We spend a lot of time reading here at XP. East: we dedicate at least one Crew session a week to our accelerated reader programme and comprehension testing, as well as 15 minutes at the beginning of morning session, and another 15 minutes after lunch. We also expect students to read for 20-30 minutes at home. We are seeing some good progress in Crew Parker as students improve their reading age, and have strategies in place for those who need some extra support.
I do hear quite a few of our children grumbling when asked to get their reading books out, so it’s important to remind them why it’s so important, and why we invest so much time into reading:
- Reading helps to build our vocabulary and language skills
- Reading helps improve focus and concentration
- It stimulates our imagination, which consequently helps to develop our own creative writing skills
- A good book will leave us wanting more, so that we go on to learn more!
- Developing good reading habits now will help the students when they go to University and have to research things using resources other than the internet (no, Google doesn’t have all the answers!)
As an ex-Librarian (or maybe that should be once a Librarian, always a Librarian!) I can’t promote the benefits of reading for pleasure enough. I don’t really care if it’s a physical book or an e-book; it’s the act of reading that counts.