World Read Aloud Day 2020

World Read Aloud Day 2020: Kicking up a storm in the library

Since our school library opened up in July 2019, our students have been actively borrowing books. But as a library educator, I wasn’t sure if they were really reading. What were they borrowing and what were they taking away from the stories they took home? I also wanted to ensure that students begin to see the library as a safe space for all – the academically inclined to the sports enthusiast, to the budding artist to the young poet in the making. I wondered if we could inch closer to making the library the central hub of the school.

The World Read Aloud Day gave me the perfect excuse to unite the entire school in the reading effort.

World Read Aloud Day
So what is World Read Aloud Day (WRAD)? WRAD is one of the many initiatives started by LitWorld which was founded in 2007 by Pam Allyn. As an author and literacy educator, she was deeply moved by the poverty and lack of educational opportunities in countries like Kenya. She believed that children had to read, write and share their stories with the world. It was with this desire in mind that she and a few of her friends started LitWorld, an organisation that works to empower children from all over the world one story at a time. Now, in the eleventh year, WRAD has got a lot of global attention, with close to 170+ countries participating in it. This year with a fully functional circulating library and read aloud classes held for std. 1-5, it felt like the right time to include our students in this worldwide phenomenon. 

The Plan
I wanted students to be the champion of this venture. Though WRAD is a one-day event we decided to spread the celebrations across the week to allow maximum exposure and fun. The first step was to zero in on the different activities and programs we would conduct. After some deliberation we decided on conducting author studies, character plays, book talks, read aloud and Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) time. Students were then approached to be a part of WRAD. We were clear from the get-go that none of the activities would be forced on to the students, we hoped to have willing volunteers as a part of WRAD team. We weren’t disappointed. Posters were put up in the library, in addition to which announcements were made in class encouraging students who liked to read to participate. We tried to ensure that there were at least one to two students from each standard as a part of WRAD. Meetings were held with teachers from all sections informing them about WRAD and encouraging them to be a part of it in their own way. Once we identified the students, we began to meet with them to talk about books, stories and what they mean to them. The author studies would be done every day of the WRAD week over the P.A. system, thus giving every student a chance to listen to the life and works of a few choice authors. Some of the authors we heard about are – Oliver Jeffers, Eric Carle, Mahasweta Devi, Nina Sabnani, Ruskin Bond, Patricia Polacco, Venita Coelho, Michael Morpurgo, Zai Whitaker.

For the character play, volunteers were first asked if they would like to do it on a personal favourite character, if students couldn’t come up with one on their own they were given picture books to read over the weekend. After which students came back and shared with us what they felt the book was trying to convey and how they would like to portray their character. Some of the books that were highlighted in this way are – Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank, The Girl Who Hated books by Manjusha Pawagi, Augustus and His Smile by Catherine Rayner, Ferdinand by Munroe Leaf, Ari by Vaishali Shroff, Biblioburro: A true story from Coloumbia by Jeanette Winters.

 We wanted to include teachers in our WRAD venture and so we requested them to actively visit the library and borrow books. Teachers were also encouraged to give book talks about the books they read in their classes. The idea was to help students realise that teachers too enjoy reading books and to give teachers an opportunity to model their reading preferences, habits, opinions with their students. 

D.E.A.R. time or Drop Everything And Read was a fun way of getting even the most reluctant reader to crack open a book and at the very least browse through it. A special bell was decided upon to mark the start of D.E.A.R time. As soon as the bell rang students were expected to stop whatever they were doing and pick up their library books and read! Teachers were also asked to pick up their books to read along with the students thus reinforcing that D.E.A.R. time is not to be taken lightly and that this is truly a joint venture. Students and teachers were to continue reading until the special bell rang again marking the end of the D.E.A.R time. This happened intermittently through the WRAD week. 

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We also organised a small impromptu art exhibition in our library. Any student who would like to have their art displayed for the rest of the school to see was invited to submit their signed artwork along with a small description of their work. Alongside this, a read-aloud of ‘The Dot’ by Peter Reynolds was also planned for. This event happened after school hours and was open only to secondary students due to time and space limitations. 

Read More Stories from School

How it was received 

WRAD week saw a lot of buzz in and around the library. Students were eager to participate in the different activities organised and received them well. We even had students who approached us during WRAD week requesting to participate in the activities. So much so that the last day of WRAD week saw three author studies back to back as we ran out of days to showcase all the authors! 

A few marked differences we observed during and in the week after WRAD is children began to visit the library with a purpose in mind. Students began to ask for very specific books some by title, some even by the author’s name. A few children came hunting for books that were recommended by their teachers via book talks. The art exhibition and the following read-aloud was very well received by the students. Students requested more such read-aloud sessions, they even indulged in some art inspired by the book. Some students approached us even after the exhibition to showcase their artwork. We now have a corner in the library especially for art displays by students. 

While the week was full and active the real test is yet to come. Will the excitement, enthusiasm and eagerness to discover and engage continue? Will the different interventions have a prolonged influence or will it be another case of out of sight, out of mind. Well, we hope not…we hope this is the beginning of a lifelong journey with books, stories and engagement with the library. For our part, we hope to keep the conversation around books going, through activities, displays and special occasions like this!

“For knowledge sets us free, art sets us free. A great library is a freedom” 

Ursula K. Le Guin. 

Written by

Judith Thomas