Coordinator's Corner

Collaborating To Support Literacy in All Corners of the School

By Tammy Craft, M.S.

Wouldn’t it be great if all kids were motivated with a genuine love of reading? Wouldn’t it be great for parents if children completed homework with ease? Wouldn’t it be ideal for schools if all teachers had time to collaborate? Wouldn’t it be grand if …

First, a dip into reality: Most teachers, parents, and administrators plunge into the school year with more on their agenda than any to-do list will hold. Oftentimes, those lists get longer instead of shorter, making it impossible to find additional time for collaborating with support staff, parents, and colleagues. The following outline contains ideas to help all school personnel look for opportunities to put the academic philosophy of literacy front and center. These suggestions provide continuous opportunities to motivate an interest in reading while reinforcing and building literacy skills throughout the school. Inside and outside the classroom, everyone is onboard to help build motivation for reading success. Literacy can be found on every wall, within all specialty settings, among hallway and entrance corridors, within cafeteria settings, and between and around all nooks and corners. Incorporating some of the ideas below will help a school collaborate to motivate children to read, and families and visitors will see the school as a print-rich environment!

Main office reading corner

Reading nook in the secretary’s office or administrator’s office

Main hallway reading cubby

Establish a reading corner which is visually appealing to all ages. Include some of the following: fiction and non-fiction books; novels for struggling readers; picture books for young and older students; high interest/low readability series such as Remedia Publications’ Amazing Facts (2005), Famous People, Places, & Events (2001), and Outstanding Americans (2000). Consider adding stuffed animal puppets, framed pictures, school yearbooks, pamphlets, and posters to the corner.


Choose and display pamphlets and posters which support self motivation, high expectations, and address academic and social fears.


An office reading corner is a friendly and inviting area that may be used in a variety of ways: Teacher/student conference, teacher collaborative planning area, parent/teacher conference, motivational area for awards or incentive, and meeting area when planning for individual student and family needs.

Classroom doors

Office doors

Personnel doors

Everyone is onboard with reading!


Display a “What I’m Reading Now” sign on every door in the building.
Invite all teachers, building staff, personnel, and volunteers to share what they are currently reading.


Be prepared to enjoy literacy conversations about books and common interests between students, between teachers and students, and among colleagues.

A cafeteria outlined with:


Bulletin boards


Reading walls


A daily slide show


Discussion tables

Develop a recipe for literacy by including bulletin boards or posters highlighting facts and information on topics of nutrition. Invite school staff, community leaders, or families to submit their favorite recipes or holiday meals to add to the bulletin boards.


Invite the physical education teachers to create bulletin boards or posters outlining health, wellness, or hints of upcoming physical activity units for the semester.


Display photographic pictures taken from cultural, community, and local events involving food and celebrations.


Run a slide show in the cafeteria if possible. This would be a great place to highlight new book titles from the library, capture school happenings, and post upcoming student reminders.


The cafeteria wall is a great place to post monthly birthdays, display graph charts, or highlight social studies related projects.


Give students something extra to chew on and create placemats that include “conversation starters.” Invite school volunteers and older students to develop conversation starters and change the placemats often.
Specialty classrooms light up the main hallways   Specialty teachers support literacy everyday in exciting ways! Consider showcasing how they reinforce reading and writing strategies which children use in other classroom settings. Outline a large bulletin board with blinking lights and show how the specialty lessons from music, art, physical education, and guidance demonstrate literacy while reinforcing reading and writing skills.
Bus waiting areas A great way to limit misbehavior in waiting areas and on school buses is to post reminders and refer to them often. Provide large posters or visuals that describe safety rules, requirements for all students, privileges, and consequences.
Connecting home and school with a “reading night”

Bring a favorite book, blanket, and pillow for an evening read-a-thon. Families join together for an hour of reading fun, then it’s time for social fun with board games, snacks, and book talks.


Books and animals go well together. Consider inviting an animal guest to join individual classrooms, library lessons, or special units of study. Golden Retrievers have been known to be wonderful reading partners; they stay close by, lending attentive, listening ears to young readers.
Host a school “information and networking” night to collaborate and connect special needs families with support programs, such as animal-assisted occupational therapy.


One resource is Katie’s Place for Persons with Special Needs (http://www.kppsn.org/id1.html).

Many times the best ideas are found among teachers within a school environment when they share successful experiences. We hope these ideas are useful when implementing school-wide collaboration in support of reading motivation. For additional information and resources on collaboration, contact your local T/TAC office. As always, we wish you a motivating school year and happy reading!

Resources:

Rog, L., & Kropp, P. (2001). Hooking struggling readers: Using books they can and want to read. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/374
Henderson, A., Johnson, V., Mapp, K., & Davies, D. (2006). Beyond the bake sale: The essential guide to family/school partnerships. New York, NY: The New Press.