately, we need to love reading ourselves. We need to show our passion and joy for the literature we share with the children and use our best sales skills to encourage the children in our schools to do the same.