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The UK Literacy Association share a list of 13 top ideas that will help to raise the profile of reading in your school.



The UK Literacy Association (UKLA) works tirelessly towards the advancement of education in literacy. They shared this great list of ideas that will help you to get children reading.

READING ideas

1. Make independent reading a priority – it should happen every day.

Ideally by the age of seven, all children should have at least  fifteen minutes reading every day. Even better, why not encourage two sessions a day?

2. Offer children guidance in making their book choices.

Ask them to look at the cover. Is the book by an author or illustrator that they know? What do they think the book might be about? Encourage them to read the blurb on the back of the book. If they’re still interested, suggest they read the first page and see if they want to turn over. These are all things that you as a reader will probably do naturally. Sometimes children just need to be given that guidance until in becomes natural for them.

3. Offer a diverse range of texts.

Create boxes with comics and magazines, joke and poetry collections and non-fiction books on a wide variety of subjects that may interest the children. You could also include story sacks within your reading corner or library.

Reading area

4. Involve students in book ordering.

Give children the responsibility of ordering and cataloguing books according to the Dewey System. Here they will develop skills such as sequencing and alphabetical order.

5. Connect to the local library.

Encourage parents to sign their children up as members. Feeling part of something where they can make their own choices can be a very empowering experience.

Reading

6. Invite guests in to read

Invite parents and guardians to come in at the beginning or end of the school day to read a story, listen to the children read, or share a book of their own. Alternatively invite a local author to inspire children to read and write stories themselves.

7. Create a system of book-buddies

Give children a book-buddy where older children can read to the younger children or vice versa!

8. Watch recordings of famous people telling stories

Have you ever considered having a listening station in your reading corner or ipads to watch famous people reading stories? Watch clips from films that stated life as a story. Many children may be unaware that some of their favourite movies started as a book!

9. Bring your own book into school and read alongside the children.

Encourage your colleagues to talk about books they are reading with children… show them reading is something that everyone enjoys and make it a part of your whole school culture.

reading

10.Foster a love of reading

Capture their interest in different books by reading them the back page blurb or whetting their appetites with a short section of the book.

11.Book gossip!

At the end of the session, ask a few children to give a ‘juicy bit’ from what they have been reading for the rest of the class to enjoy.

12.Reviewing the books

Using Post-it notes, ask the children to write recommendations, and stick them in the inside cover for others to discover.

13. Start a book blog for your class.

Children can write up their thoughts about books they have been reading in independent reading time. Adding ten minutes onto the end of a reading session with blog tablets available encourages children to share their ideas about what they have read.

Why not create a cosy reading area for children to enjoy their favourite books? Perhaps an immersive corner that matches a topic that you are covering, including books that are related to the subject matter.

It could be a dinosaur corner, space theme or rainforest!

Take a look at our School Library Resources including many book packs and resources to help children to read.

With thanks to UK Literacy Association for these great top tips.

Inspirational ideas to encourage writing

Reading Area Inspiration


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