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The National Year of Reading is a yearlong celebration of reading, in all its forms. It aims to increase awareness of the many values of reading for everyone
 With 2008 being the National Year of Reading there are a number of ideas that your school can implement to get your pupils, and indeed your staff, turning those pages.
Love to Read
The National Schools Partnership (NSP) has teamed up with LeapFrog Toys to launch the Tag ‘Love to Read’ programme, a brand new literacy initiative based on the school curriculum which will be suitable for Foundation Stage and Key One Stage. Launching in October, the programme provides participating schools with materials that have been devised by teachers in conjunction with Dr. Jeni Riley, a literacy expert, to help teachers, parents and children alike.
The ‘Love to Read’ programme aims to build a passion for reading amongst children, support for teachers in the classroom and create a greater understanding of reading amongst parents. Children will be entertained as well as educated, with eight ‘Love to Read’ interactive reading games and eight activity games that can be played in the classroom. Schools that sign up to the programme will receive a teachers’ pack that will include;
- A free guide booklet for every parent in reception, year 1 and year 2, which includes information and tips on encouraging children to read, and practical information to help parents encourage further development at home
- A teacher CD Rom with fun activity sheets, lesson plans and exciting whiteboard and online reading games
- A schools competition to win LeapFrog Educational Toys for the class
- Online support and games for teachers and parents at www.welovetoread.co.uk (going live in October).
Parental involvement
The booklet supplied to parents through the ‘Love to Read’ programme contains information and tips on how to get their kids interested in reading. Assistant head teacher, Liz Jeffrey at South Parade Primary in Lincolnshire, said: "This takes away the mystery about learning to read so parents feel confident helping their children. It’s a really useful initiative that helps build the home school partnership."
The website www.welovetoread.co.uk also offers a parents’ section that helps parents by explaining teachers’ techniques, offering tips for reading with children, interactive games, bumper book list, details of LeapFrog Educational Toys, and quiz to see what type of learner their child is.
Mark Fawcett, founder and CEO of National Schools Partnership said: "There's no doubt that reading is one of the most important life-skills a child can learn, and we believe that if children enjoy reading at home they will do better in school. This is why LeapFrog Toys' Love to Read programme is so great. It helps parents understand easily how their children learn to read and what they can do to get involved and make reading fun."
Sounds and surprises
Dr Jeni Riley said: “Technology-assisted books, such as the LeapFrog Tag, are a new and added bonus to conventional books, supporting the child on their reading journey in a variety of ways. Endlessly patient, the technology will ‘read’ the whole book to the child, or just the words they cannot yet read for themselves. Tag also embellishes the story with sounds and surprises such as games, hidden in the illustrations that teach phonics and help to develop the two key skills of print and sound awareness that are so essential to becoming a reader.”
The National Schools Partnership (NSP) develops innovative educational resources for you and your school. All teachers and schools are eligible to register, for free, as a School Partner. This unique and independent organisation has continually growing support within schools, educational bodies and businesses. Over 15,000 schools have already benefited from the resources and fundraising programmes the organisation has provided. |
