The Y7 Jólabókaflóð drew to a close this week with a celebration of all the extended reading that Y7 students had been doing over the past four weeks.
For some it has been a wonderful opportunity to indulge themselves in quality reading time, while for others the 
prospect of 3 hours a week of recreational reading was really daunting. With support and encouragement to view recreational reading differently, and to access it in a range of creative ways we have had the most amazing responses from some previously reluctant readers, and I firmly believe that there are some for whom this has been a transformative experience with lifelong implications. Recreational reading has many well-documented benefits and is an important partner to informational reading, which becomes incresingly important as children progress through education, so getting into good habits in Y7 can have 
a potentially life-changing impact.
Very early results from our feedback survey suggest that average recreational reading time per student increased by 200% from 1 hour to 3 hours a week and that many students enjoyed the experience more than they expected. I am still collecting survey data, so if you are in Y7 and haven't yet 
completed the survey, please do so here (you will need to log in with your school username and password). Beyond statistics though, the impact of this focused reading project was clear in the enthusiasm with which the children presented their book recommendations to their peers, and with which they were received. If you have a Blanchelande student or staff username and password you can access a short video of some of their recommendations here. One clear result of the project was the number of students who enjoyed finding new ways to access reading, such as audiobooks, 
magazines and cookbooks and were excited to share these with their peers.
The infectious enthusiasm in the final lesson means that Y7 have gone away for Christmas with lots of great ideas for their next read - and I think their comments around the edge of this post speak for themselves.
Gleðileg jól og gleðilegan lestur (Merry Christmas and Happy Reading) from Blanchelande College Libraries.
We look forward to hearing all about your Christmas reading in the new year. Maybe you will be inspired to hold your own Jólabókaflóð at home this year!
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