2. Experienced teachers: Compare these research findings with your existing lesson plans to see if they need to be updated.
3. Educate parents about factors that motivate students and how they can encourage their children to read more at home.
4. Create a peer tutoring/mentoring program that pairs strong readers with poor readers.
5. Form a reading club that promotes reading for fun. Club benefits and activities could include discounts at local bookstores and story writing contests.
6. Plan thematic units that incorporates trade books in various content areas. (Requires planning with teachers from other departments.)
7. Host a book talk with a well-known or local author of children's or young adult books (especially effective if students are or will be reading a book by that author!)
8. Hold a "Book Swap", where each student brings in a book they no longer want, but did enjoy reading and trade it for another student's book.
9. Have older (i.e. high school) students create a book for younger students. This would include writing the story and illustrating the book. This project could work for any content area, since the story could be based on science, history, math, etc. The books could then be taken to a local elementary where they could be read by and reviewed by students there. Secondary students would enjoy reading reviews about their book (and it would motivate them to do a good job on the project!)
10. Have the school library feature award-winning books in vivid display cases and keep extra copies on hand for students to check out.
11. Be a model for your students! Share your enthusiasm for reading by reading to them in class and sharing books you're currently reading for fun!
