How Do I Share My Current Reading with My Students? 

As part of my professional development journey in adolescent literacy during the last years of my career in public schools, I pushed not only my department but also every staff member to make our reading lives visible to our high school students. 

I worked from the premise that all of us on staff had a role in making reading visible, interesting, and relevant. 

We used several projects to make reading visible. I was blessed with great librarians over the years who helped coordinate these projects. 

1. For a few years we created READ (ALA – American Library Association campaign) posters with staff posing with a favorite book. These were then posted outside offices and classrooms.  
2. Another site to make quick images: https://whatimreading.org/ 
3. Staff members identified books in the library they recommended, and our librarian created a bookmark with the staff member’s recommendation to display in the book. 
4. Some listed their current reading on their information posting outside their office/classroom. 
5. For summer reading engagement, I invited staff to make a Flipgrid (I miss it so much!) about their summer TBR list. See sample infographic I made during my last year at the high school for an expanded goal of “summer engagement”: Summer Engagement 22
6. Some kept three books or titles on their whiteboard trays: Finished, Currently Reading, Up Next. 
7. I started the school year with a stack of the books I finished reading since the end of school in May on my lectern shelf. I would continue to add more books as I finished them. 

Since I teach at the college level now, I don’t have a dedicated classroom to keep the book stack anymore. Now, I have an ongoing Canva infographic I share with students in a Reading Resources module in my LMS. Access the current infographic with this link: Book Recommendations

Each book icon links to a Goodreads overview of the book. I’ve also identified titles that I’ve seen as frequently challenged.

The goal is to make reading visible, interesting, and relevant to students and demonstrate that not only their English teachers read. This can also be expanded to families and community members for more engagement. Literacy and reading for pleasure will not improve for children if the adults in their lives don’t model reading as a lifelong activity.

As an Amazon Associate, Libro.fm and Bookshop.org affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.