kids need reading stamina
DESCRIPTION
Presentation on the importance of reading for pleasure written for Senior ManagementTRANSCRIPT
“Kids need reading stamina”
Developing a reading culture at Nicholas Chamberlaine
Technology College
Why read?
Why books?
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." Richard Steele
The ability to read is one of the strongest predictors of future success.
Although reading can be taught in a classroom,
it must be practised.
This slide and next: Are librarians really worth it? Available online at:http://www.ccsd.net/schools/watson/libraryresearch.html
When students voluntarily read, they practise and enforce what is taught in the classroom.
Michael Jordan can teach you to how to throw the perfect foul line shot, but if you don't ever practise the skill, his instruction is worthless.
OECD “Reading for Change” 2002 found that“Being more enthusiastic about reading and a frequent reader was more of an advantage, on its own, than having well-educated parents in good jobs”
“Finding ways to engage students in reading may be one of the most effective ways to leverage social change."
OECD (2002). Reading For Change: Results from PISA 2000, published by the Organisation For Economic Co-operation and Development.
Creativity and imagination
Culturalheritage
Language development
Emotional development
Increased self-esteem
Sustained concentration
Reading for pleasure =
“There is a strong association between the amount of reading for pleasure children reported and their reading achievement.”
Twist, L., Schagen, I. and Hodgson, C. (2007). Readers and Reading: National Report for England 2006. Slough: NFER
…doesn’t always have to be from books
Reading….
MSN
Bebo and Facebook
Websites
Magazines and comics
Newspapers
E-books
TXT messages
…are all forms of reading!
Why books?
“Books rule! You don’t have pictures to tell you how to imagine something, you can do it yourself! Books can do what no machines can, and probably never will. For example, time travel and they can take you to other dimensions! They are somewhere to go when you just want to escape the real world!” Dani, 13
"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." Ray Bradbury
The Rights of the Readerby Daniel Pennac1. The right not to read2. The right to skip3. The right not to finish a book4. The right to read it again5. The right to read anything6. The right to mistake a book for real life7. The right to read anywhere8. The right to dip in9. The right to read out loud10.The right to be quiet
Challenges at NCTC
Research skills lesson with Year 9…
The teacher said, “If you don’t behave I won’t let you use the computers. You will
have to use the books instead”.
“A significant number of boys would rather chew off their own right leg than confess to enjoying reading and writing.” Alan Gibbons
Lack of a reading cultureamongst some of our intake
Declining book issues from KS3 to KS5
Reluctance to reading,bordering on hostility
Time pressures: personal, pastoral and curricular
What does this mean?
Impact on all subjectsand exam courses
Problems with concentration and attention span
Lack of engagement with culture
Stalling of reading & literacy development
Lack of imagination and ideas
Year 7 Reading Profile 2005-2006
Class: All Girls % Boys % Totals %
Q1 What do you think about reading?
Easy 51 40% 54 38% 105 39%
Love it 38 30% 15 10% 53 20%
Hard work 9 7% 11 8% 20 7%
Boring 41 32% 54 38% 95 35%
Interesting 45 35% 38 27% 83 31%
Slow 25 20% 21 15% 46 17%
Better things to do 44 34% 58 41% 102 38%
Important 29 23% 26 18% 55 20%
Other: 25
Year 7 Reading Profile 2005-2006
Q2. What do you choose to read by yourself? 10% said “Nothing”
Q5. Why do you read? 46% gave a negative answer
Q6. Do you have your own books or magazines at home? 7% said “No”
Students 2007-2008
Year 7 in September:
• 4 with a reading age below 6 years
• 14 from 6 years to 6 years 11 months
73 had a reading age of below 11 years
Year 11 in September:
• 9 below 9 years 11 months
50 had a reading age of below 14 years
“My general experience of dyslexic students who have difficulty reading is that the more they read the better they get. … Clearly once a dyslexic always a dyslexic, but practise makes (closer to) perfect. So the more practise of reading for pleasure the better.”
Martin Truckle, NCTC SENCO
We want to
raise achievement at NCTC
“The research evidence suggests that encouraging reading for pleasure could be a way of contributing towards raising educational standards and combating social exclusion.”
Clark, C and Akerman, R (2006). Social inclusion and reading: an exploration. National Literacy Trust
“Boys need to be led towards reflecting on what they have just learnt. Reticence to reflect is a fundamental gap in boys’ learning processes. Whole school support for reading initiatives (fiction) can significantly aid this process.”
Raising Boys' Achievement in LiteracyGary Wilson, Raising boys' achievement co-ordinator
So what could we do?
…about reading andchildren’s literature.
Students need to besurrounded by books…
…with staff who areenthusiastic and knowledgeable …
Extra-curricularactivities
Extra-curricularactivities
Pastoral timePastoral time
Yr 7 ReadingProgramme
Yr 7 ReadingProgramme
AtmosphereAtmosphere
Staffknowledge &
expertise
Staffknowledge &
expertise
High qualityresources
High qualityresources
LRCsupport
forreading
LRCsupport
forreading
Special Reading Initiatives 07/08
• Boys into Books • Booked Up • NCTC Book Week • Shadowing events ?
• National Year of Reading ?
Suggestions for NCTC
• “Intervention” sessions - Year 7 X5 & Y6
• Reading mentors – 6th Form, other years
• Positive attitude to books from staff
• Role models with reading
• Reading initiatives throughout the college as well as the LRC
• National activities e.g. NYR 2008
We need time for reading…
“…time spent reading independently interacts with students’ reading ability and has a positive impact on certain components of reading achievement.”
Samuels, S and Wu, Y (2003). How the amount of time spent on independent reading affects reading achievement: A response to the national reading panel
“Sustained reading to my mind is essential for developing a world they would want to
live in. The reading does not need to be fiction but I do believe that kids need
reading stamina. Just like you have to stick at anything and practice etc surely
you need to do the same with reading.” Ingrid Hopson SLYA 2007