Our library classes in schools of listening to the story, playing games, singing songs, discussions and much more fun ends with the most exciting thing for the children. It’s the book borrowing time. It all starts with one of the Resource Person raising the lending register and the other Resource Person saying these words; ‘this row, you go choose, ‘now you all’ … these are like the magic words for the children to run out and pick a book.
We have been systematically asking a few children in every session, what really makes them borrow a book? The children have many reasons. Some said that they choose a book with many pictures as they like looking at pictures, some said they find the cover page interesting, some said that if they have something that they like in the book they choose, some said the story looks interesting, some said that they are curious and such things. We realize that there is always some or the other reason and the freedom of choosing a book to take home brings the children the joy in borrowing a book.
While this makes us all happy we thought of making this excitement a bit thoughtful. We realized that sometimes the books that the children choose to take home are not the books that they necessarily can read or engage with. In our sessions, we would find some children who had just looked at the pictures and some who have given very less thought to the pictures that they have seen. Mostly the reason for no engagement being that the child is not able to read and has no help at home in reading. For this, the Libraries in School (LiS) team had been thinking and doing different things so that without restricting the children’s choice we help them to choose books that they can read.
One of our more recent attempts has been to use the Five Finger Rule. It’s a visual sign that helps the reader choose a book through self-monitoring and self-motivating. We introduced the poster and discussed it with a role-play of how one can use what is suggested in the poster.
While the role- play got a good response, the team has been trying to remind the children to keep these points in mind while borrowing a book. The understanding and following of the Five Finger Rule for a few children took time. While it has been a great help for those who are trying to follow it. For some children, it has become comfortable to say that I won’t be able to read this book so I am not taking and find another book, to some feeling good that they can read. Sometimes we also hear that they will take someone’s help to read it. At this time, we are closely observing and hoping that the joy of self selection also spreads to the joy of self reading.
