It’s always exciting to go to the library, but one of our most exciting times in the library each year is when the students have their access to Destiny Quest turned on. DQ is a social network of sorts, and it allows students to make friends with their classmates and then send book recommendations, rate books, and comment on their book choices. Not surprisingly, the kids love it, and very quickly there arises a social buzz about reading in our class.
Using Destiny Quest is a great reminder for all of us that reading not just a solitary practice, and that we read with and alongside our peers. Classmates can help each other grow as readers by helping to find just right books and giving reading a visible place in the forefront of our learning brains. Further, this is a great time for us to talk about being a digital citizen and what it means to interact with others online and to publish on the internet. On DQ we quickly see posts like “This book was Soooooooooooooooo Gooooooooooood!!!!!!” Clearly a great opportunity for a lesson and a conversation with these nine and ten year olds!