In March, we kicked off Read Across America Month by launching a brand new initiative, the Reading Culture Trailblazer award. We already knew that competition, recognition, and gamification help young people foster a love of reading, and the success of this program proved that these strategies can motivate entire schools to transform their reading cultures.
Creating a Strong Reading Culture
At the end of the school year, we asked schools to share their tips for success, and a few strong themes emerged.
1. Choice
“Teachers promote me as the 'Book Whisperer'. I can almost always help a student, reader OR non-reader, find a book that they enjoy. I engage with the students about their own interests and try to connect them to a book that will appeal to those interests.”
It’s no secret that allowing students to pick their reading material is essential for creating healthy reading habits. Many librarians and media specialists mentioned flexing their readers’ advisory muscles to help students find books on topics that interest them.
2. Recognition
“Students LOVE to see their photo on the poster in the hallway that shows the top 10 readers of the week.”
If you’ve ever received recognition, you know that special feeling associated with praise and acknowledgment. We heard that sharing top readers during school announcements, on leaderboards, or even on the local morning news created a buzz among students.
3. Friendly Competition
“My campus loves a good challenge and friendly competition which also encourages more sharing and participation. Building a positive culture around the reading experience is key!”
Setting up friendly challenges between classes, grade levels, or even schools in the same district effectively engages students and gets them excited about logging their minutes. Tip: challenges between students and their teachers are always a hit!
4. Fun Incentives
“We love to kick off the school year with a read-a-thon, which includes fun prizes and incentives. We also have a year-long challenge where I have incentives that are mostly reading-related, like free books and bookmarks.”
Some schools have donut parties, while others convince their principals to get slimed when students reach a particular reading milestone. Celebrating with incentives is a tried-and-true method for getting students excited about pretty much anything, and reading is no exception!
We were blown away by the enthusiasm school librarians and administrators shared when we asked for feedback. With this positivity in mind, we’re taking the Beanstack Reading Culture Trailblazer award to the next level this school year.
The 2024-2025 Beanstack Reading Culture Awards
Driven by the success of the initial award, we are adding two new honors to recognize schools as they reach reading culture benchmarks throughout the 2024-2025 school year.
- The Igniter award is granted to schools with 25% of students logging reading through Beanstack. This first honor comes with a $25 Reading Culture Rebate to celebrate reading at your school, a digital badge, and a certificate.
- Schools achieve the Pathfinder award when 50% of their students log reading. Schools that receive this award receive a digital badge and certificate.
- The Reading Culture Trailblazer award is granted to schools with over 75% of students logging reading by the end of the school year. Recipients of this final award receive a digital badge and certificate, plus a $100 Reading Culture Rebate.
The positive benefits of reading are well documented, and our data shows that schools with community reading goals log 105% more minutes than those without them. Whether you aim to improve standardized test scores, encourage independent reading, or simply have fun, the Beanstack Reading Culture Awards will keep your entire community reading throughout the school year.
Check out the complete list of Reading Culture Trailblazers! If you’re new to Beanstack, schedule a demo or request a quote today.