Just for the Fun of It

Unlike Elementary Schools, High Schools don't necessarily promote reading as a leisure activity. So as a librarian at the Institute of Notre Dame (IND) in Baltimore, MD, I borrowed a summer reading program from a teaching colleague that would get teens reading just for the fun of it.

Since our 400 students have an intense workload, many only have time to read books that are assigned to them. I approached our academic council, a clearinghouse for all scholastic proposals, and suggested a summer reading project. Once I got the go-ahead, I asked all of my colleagues—everyone from the school's principal to its teachers—to choose a summer reading book and then lead a discussion group in September. At the beginning of the 2001–2002 school year, we had our first discussion group.

Planning for next summer's project starts a year ahead of time, in September, when I ask the staff to contemplate a title to read for that summer. I also form a committee of teachers to assist with grade-appropriate titles. Once the book choices are compiled, I use Amazon.com and other booksellers to gather reviews of each title and to check for profanity and sexual content. Then we distribute the lists in April during National Library Week. Teacher involvement is essential—the English department offered to help develop reading lists for staff members who needed assistance, to discuss titles with students, and to let them choose their readings in class time during Library Week. It's important to establish sign-up limits so that too many students don't sign up for any one book. However, if there's great interest in a book, we assign two staff members to lead discussion groups on that same title.

Students purchase their own copies of a selected book, and the school purchases three copies of each new title for our collection. The project's cost is built into our annual budget. Last summer, we included more diverse titles (our school is 16 percent African American), added students to our selection committee, and extended our September discussion sessions. What are some of the most popular titles? City of the Beasts (HarperCollins, 2002) by Isabel Allende, The Lovely Bones (Little Brown, 2002) by Alice Sebold, and classics such as J. R. R. Tolkien's The Return of the King. We even have advance requests for J. K. Rowling's latest book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Scholastic), which comes out this June.

We often receive interesting choices. Sixteen-year-old Liz Wrzosek, who chose The Poisonwood Bible (HarperPerennial, 1999) by Barbara Kingsolver says, "I believe that choosing your own book for summer reading provides students with the opportunity to read something they enjoy rather than something that is required." Wrzosek, who has taken part in the program for two years, adds, "It allows us to discuss a book with students whose opinions are not always heard in a normal class."

The keys to developing a successful summer reading program include selling the idea to your administration and having a precise time line. Decide when and where students should sign up. And make sure to present the idea to those who will play a vital role in the program.

Once you enlist teachers as group discussion leaders, form a committee of faculty members and an administrator to monitor book selection. Be sure to eliminate books already being assigned, particularly by the English department. School librarians should assist in determining literary merit and whether the books are age-appropriate. Periodically talk with teachers about the progress they've made in selecting a book. Offer samples for students to review as they make their selections, and do not reveal the names of discussion group leaders, just in case students choose based on a teacher's popularity.

Liz Honaker, an English teacher, says "Allowing students to choose their own book adds a dimension of personal involvement into the process."