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The Little Reading Cafe

Each week, an educator takes a stand or shares an Aha! moment in the classroom in Education World's Voice of Experience column. TThis week, educator Brenda Dyck reflects on students' seeming dislike for recreational reading. "I wondered why young people who had loved to read in the earlier grades were now turning up their noses at reading," she writes. Then Dyck hatched a plan for imitating the successful ambience of the major bookstore chains. It seems to be working.

Each Thursday afternoon, my grade-six classroom undergoes a face lift. We turn the lights down low and light candles. Comfortable pillows appear on the floor, strains of jazz or baroque music float through the air, and students snuggle up with their books. Quietly, someone passes around cookies, doughnuts, or brownies. Readers nod their thanks and return to their books. Some students sip on mugs of tea or hot chocolate. All of us experience 45 minutes of bliss in the middle of an active school day!

It wasn't always that way. Four years ago, I knew I had to look for different ways to get my students engaged in reading. It troubled me that the majority of students I inherited each year viewed recreational reading with intense dislike. Silent reading times were anything but enjoyable as I walked around the room, making sure everyone had a book on the go. I wondered why young people who had loved to read in the earlier grades were now turning up their noses at reading.

Before I could reinvent the "independent reading" part of my program, I needed to identify the core purpose of this infamous institution. After much reflection, I rationalized that independent-reading time was about developing a love for reading in my students -- nothing more, nothing less. From there, the rest was easy. I used as my model the well-known bookstore chains such as Chapters and Barnes & Noble. Those bookstores have made an art of creating an ambience that beckons people to read. The enticements of cozy chairs, interesting music, and food have helped reading become trendy once again!

Equipped with my core purpose, I moved an old couch and a chair into my classroom. I hung a few artsy posters on the walls, threw some comfy cushions on the floor, and provided music and a few candles. To that, we added food and drink; after all, the aroma of coffee is one of the most enticing things about bookstore cafes. Students take turns bringing cookies, brownies, chips, or oranges.

I knew it was important to keep our "reading cafe" fresh and vibrant, so I scheduled a number of "special events."

• People who visit share their own love of reading. The principal, the custodian, and parents have come, books in hand, to share a favorite story.
• A local author came to explain how he published his own book.
• One of our parents read Scottish literature to the students -- complete with a Scottish accent!
• On Valentine's Day, we held a "Death By Chocolate" event. All snacks were chocolate, and the students listened to an authentic old-fashioned mystery radio drama.
• I announced special events on a poster displayed outside my classroom so it really felt like a special event was taking place!

My students and I love our "reading cafe" period. For me, it has been a time when I can communicate to my students my own love of reading and put feet to Galileo's words, "You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him discover it within himself."

ADDITIONAL READING RESOURCES

• Lessons from Oprah, Harry Potter, and the Internet
  Writer Jim Trelease explores what Oprah Winfrey and Harry Potter can teach us about reluctant readers.
• The Joy of Reading: Superman and Me
  This excerpt comes from the book The Most Wonderful Books: Writers on Discovering the Pleasures of Reading.
• Joy of Reading
  Jamie MacKenzie photographs young people immersed in reading.

Read more Voices of Experience

Article by Brenda Dyck
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