Starting a Ludic Reading Program in Your Classroom by Jennifer Broome

Jennifer Broome is an ICTE board member-at-large

Do you want your students to read more? Every English teacher I’ve ever met responds with a resounding “yes!” Unfortunately, this can be quite the challenge in some situations. We know that younger students are more likely to think of themselves as readers than are adolescent students, and that boys are less likely to read than girls. Students who are emerging bilinguals may have a difficult time finding books in their native language, which can hinder their reading progress. Children from low socio-economic statuses read less than children from more privileged backgrounds. In sum, many students have difficulty becoming readers or remaining readers as they emerge into adolescence. 

One way of encouraging students to become readers is to implement a ludic reading (“pleasure reading”) program in your classroom. Ludic reading programs are based on principles of student choice, high-interest texts, and differentiated instruction. It’s supported by decades of research which shows that ludic reading programs have positive longitudinal effects on students’ willingness to read. Reading offers prosocial benefits to adolescents, and encourages reluctant readers. If you’re interested in giving ludic reading programs a try in your classroom (it works K-12!), here’s a practical guide on how to do it.

First Things First

The first thing when implementing a ludic reading program is to set parameters and expectations. You’ll want to answer the following questions:

1. How many pages should I expect students to read every grading period? (at lower elementary levels, count picture books instead of pages)

2. Are comic books, magazines, and graphic novels okay or not?

3. Are audiobooks okay?

4. Where can emerging bilinguals access fun books in their native language?

At a high school level, I expect students to read 1,000 pages per nine week grading period. Since this reading is done on varying lexile levels, the page count should be reasonable for all students, even ones with disabilities. I am generally happy as long as students are reading something they like, so I allow graphic novels and comics. I allow magazines like The New Yorker, Popular Mechanics, and The Atlantic for students who want to read serious, contemporary reporting. I also allow students to count pages of a book they started but then decided not to finish–this is supposed to be enjoyable, not a slog through a poorly chosen book! Students with reading disabilities are able to use audiobooks. The entire point of this program is to get students reading high-interest books they truly like, not to police the format in which those books occur. Your answers to these questions may be different, and that’s fine; these questions are genuine attempts to set up a program that is responsive to classroom context.

The next item of business is to establish guidelines for what can be read. Some example guidelines are as follows: 

1. The book must be within student’s reading level

2. The book must be approved by a caregiver (usually a parent)

3. The book must not have been read previously

4. The book is not assigned in another class

5. The book must be present at all times in class

To avert issues with students reading books without the approval of their caregivers, I send a document explaining the ludic reading program to parents at the beginning of the year and include that they must approve all books the student is reading for the program ahead of the student beginning to read the book. The caregivers must sign the document and students return it to me so I have evidence the parent has read and agreed to the program’s terms. 

Once you’ve set expectations with students, an orientation to the school library is in order. Work with your librarian ahead of time to pull lots of high-interest books for students to browse. The school librarian is your best ally when it comes to students fulfilling the requirements of the reading program. I use the school librarian when assessing if a text is on a student’s reading level. Remember that higher level texts can be read if a student is interested in the topic/narrative and if they have background information they can use to decipher the text. Librarians are also great resources for locating books in languages other than English for your emerging bilingual learners. 

 Bonus points if you administer a reading interest inventory before taking students to the library so you and the librarian can help students find books that align with their interests! Interest inventories for grades K-12 are available at https://www.smekenseducation.com/interest-inventories-for-your-r/ as well as other places all over the internet.

Making reading part of the classroom culture

Students who are not accustomed to reading have to be given space to read and a culture of reading to emulate. Space to read means things like: it is expected students who finish their work early must read their book. Students must carry their book with them at all times while in the school building. Ludic reading is built into homework time. Every so often the entire class has Sustained Silent Reading for part of the class. Providing space to read is a huge part of developing a culture of reading for fun. 

You are also the most prominent role model for students. Students, even high schoolers, look for you to set the expectations and follow through yourself. You should always have a book you’re reading for pleasure and participate with students in Sustained Silent Reading. Discuss books with students! (this may include reading what is popular with that age group). I had a corner of my class website that announced what I was currently reading, a brief plot teaser, and my feelings about the book so far. I would ask students in the halls between class changes what they were reading. If a student was excited about a book, I gave them 2 minutes at the start of class to describe the book and encourage their peers to read it. These are just some of the ways to get students to read for fun. 

So how do I grade this?

Now for an important reminder: you must grade ludic reading in order for students to actually do it, especially reluctant readers. Grading does not have to be onerous. I usually grade two things: a list of all the books read with their page numbers (or hours if listening to an audiobook) and a project of some sort. If students are reading a book and have also seen the movie, I also ask them to write a paragraph explaining the major differences between the book and the movie. Some project ideas for grading ludic reading include:

1. Individual conferences with students. These take around 3-5 minutes and involve a student selecting a book they read and answering questions you pose about the book’s plot, theme, tone, mood, or other devices. At the lower elementary levels, a simple “Did you like the book? Why?” will suffice. 

2. Have students design a book jacket for one of the books they read  (A sample of this assignment is available here: https://bit.ly/41eNtP5)

3. Have students craft a playlist for one of the characters in one of the books they read. Each song should be accompanied by a few sentences explaining how this song fits this character specifically. 

4. Have students create an artifact about the book (puppets, board game, etc.)

5. Have students participate as a book’s character in a talk show of characters 

6. Have students write an In class essay with a generic question that can be answered by any fiction book (e.g.  “Decide whether a character from the book you chose would agree or disagree with the statement: “It is okay to lie in order to get what you want.”)

7. Have students complete a reader response log for each book they complete (A sample of a reader response log is available here: https://bit.ly/415Ea2S)

There are, of course, tons of other projects and methods for grading ludic reading. What is important is that it is graded, and the grade is significant enough for students to read. In high school contexts, I make ludic reading 10% of the overall grade–enough to move the student down a grade level if they don’t do the work, but not enough to destroy their average.

Conclusion

I first began implementing a ludic reading program in my high school classroom in 2001. Over the years, I’ve watched non-readers become readers and advanced readers breathe a sigh of relief as the program gave them an excuse to read for fun again. As a university professor, I even require ludic reading of my undergraduate Methods students! I love seeing the tipping point when students argue over who gets to read the book next; talking with my students about what they’re reading; and watching the attitude of students change when they’re so invested in a book that they beg for Sustained Silent Reading time. I don’t know exactly how many now-adult readers I’ve cultivated, but I’m betting it’s more than a few. I believe in the power of reading to make students more fully human, to expand their consciousness, to lead them to an appreciation of books they may not have had before. I invite you to come along on this journey with me. Start a ludic reading program in your classroom, and you’ll begin to see how powerful books really are.