5 Playground secrets to Engage Every Reader

If you want to understand what children are truly interested in, do not start with a lesson plan.

Start in the playground.

Listen carefully as pupils arrive in the morning, walk between lessons or gather at break time. You will hear conversations about gaming, apps, YouTube, devices and the digital world around them. These are not structured discussions. They are natural, animated and full of curiosity.

And yet, too often, this is not what we see reflected in reading time.

There is a disconnect.

As educators, we carefully select texts, align them to curriculum goals and ensure coverage. All of this is important. However, if we overlook what children are already talking about, we risk missing one of the most powerful drivers of reading engagement.

Interest.

Start with what they care about

Recently our CEO and founder, delivered participated in an “Engage every reader” webinar run by Eduthing as part of the National year of Reading. She asked the attendees a simple question:

When do your pupils talk most naturally about technology?

The answer is rarely “during a lesson”. It is usually before school, after school or in those unstructured moments where children feel free to share what excites them.

• They talk about the game they played the night before.
• They compare strategies.
• They discuss characters, levels and challenges.
• They are, in many ways, already engaging in rich storytelling and problem solving.

The question we need to ask is this:

How do we bring that same level of energy into reading?

A shift in approach

One of the key messages she shared with schools is this:

It is not tech first, it is interest first, then tech.

This is a subtle but important shift.

Rather than starting with a topic and trying to make it engaging, we start with what children are already engaged in and build from there. Technology is often the bridge, because it is already embedded in their everyday lives.

When a child is interested, resistance reduces. When resistance reduces, engagement increases. And when engagement increases, reading becomes far more likely.

The entry point to reading engagement

Children do not disengage from reading because they are not capable. More often, they disengage because they cannot see themselves in what they are reading.

If a child spends their free time talking about gaming, but never encounters a book that reflects that interest, reading begins to feel disconnected from their world.

However, when we introduce texts that align with their interests, something changes.

• They lean in.
• They become curious.
• They begin to ask questions.
• This is the entry point we need to prioritise.

Practical ways to bring interests into reading

1. Build reading lists from pupil interests
   Take time to find out what your pupils are talking about. Use this to inform your book selection. If gaming is a common theme, look for books that explore game design, coding or digital worlds.
2. Introduce tech-themed books
   Technology-themed books can act as a bridge between children’s interests and reading. Topics such as artificial intelligence, robotics, data and online safety are not only relevant but also highly engaging.
3. Use discussion as a gateway
   Before introducing a text, start with conversation. Ask pupils what they already know or think about a topic. This helps them make connections before they even open the book.
4. Create space for sharing
   Allow children to recommend books, share ideas and talk about what they have discovered. Reading becomes more powerful when it is social.
5. Connect reading to the real world
   Help pupils see how what they are reading links to the technology they use every day. This builds relevance and purpose.

Reflecting interests in books

This is one of the reasons Technology Books for Children was created.

There was a clear gap. Children were surrounded by technology, yet there were limited opportunities to explore these themes through reading in a structured and accessible way.

The platform brings together a wide range of physical books that reflect the world children are already curious about. Teachers can search by topic, such as artificial intelligence, gaming, cybersecurity or data, as well as by age group.

This makes it easier to find books that connect directly with pupil interests, without compromising on quality or purpose.

Listening First, Teaching Second.

The playground offers us valuable insight.

It shows us what children care about, what excites them and what they are ready to explore. If we take the time to listen, we can use that information to shape more engaging and meaningful reading experiences.

This does not mean abandoning the curriculum. It means enhancing it.

The playground is already doing the hard work for us.

It is showing us what matters to children. It is showing us what captures their attention. And most importantly, it is showing us where reading can begin.

Our role is not to replace that curiosity, but to build on it.

This idea sits at the heart of the Engage Every Reader webinar series, hosted by Sarah Robinson through Eduthing’s National Year of Reading programme. The sessions offer practical ways to connect reading with real interests, real lives and real classrooms.

If you are looking for fresh ideas, take a look at the sessions below and consider how you might bring this approach into your own setting.

Our founder and CEO (Beverly) will also make another guest appearance in the Making Reading a habit at home event.