TEENAGE READING GROUP IDEAS
Here are some ideas to get teenagers reading. Some already being used in the UK plus some other suggestions for British Council offices. We also have guidance on setting up and running Teenage Reading Groups.
Can you judge a book by its cover?
A game devised to test how closely people look at covers and blurbs. Take 20 books of all genres, colour copy and enlarge to A4 their covers and laminate for longevity. Next type out the blurb of each book and construct two false blurbs to accompany it. Do this for each of the books (it doesn't take long and you can have fun playing with what is actually on the cover). Do the same for each book. When completed you will have 20 A4 book covers and 20 A4 sheets each with three blurbs written on them. Divide your audience into teams. Hold up each cover in turn. Read out the three blurbs. The teams have to guess which is the correct blurb to go with the cover. This leads to interesting discussion about what each genre expects on their covers and how they hook their readers in with short punchy blurbs.
25 words or less
A game to show the importance of brevity and to widen reading. Each young person involved has to write an enticing description of his or her favourite book onto large postcards. No title or author must be mentioned in the description. Each description is placed on the wall/poster board of the library. The participants must then choose one book (not their own) from the postcard descriptions. Once they have chosen they are given the book. They have to read the book before the next meeting when they can compare their response to the book with the original advocate.
Soundtracks
A game to increase understanding of what different readers get out of different parts of a book. Each participant selects a book they know well. They must then divide the story into separate sections and give each section a soundtrack. The group then compare them. This can work well if all the group (or teams within a group) work on the same novel as well if they all do different books. The aim is to allow the participants to verbalise why different passages need particular types/styles of music to suit what is going on in the story.
Capturing the image
It's always useful to use other art forms when working with readers. For this activity participants look at one or a number of books and then try to capture the feeling of the book through photographs. When a group in England did this they looked at several books that dealt with young women in the transition between childhood and adult. To capture this they photographed a group of teenage girls who used to sit on swings in a public park. The swings were for young children and the resulting image perfectly captured their reluctance (and the novel's characters) to leave the sanctuary of childhood too quickly.
Banned books
This activity is based on a promotion by Opening the Book (a UK-based reader development agency) featured on the website. In this version get participants to research which books have been banned throughout the world, and for what reason. When this list has been prepared allow the participants to decide which books the group should read and try to understand what made authorities decide to deny them to readers.
Book tracking
An idea taken from the Book Crossing website which is a fun way of tracking the reading experience across a city, country or even the world. Why not choose a book, read it and then review it on enCompass and use the webboard to ask other readers from across the world what they think of the book.
Book Pushers
Book Pushers are reading advocates who share their views on books they've read with peers, librarians, publishers and other people interested in supporting teenagers interest in reading. The project gives the young people involved the chance to share their love of reading with others. Book Pushers was started by Derbyshire Libraries. They are groups of 12-15 year olds selected from local schools and/or library reading groups by audition; they are asked to stand up in front of a panel and talk about a book they've enjoyed reading and why. Those selected are given training in public speaking, choosing text to read during performances and communication skills. Through the presentations they are able to influence book selection in libraries, inform publishers which books young people like to read and why and encourage other teenagers to broaden their reading and try new books or genres. The project developed by Derbyshire Libraries and Heritage is managed by Will Newman, Development Manager E-mail: will.newman@derbyshire.gov.uk
Calendar of Events
Taking part in themed annual events can provide a focus for your Reader Group activities with young people. Here is a calendar of major reading events in the UK.
You could also take a look at Creative Reading Projects in the UK and Where can I join a Reading Group? for useful ideas for your Reading Group.
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