Read It Forward

As I reset to the role of Middle School Librarian, I am working on ways to reach out to staff and to students.  One of the biggest success stories so far has been the Read It Forward program we ran between Thanksgiving and the Winter holiday break.  Below is the report I gave to the principal so that she could share it with others...

South Belton Middle School
Read It Forward 2015

Read It Forward is a collaborative reading promotion to encourage students and teachers to read and experience the same book during a window of time.  Here’s how it works:   After choosing a title, books are distributed on a  single day, but the number of books is about 1/5 the number of students and teachers.  Books are distributed randomly, with a set of instructions on a sticker inside the book.  The instructions tell students to read the book, write their name inside the front cover and pass it on.  It’s that simple—students and teachers pass the book around until everyone who wants to has had a chance to read it.  During the three week window, students who have read the book and completed a Google Form about it are invited via school email to extension activities related to the book.  The culminating activity was a Skype visit with author Gordon Korman, who talked about his own writing process and encouraged kids to write. 

Behind the curtain of Read It Forward, there was a lot of cooperation among staff at SBMS to make this happen and give the students a fun and meaningful experience.  Once we decided to go for it, the library and the front office shared the cost of the books and the author Skype visit.  the PTA donated book marks for every book.  A Read It Forward committee of teachers and parents worked together virtually through Google Docs to plan the activities and make them happen.  One of the committee’s suggestions was to help build anticipation with a Book Trailer, so the librarian created a web page containing information about the book, a link to a trailer and the instructions for Read It Forward—including links to the Google form for students who had finished the book.  One teacher volunteer helped us find a Tai Chi instructor, while one of our Communities in Schools reps helped supervise crafts in the library.  All the teachers gladly helped hand out the books and many of them motivated the students by reading the book either before or during the RIF window and talking with students about it. 

The book we selected was Schooled.  The students seemed to connect with the book and enjoy reading it.  They also enjoyed the crafts, Tai Chi, and Skyping.  We made parachute cord bracelets and keychains at the first event and many students could be seen wearing theirs even the following week.  After Tai Chi, one student commented that Tai Chi was a lot more fun than he thought it would be, while another came back to thank the librarian personally for arranging the session.  Comments on the Google Form about Schooled included, “This book is so fun to read! You always want to know what happens next and the people in it are hilarious. This book is relatable and just fun. The ending is beautiful,”  and, “It's a good book full of feelings, comedy and just about everything you could want out of a book,that you don't now much about.” 

The author Skype visit was a special activity that all students who had read the book were invited to.  They were also able to ask Mr. Korman questions afterward.  Their questions showed that they were interested in the book and the writing process—one asked about Korman’s inspiration for his characters and one about how he gets ideas for books. 

But the excitement did not stop there.  Students have asked the librarian to form a writing club and to start organizing a writing contest.  The writing club has its first meeting on January 12 and one of the items on the agenda is the writing contest.  Who knows what future authors we have at South Belton Middle School—only time will tell.

 I am hopeful that we will be able to repeat the program next year.  I am also curious to see how the writing club evolves.  I have to give a shout out to Liz Friend at Wester MS in Frisco, Texas, for sharing her notes from her own Read It Forward Program.  The suggestions she made really helped.  Here are a few notes in case you decide to do your own Read It Forward:

• Choose the book carefully--we went with Schooled by Gordon Korman, because other schools had used it successfully.  Since I wanted this program to go over well, and our students are generally not readers, I chose something I thought would have a very broad appeal.
• The three week timeline was great!  Thanks to Liz, we had time enough to build to it and then maintain the enthusiasm.  Longer might make it hard to keep things going.  
• Definitely use Google Docs to manage the committees and documents for the events.  It was a lifesaver and a time saver.
• Be sure to use the exclusivity to build interest. When kids found out they had to read the book and do something to get invited to the events, they were eager to get their hands on the book.
• Work on getting buy in from staff and parents before hand.  We were fortunate to have an active PTA and they helped.  The teachers were also very supportive, and the whole thing wouldn't have happened without the principal being willing to let me try something new.
• Consider Skyping with the author.  Our students loved meeting Gordon via Skype and he was great!  Also, a Skype visit is much more affordable than an in-person visit.