Reading Initiatives

I am constantly creating displays and brainstorming with teachers to find ways to get books into kids hands. We've had DEAR (Drop Everything And Read), Read-ins, Banned Books displays, Book Genre Speed Dating, Books that changed your life, and so much more! Two of my favorites, though are the Library Breakout Challenge and Read Around the World.

Library Breakout Challenge

Escape Rooms are all the rage these days, and one recently opened here in Dar. The owner is an IST alumni and he helped me to put together an escape-room style challenge for this year's library orientation. Students had to work in teams to solve clues, use the library catalogue to find books, navigate the space to find the books, and use the books to find locks / combinations/ keys to open the treasure box. They had 30 minutes, and every team had to open their lock for the class to win. Students loved it, and the regular readers were the rockstars for that half hour. Best of all, they all used the library catalogue and were exposed to some of the fun that can be had in the library.

Required Reading Around The World

I was captivated by a TED article about the books that are required reading for high school students in 28 countries around the world. So I worked with one of our DP Language and Literature teachers to bring it to life in the library! We bought all of the books, some in their original languages as well as English and printed out a poster for each. We had a huge banner printed and put out the display for International Literacy Day on September 8. We asked students and parents from countries not represented to share the required reading in their country and will purchase them to add to the collection. It's been a great celebration of international literature!