In association with
TEACH READING & WRITING
13
O
ver the last fewyears, I’ve been
travelling tomeet teachers from
right across the country, seeing
what ideas they’ve come upwith
tomake sure learning to read
goes hand in handwith developing a love
of books.
What did I discover?Well, itmay not
surprise you thatmany of the heads, English
subject leaders and teachers I met were keen
to stress that it was an everyday focus on
reading – not special events – that helped
the children to see books in amore positive
light. But that said, many of the schools had
developed creative approaches to raise the
profile of reading, often in response to a
particular problem. These events helped to
create a sense that readingwas something
special, raising its profile andmaking it
exciting. Curious? Here arewhat were, for
me, some of themorememorable ideas.
Looktorebrand
One school had a problemwith ‘silent
reading’, the independent reading slot that
was timetabled for straight after lunch. The
children didn’t particularly enjoy this and so
the literacy coordinator decided to take a leaf
froman advertising department and rebrand
it SQUIRT time – Super-Quiet Uninterrupted
Independent Reading Time. The same children
whowere decidedly unexcited by silent
reading skipped into SQUIRT time because it
sounded fun.
Findagoldenticket
One librarian noticed that childrenwere very
keen to borrownewbooks that arrived in
the library, but were sometimes unwilling
to borrowsome of the older books, even if
theywere great stories. She solved this by
hidingWillyWonka-style golden tickets in a
selection of the older book stock. If a child
found a golden ticket shewould read the
book, take it to the librarian (whowould ask
her some questions about the book to see
if she had read it) and then she’d swap her
golden ticket for a football bookmark or a
jazzy pencil.
Readingbuddies–
fromKS2tonursery
Lots of the schools featured in the project
used a systemof reading buddies, where
older childrenwouldmeet to readwith a
younger child to share a book or hear him
read. One deputy head spoke about the
positive impact she’d seen fromweekly
reading sessions betweenY5 andY2 pupils.
TheY2 children loved their reading buddy
coming to readwith themand benefited from
the opportunity to read aloud to someone
DOITBYTHEBOOK
Think you have a good idea for a
reading initiative? Ask they five key
questions first...
n
What issue is it addressing?
Does it
solve a problemor help children to
see reading in a new or positive way?
n
Is it about reading?
Will it help
children to become better readers
or enjoy books?
n
Is it equitable?
Can all children
access the initiative to the same
degree? Events that involve dressing
up or contributingmoney can be
difficult for some children.
n
Does it help children to see
the intrinsic value and enjoyment
in reading?
Collecting stickers,
rewards and points can be very
motivating, but they’re only valuable
if children still read when they are
aren’t on offer.
n
Is there any lasting effect on
reading at the school beyond the
actual initiative?
Is the amount of
effort expended on the event worth
it in terms of its impact on children’s
reading habits?
who they looked up to. But she also noticed
a positive change in theY5 children: they
thrived on the responsibility of being a reading
buddy, being the expert and supporting
someone else’s reading. It also helped themto
be conscious about whatmade a good reader
and this had an impact on their own reading.
So she decided to extend the programme.
Aswell as Y2 readingwithY5, she
asked the KS1 children to go and read
with a Reception reading buddy once per
week. Again, she saw the growing sense of
responsibility and understanding of what
makes a good reader inY2. So she decided
to pair each Reception childwith a child from
theNursery and give themaweekly slot to
read together. Although the Reception child
didn’t necessarily have the best-developed
reading skills, he could usually use the book to
tell a story to his buddy, and the experience of
being the expert at readingwas priceless.`
Wededicate
thisbookto...
In one school, childrenwere invited towrite
the titles of books they’d enjoyed reading
onto slips and post them into a letterbox
in the school library. If the school used a
recommendation and bought the book,
a nameplatewould be put in the front of
the bookwith the name of the childwho
suggested buying it. This served two
purposes. Firstly, it got the children talking
about books and recognised the keen readers
whowent to the trouble of recommending
books to others. Secondly, it allowed the
children to seewho had recommended a
book and sometimes thiswas enough to get a
child to read it. The headteacher told a story
about the time hewas sharing some of the
recommended books in assembly and he got
to a book suggested by the captain of theY6
football team; he said he could see the ripple
of excitement through KS2 as groups of boys
thought, ‘That’s the book I’mreading next!’
Freebabysitting
(or readingcamp)
Thefinal initiative goeswell beyond the call
of duty. One school fromthe project ran a
reading competition each term. Every teacher
nominated his or her ‘Reader of the Term’
all of whomwon the following prize: they
could camp out in the school hall overnight at
reading camp. Reading camp featured stories,
games and hot chocolate before sleeping in a
pop-up tent in the school hall. It was held on
a Friday night and if a childwon, it wasn’t just
himthat could attend, it extended to any other
sibling he had at the school. So the parents
got Friday night out with free babysitting!
Not surprisingly, the headteacher told us
that the school had never had such a positive
response to a reading initiative fromparents
– they chased himacross the playground to
tell himhowoften their children read and
howmuch they loved reading. Like I say, well
beyond the call of duty…
Whatmade each of these initiatives stand
out was that the school had thought carefully
about a specific problemor issuewith reading
and then set about solving it in a creativeway.
So, whatmight work to promote and celebrate
reading in your school?.
