Why Are School and Library Visits Important?
Bringing authors and illustrators to schools legitimizes literacy for students. They empower students to tap into their creativity and identify as readers and writers.
This positive impact is supported by research, including the National Literacy Trust in the UK (Clark and Lant, 2019), which states, “...we have consistently seen that working with writers has the potential to improve the enjoyment, attitudes and confidence of pupils and teachers in both reading and writing.” (1)
Respondents to a survey within this research described author-student interactions as having a “profound and lasting impact” that promoted increased student engagement in reading and writing. (2)
Expanding on this, a study by K.N. Silverman offers, “Building significant connections between students and authors, between readers and books, and between the reading and writing processes is the “basic backbone” of creating and encouraging literacy in students.” (3)
This positive impact is supported by research, including the National Literacy Trust in the UK (Clark and Lant, 2019), which states, “...we have consistently seen that working with writers has the potential to improve the enjoyment, attitudes and confidence of pupils and teachers in both reading and writing.” (1)
Respondents to a survey within this research described author-student interactions as having a “profound and lasting impact” that promoted increased student engagement in reading and writing. (2)
Expanding on this, a study by K.N. Silverman offers, “Building significant connections between students and authors, between readers and books, and between the reading and writing processes is the “basic backbone” of creating and encouraging literacy in students.” (3)
1 Clark, C and Lant, F. (2019). Writer visits and children and young people’s reading and writing engagement. London: National Literacy Trust. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED603684.pdf
2 Echols, HK and Miller, D (2016). Meeting Books, Meeting Authors. A Journal of the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. Vol. 46, 11-17.
3 4 Silverman, K. N. (2013, May/June). Connecting authors to readers through the school library. Knowledge Quest, 41(5), 27-29.
2 Echols, HK and Miller, D (2016). Meeting Books, Meeting Authors. A Journal of the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. Vol. 46, 11-17.
3 4 Silverman, K. N. (2013, May/June). Connecting authors to readers through the school library. Knowledge Quest, 41(5), 27-29.
