It’s How You Play the Game
Winning is fun. Those who research the human mind find that “there is something inexplicably compelling about the nature of competition” (van der Linden 2015). What better way, then, to bring students closer to literature than contests. It’s hard enough getting students to read full books for pleasure, so why start at the most difficult level? Instead, think about the process of leading students to books as an accomplishment on its own. Provide trails of bait that have value. Expose them to the building blocks of literature. Create environments through which teenagers engage with words and sentences.
Keep Your Eye on the Books
Though it’s essential to focus on the core of each contest, it’s just as important to publicize the rewards. Prizes are the common threads in all of my library contests. Realistically, most students aren’t going to participate in a competition without some external motivation. In my eyes, the ultimate goal is bringing students closer to books. Sometimes we have to take a detour with them. Gift cards are always a big draw; Halloween pens are also a huge hit; even copies of books seem to excite teens.
Here are two contests I’ve done in my library during the first months of this school year:
Aphorism Contest
“What’s an aphorism?” asked students each day during this contest. While some knew the term from English class, others had no idea. To participate, entrants had to create an original aphorism. I walked around the library explaining how aphorisms sum up truths about life. Teens are never short on opinions. Most of them came up with phrases on the spot. I directed them to the library Canvas page, where they submitted their entry on a Google Form. Though several students’ aphorisms were copies of well-known ones, others were completely original. The winner, whose aphorism was, “Rain is just water falling from the sky” won a Dunkin Donuts gift card.
Halloween Read-a-Line Pen Contest
For the past several years, I’ve had a giveaway of giant Halloween pens in the days leading up to the holiday. Of all the fun contests and activities in the library, this one seems to get the most attention. My former TA, who loved all things ghoulish, curated a list of Halloween-themed riddles that the students had to answer to get a pen. I tried to carry on her tradition but riddles are not my thing. So this year, I changed it up a bit. I had students choose one book from a stack of three Ghost-themed short story books. All they had to do was open up to a random page, find a line, and read it aloud to me. Sounds simple. And it was. But something unexpected happened. As they recited these lines–some short, some long, some gory, some bizarre–they embraced the words. Their voices had nuance. They appeared intrigued by what they read. We had short conversations about their predictions of the story from which their chosen line came. It wasn’t just about the pens anymore. A small step in the world of teenage reading motivation but I’ll take it.
The Ball is in Your Court
There are endless possibilities when it comes to creating mini contests in the library. Take the pulse of your school community. Brainstorm ideas that will entice students. Mix in literary components that excite you. Then announce the contest and watch students rise to the occasion.
References
van der Linden, Sander. 2015. “The Psychology of Competition.” Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/socially-relevant/201506/the-psychology-competition.
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