Reading Questions

In an effort to help keep reading at the forefront of people's minds as much as possible during the school day, we created a very simple interactive display in the main corridor. We attached some paper cups to the wall and then filled them with questions about reading. The idea is that the children (and staff) read the questions and then think about and discuss them on the way to assembly, break, etc. We've found that it works best when we use them in short bursts of two or three weeks and then remove the display for a month or two in order to keep it fresh. Although I created the original set of questions, the children now make regular suggestions about what we should include. 'What is your favourite book about magic cats?' was one that particularly stood out. The questions we currently use are attached below, so please feel free to borrow and adapt.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQdaUXy9yolbDqZjrW7-_m-uo14lUtRh/edit

Empathy Day 2019

As a result of being involved with the Patron of Reading movement, I was privileged to hear Miranda McKearney OBE talk about her new EmpathyLab project at one of our early conferences. Since then, I've been delighted to see their fantastic work gain real momentum over the past three years. The EmpathyLab approach is based around using books and reading to help children develop empathy skills. My school, Moorlands Primary Academy, was one of the original twelve pioneer schools and the work that we've done on empathy has made a significant difference to our pupils. A full evaluation report, published earlier this year, goes into detail about the impact that the initiative has had.

With the third national Empathy Day taking place on Tuesday 11th June, I felt it would be an appropriate time to share some favourite recent reads that have an empathy focus. Most have been published over the last year or so but there are a couple that are significantly older. To find even more suggestions, please check out the #ReadForEmpathy and #EmpathyDay hashtags on Twitter which will hopefully be trending on the day. The shortlist of books selected for the 2019 Read For Empathy collection is another useful place to look.

Recent empathy favourites

The Butterfly Circus by Francesca Armour-Chelu
A beautifully written story, very engaging, with a strong female lead character. The relationship between the two sisters in the story is absolutely key, as is the emphasis on belief and self-confidence. Enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the circus setting and also how the book touches on animal welfare.

When Sadness Is At Your Door by Eva Eland
Charming picturebook which treats sadness as an inevitable occasional visitor into people's lives. Sensitively and comfortingly done. Loved the subdued colour scheme and how the endpapers are an integral part of the book. Perfect introduction to dealing with difficult times for children in KS1.

New Kid by Jerry Craft
Probably one of my top three graphic novels of the year. Starting at a new school on the other side of the city and away from your friends is hard, but when you are one of very few people of colour attending the school, it's even harder. An engrossing read and provides so much to think about and discuss. This has been doing the rounds in my classroom from the minute it came through the door.

Runaway Robot by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Everything FCB has ever written has been full of opportunities to think about and discuss empathy, and this is no different. The revelation in the final third of the book genuinely threw me and brought a tear to my eye. I had to stop reading for five minutes and regroup. Just wonderful.

Not My Fault by Cath Howe
Ella On The Outside, Cath Howe's debut book, has been one of our favourite class reads of the school year. This story about two siblings who are struggling to cope with each other on a residential trip is also excellent. Sibling rivalry, the never-ending power struggles that are the basis of many school friendships and the challenges faced by becoming more independent are all covered. Also a great way to introduce dual and unreliable narrators.

Click by Kayla Miller
Another sparkling and vibrant graphic novel, about children finding the courage to make their own choices during their time at school. A student faces up to not being chosen to be in any of the groups for her school talent show and has to find ways to deal with it. Many children will empathise immediately. I did.

The Sea Saw by Tom Percival
Highly atmospheric and engaging picturebook, ostensibly about a girl losing her teddy bear. Our Key Stage One classes have used this as the basis for much of their empathy work over the past few weeks. Exquisitely designed collages just add greater depth to the emotional journey. So many parallels with Kate DiCamillo's joyous The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, one of my favourite children's books.

Ghost by Jason Reynolds
On the surface, a story about a boy's experiences when joining his school athletics team, but really about so much more. First in the Track series, with the second book, Patina, coming out in the summer (and I can't wait). Family, guilt, fear and the importance of strong relationships. An absolute delight, packs a hugely powerful punch.

Inside Out And Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Although this book has been out for several years, I've only recently read it. An enormously moving verse novel about a family from Vietnam being forced to flee to the USA when war approaches their home town. Demonstrates how relationships need to evolve as circumstances change. Provides many opportunities to talk about the different reasons why people are forced to migrate around the world.

The Busker by Paul Jennings

Paul Jennings is one of the unrivalled masters of writing short stories for children and The Busker, despite being published over thirty years ago, is perhaps his best. A thought-provoking tale that touches on the nature of friendship, the importance of kindness and the necessity to stand up for your beliefs. Have read it to most of the classes I've taught over the past twenty years and it has brought tears and cries of disbelief every time.

2019 Read For Empathy selections

After thoroughly enjoying my experience of being on the selection panel for 2018's Read for Empathy guide, I was delighted to be invited again to help select the books that would appear on this year's lists. As one of EmpathyLab's twelve original pilot schools from 2015, we've invested a lot of time and effort into developing our children's empathy skills at Moorlands. Much of our work has been centred around the use of high quality books, which studies have shown can have a positive impact on developing empathy, and it was a privilege to be able to help provide other schools with a similar opportunity.

Along Came A Different

a delightfully appealing picturebook about friendship

The first stage of the judging process involved spending a significant chunk of the summer holidays reading approximately 70 books which had all been nominated by their publishers and making notes about the suitability of each. Several books were discarded at this stage, not because they were poorly written or weren't enjoyable to read, but because it was felt that they didn’t quite deliver the specific empathy criteria that we had been tasked with finding. Each book was judged on whether they contain characters that readers can empathise with, the insights into the lives of others that are provided, how emotional vocabulary is used and how the book motivates the reader to put empathy into action.

The seven judges (more information here) met at the CLPE in London in early December to finalise a list of 30 books for primary schools and a list of 15 books for secondary schools. The final lists caused much discussion and occasional (highly professional) disagreements but, as the overall quality of the books was so high, a consensus was reached on the majority quite quickly. Both lists include an exciting combination of picture books, novels, poetry and graphic novels and the panel feel confident that the books selected provide a broad appeal to a wide range of readers.

Ella On The Outside

a very popular read with Deer Class

Some books I read by myself, some I relished having the opportunity to share with my class or my own children. Ella On The Outside, the debut novel from Cath Howe, was an absolute pleasure to read aloud to my Year 6 pupils. There were so many things about the book that the children could relate to and it led to several spontaneous discussions on a variety of subjects. The main character, Ella, suffers from psoriasis, as does a girl in my class, and every time we sat down to enjoy the book, she would shuffle to the front of the carpet and literally hang on to the bottom of my leg as I read. Speaking to her after we finished reading, I asked what she'd enjoyed about it the most and she replied, “It could have been about me. I haven’t read any books like that before". As soon as it went on the class bookshelf, she immediately borrowed it to take home and reread. She's become a real advocate for the book, recommending it to her friends in other classes and always moving it to the display shelf in the school library.

The 2019 Read For Empathy Primary Guide selections

As the above example demonstrates, all children love to see themselves represented in what they read, which is why I'm so delighted that, of the 45 featured titles, 44% have a BAME protagonist or cast of characters. This is significantly more positive than the recent Reflecting Realities study from CLPE, which found that only 1% of children’s books published had a lead BAME character. The selected books include the heartwarming Love From Anna Hibiscus! by Atinuke, the beautifully engaging If All The World Were by Joseph Coelho and Allison Colpoys, and the powerful verse novel Booked by Kwame Alexander.

Love From Anna Hibiscus

a wonderful series to share with younger children

Another book that I really enjoyed, and which has been making its way around the class since September, is The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree by Paola Peretti. It's based on the author's own experiences of Stargardt's disease, a progressive illness which causes a gradual deterioration in eyesight, ultimately leading to complete blindness. It tells the story of Mafalda, who measures her failing vision by the distance from which she can see her favourite cherry tree on her morning journey to school. It's an emotionally powerful book and highly recommended. For my full review, please visit the Just Imagine website.

The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree

an optimistic book full of hope and joy

Each year, I try and read a couple of verse novels to my class, with Cloud Busting, Inside Out and Back Again and Love That Dog all being among the regulars. Everything All At Once by Steven Camden (aka Polarbear) is a verse novel about adjusting to life at secondary school, an experience common to us all. Every poem is a beautifully observed insight into school life, and the book provides numerous opportunities for discussions about empathy and understanding with students across Key Stage Three.

Everything All At Once

a poignant verse novel

I’m also absolutely thrilled that the collection also contains some well known ‘empathy classics’, including Elmer by David McKee, Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman and one of my all-time favourites, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. I’ve read this book to almost every class I’ve taught over the past seven or eight years and it's been one of the highlights on our reading journey every time. After the first few chapters, the children tend to decide that Edward is a self-centred and dislikeable character but, by the end of the book, they all adore him and can fully empathise with his emotional experiences. It's an absolutely wonderful book that should be on the bookshelf in every Key Stage Two classroom, and I genuinely look forward to my annual read.

The 2019 Read For Empathy Secondary Guide selections

If I had the time, I'd happily sing the praises of each book on the 2019 Read for Empathy lists as they all deserve to be celebrated. They all have the potential to change a child’s outlook on the world, and it’s so exciting to know that such a high quality collection of literature will be having a positive impact in classrooms across the country. I’m looking forward to finding out all the creative ways that they'll be used in the run-up to National Empathy Day, which takes place on Tuesday 11th June 2019, and can't wait to read and enjoy even more of them with the pupils and staff at my school.

More information about the selections that make up the two lists can be found on the Empathy Lab website.

The combined lists

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

I rarely write reviews about individual books, usually due to lack of time, but when I read a book as powerful as Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, I genuinely feel as if I have little choice. I finished it almost a week ago and its haunting, emotive quality is still firmly in the forefront of my mind.

Jewell Parker Rhodes, author of Ghost Boys

In its most simple terms, the book tells the story of the fatal shooting of Jerome, a 12-year-old boy from Chicago, by a police officer. The chapters are short, almost poetic in style, and move the tale forward at a rapid pace. The book is written from the point of the view of the victim, both before the shooting, where he talks about his life at school, and after, when he shares his experiences as a ghost boy. There are some distressing moments early on, such as when Jerome observes his own funeral and learns of the devastating impact that his death has had on his family, but the story becomes absolutely compelling when he starts to meet other ghost boys, black American children who have also died too young for a range of tragic reasons. The only living person who can interact with Jerome is Sarah, the white daughter of the police officer responsible for his death, which creates a poignant juxtaposition. The impact that his death also has on her family, gradually tearing it apart, gives the book even greater depth and resonance.

Emmett Till

The ghost boy that Jerome encounters most regularly is a teenager called Emmett, who is initially reluctant to share the story of his death, constantly claiming that the time isn't right. When Emmett eventually begins to talk, the horrific tale he tells is truly heartbreaking. To hear the story of his violent death being told from his own point of view is an incredibly hard thing to attempt, but Jewell Parker Rhodes has created a staggeringly intense account of what occurred. I read the book on a train while travelling back from a meeting in London and am not ashamed to admit that I was in tears by the end of the book. The next hour was spent finding out more about some of the real-life characters who appear in the book, including Emmett.

Before reading Ghost Boy, I had some awareness of the violent death of Emmett Till. He was a 14-year-old who was viciously beaten and then lynched by a gang of white men in Mississippi in 1955. He had been accused of whistling at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in a grocery store, although many years later she admitted that she had fabricated a significant portion of her testimony. His name later became linked with what was to ultimately become the American civil rights movement.

Emmett Till statue, Denver

To read such a powerful and harrowing book can only help raise children's awareness of the inequalities in the world, and strongly reinforces the message that it is everybody's duty to speak about injustice, in whatever form we may encounter it. I simply cannot recommend this book highly enough, especially in light of the recent Reflecting Realities report from the CLPE, which revealed that only 1% of children's books published in the UK last year featured a central BAME character. I'd be cautious about using Ghost Boys with children in Key Stage 2, and believe that it is more appropriate for Key Stage 3.

First lines of books

We've recently been investigating first lines of books and the impact that they can have on the reader. As a class, we ranked our favourites, discussed how the story might carry on and compared the openings of books from similar genres.

Below are a few of our class favourites. To download and use them, please use this link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JREP3azVNZnEpldBln1i80krouCiwJAKbTgTecgBuT0/edit?usp=sharing

School reading culture...breakthrough moments

Last Thursday, I was absolutely delighted and extremely humbled to have been awarded the Egmont 2018 Reading for Pleasure Teacher Award. I travelled to London with my headteacher to attend the BERA/UKLA/OU Reading for Pleasure research symposium, and was presented with the award by Michael Rosen.

Being part of a school with reading at its heart is absolutely fundamental to what I believe in as a teacher. I'm fortunate to work in an environment where I'm supported, trusted and actively encouraged by my headteacher to take risks and try new ideas, as well as alongside an amazing group of teachers and support staff who understand the importance of creating a deep, genuine and firmly embedded reading for pleasure culture. They know that it can't be achieved with quick fix solutions and short term interventions. They know that adult knowledge of children's literature is essential, and that independent reading time must be protected against the pressures of the timetable. They know that reading aloud, in all its various forms, is crucial, and that encouraging spontaneous and informal book talk at every opportunity is an important way for children to truly engage with their reading. They know all this, and much more, and they do their best to make sure it happens.

After three years of extremely hard work from everyone in our school community, it's noticeable that over the past few months, there's been a significant cultural shift in the attitude towards reading. Conversations and interactions are happening between pupils, staff and parents that are making it a very exciting place to be.

For example, just before Christmas we introduced pupil-staff reading buddies (visit the Open University Reading for Pleasure site for more details). I'd been working with my buddy from Year 2 for several weeks. He wasn't a keen reader at home, showed little interest in reading at school and was one of those children who, if not picked up, could easily slip through the net. He'd always dutifully come along to our meetings and listen politely to whichever book I'd selected, but didn't really engage with the stories. In fact, most of his time would be spent looking out of the window or rearranging the cushions he was sitting on. After a couple of weeks, he started to show more interest, making an effort to listen to the story and even asking the occasional question. One lunchtime, just before half-term, he sauntered into the classroom (to be honest, he saunters everywhere), with his hands hidden behind his back...

"Hello, lovely to see you. How are you?"

"Mmmm, yeah, alright."

"Have you come to talk to me? Is everything OK?"

"Mmmm, yeah."

Slightly awkward pause...

"So, did you want to show me something?"

"Mmmm, yeah."

Slightly more awkward pause...

"Right then...what is it? Are you holding something exciting in your hands?"

At this point, he gave an enormous grin, and whipped out a copy of Harry And The Dinosaurs Go To School from behind his back.

"I found this book in my classroom and I brought it. I think it's going to be really good and we should read it."

"Well, I'd be delighted to, absolutely delighted."

It felt like a massive breakthrough. He'd found and chosen a book that he thought he'd enjoy, and had wanted to share that experience with someone. It was another tiny, but significant, step on his journey to becoming a genuine reader and I was thrilled to have been there for it. Moments like those can't easily be measured or quantified (apart from by the size of a smile!), but they're the moments that genuinely matter, the moments that can have an impact on a child's attitude to reading forever.

A second example, several weeks ago I was heading along the corridor to make (yet another) coffee when I walked past three teachers, all from different year groups, discussing the wonderful Letters From The Lighthouse by Emma Carroll. About ten minutes later, having made my drink, I came back and they were still there, but this time comparing the book and film versions of Wonder by RJ Palacio. Teachers, who had a thousand other things that they could be doing, were standing around and talking about children's books! Reading is increasingly becoming an essential part of the daily conversation across the school and it's very, very exciting.

Similar breakthroughs are happening across the school community. There are staff giving up five minutes of their break to seek out books that their reading buddies will enjoy. There are Year 6 children wanting to read stories to children from Year 1 and 2 in the library at lunchtime. There are parents working with their children to create book characters from potatoes. There are classes spontaneously starting informal book groups based on shared interests (the Amulet group is growing by the hour!). There are pupils cheering when new deliveries of books arrive in the post. There are about half of our teaching staff attending a local Teachers' Reading Group. There is a real book buzz, a reading buzz, a feeling of gathering momentum and a sense that the school reading community is beginning to take on a life of its own. We're not yet a reading for pleasure school, there's still a lot that we need to improve and develop further, but we believe we're heading in the right direction and we're very proud.

Reading Buddies

Over the past few months, we've been thinking about ways to involve all our staff (meaning SLT, support staff and office staff, as well as teachers) in the development of our whole school reading culture. We've also talked about the significant number of children who don't have parental support with their reading at home and have decided that we'll attempt to help counter this by creating one-to-one pupil and staff reading buddies across the school.

We looked at our staffing structure and worked out that we had about 35 people available to become buddies, meaning that we could support three or four children per class (Y1-Y6). Each teacher then put forward their four most 'vulnerable' readers. The children selected weren't always necessarily the weakest readers, but those who weren't regularly read to at home, who had nobody outside school to talk with about books and stories or who needed someone to just show some interest in them as readers; basically, the children who might otherwise easily slip through the net. The teachers also included some information about why they considered them to be vulnerable, for example:

• Freddy has a general dislike of books. Doesn't engage at home and will do anything other than read during class reading times.
• Isla had previously been very interested in reading and used to want to share books that she'd read. However, she now refuses to read during school time and rarely reads at home. It would be good for her to be able to suggest books to someone as well as have books suggested to her.
• Joey isn't supported with reading at home, but is really interested in books and stories. Would be great paired with someone who is enthusiastic about books and would be happy to read him the occasional story.
• Liam finds it difficult to make it through a full book. He has suggested that he enjoys spooky stories, so perhaps he could be buddied with someone who enjoys this genre?

Once we had our list of children, we then looked carefully at which combinations we thought would work. For example, our Y4 teacher has a real love of graphic novels, so he was paired with a child who also enjoys them but doesn't have access to any at home. We also ensured that the adults were from different year groups to the children and weren't people with who the child already works on a regular basis, as we felt it was important for it to be a 'new' reading relationship for both parties. We then introduced the concept to the children, telling them who their reading buddy was and causing a great deal of excitement.

Before the first buddy sessions took place, we had a short meeting with staff. It was made clear that we knew it would be asking for (yet) another time commitment from staff but also talked how much impact it would potentially have and how much it would be appreciated by the children. We then examined how it might work in practice and shared ideas about how to keep the momentum going across the year. The ideas were then all recorded and shared with other staff (see below).

Staff-Pupil Reading Buddies

Thank you all for supporting this. If we can get it up and running across the school, it will provide an extra layer of support to our more vulnerable readers, the ones who need someone to read them stories, talk about books with, etc, and will also really help embed our reading culture across the whole school.

If you're able to meet with your buddy for about five minutes twice a week, that would be great, but don’t worry if you can only manage it once a week. There will be times when it won’t happen for different reasons, again don’t worry. I'm aware that it's asking for another time commitment from staff. This is genuinely appreciated, and will be appreciated even more by your buddies.

When you meet with your buddy will obviously depend on when you can find the time. It could be during break, lunch, at the end of assembly, just before school, etc. It’s important that the children take the lead in coming to find you. Obviously the children we’re focussing on are going to be the less enthusiastic and less engaged readers, so this might not be as easy as it sounds but please persevere. It doesn’t matter if you reward them the first few times for turning up, it needs to be something that they feel positive about, look forward to and want to be part of.

Suggestions (feel free to come up with your own)

Talk about their reading book- probably the most obvious! Are they enjoying it, what has been their favourite part so far, which other books does it remind them of, have they read anything else by the same author, are there any parts they don’t like, etc.

Talk about what you’re reading- bring it in to share (if appropriate!). Could be a book, magazine, football programme, etc. The message we need to try and get over is that all reading is good reading.

Ask them to share their class book- when they read it, why they look forward to it, who’s their favourite character, etc.

Reading histories- share the books you enjoyed as a child, why they were special, what you remember about them. Ask them about the books they can remember from when they were younger.

Poetry- share a poem, ask them about poems they enjoy, point them in the direction of a poet or poetry book.

Read them a page or two from a book, or find a short story that they would enjoy- lots of children on the list don’t get stories read to them at home and would absolutely thrive on the extra attention.

    

Although the initiative has only been running for a few weeks, there's already been a significant cultural shift across the school. The targeted children are, on the whole, showing far more positive attitudes to reading. There have been a couple of partnerships that haven't really taken off, for a variety of reasons, but these are very much in the minority. Children look forward to the sessions and make the effort to turn up. Some of them have brought in a favourite book from home to read and some have arrived with books that they've enjoyed and then recommended them to their adult buddy. This is all helping the school to develop a genuinely reciprocal reading community, which will ultimately increase the children's pleasure in reading (one of the key findings from the UKLA Teachers as Readers report).

The fact that virtually all the staff are involved means that there's more book talk around the school, with staff talking to each other about their buddies and asking for recommendations. Some members of staff who hadn't previously shown too much interest in reading are really enjoying the challenge and responsibility of the role. It's been wonderful to see staff visiting the library and searching out books and stories that they think their buddies would enjoy. We're going to review the idea in more detail next term but the early feedback so far has been very positive from both staff and children.