Fun library activities for your school 

How can your school get involved with the local library to encourage students’ interest in reading?

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Hope Education

Libraries aren’t just about borrowing books to read and choosing which books to take home. Here are six library activities that children can do to encourage their interest in reading.

Create or join a children’s book club

Promote or join the book clubs that libraries regularly hold – most local libraries do this through the organisation Chatterbooks. Children can discover a range of exciting genres through these book clubs and also socialise with other kids. Book clubs aim to encourage children to read and discuss books more, increasing their English skills and knowledge. 

Use the Children’s University

The Children’s University (CU) is great for children to take part in and many libraries are involved in this initiative – you could even promote the use of it within your school too. The CU provides educational activities and children receive a passport and collect stamps for each hour spent on activities – they even get a graduation at the end! This gives them something to strive towards as it’s rewarding them for participating – plus, this initiative gets pupils involved with libraries to complete the activities.

Guided reading in the library

Partner with your local library for guided reading sessions. This is perfect for choosing a book to read as libraries have hundreds of different books. You will easily find a book that everyone in the class is interested in which helps them to enjoy guided reading.

Independent research at the library

Arrange an independent research trip at the library. This is one of the library activities that can seem scary to children at first; however, it’s extremely educational and a sense of achievement can be felt afterwards. It will also prepare them for their futures where independent research will be needed at some stage.

Independent research allows pupils to explore their own interests, steer their own learning, and hit curriculum standards and libraries offer a plethora of educational books and digital resources that pupils will need for research.

Do some creative writing

Join library creative writing sessions on your trip to your local library. There are book-inspired themes that allow children to interpret texts in their own way. Their imagination can run wild when creating a story and there’s a social aspect to it too as many creative writing sessions in libraries involve discussions, sharing ideas and help from librarians or even authors!