The Fonz and Malorie Blackman!

I wouldn't normally just post a video link on here, but it's not every day that The Fonz and Malorie Blackman send a video message to your school talking about how wonderful reading is! Huge thanks to our Patron of Reading, John Dougherty, for putting it together.

Class Author

Roald Dahl is a great children's author. Admittedly, he's also responsible for Charlie & the Great Glass Elevator which is, in my opinion, very disjointed and rather boring, but pretty much all of the other books he wrote were wonderful. Virtually every child in Key Stage Two knows his name and most can name at least a few of his books. This also applies to the other 'usual suspects': Jacqueline Wilson, JK Rowling, David Walliams, etc.

However, there are literally hundreds of other great children's authors out there that, without a little guidance, can easily be overlooked by the majority of children. Off the top of my head this includes Sam Gayton, Katherine Paterson, SF Said, Paul Jennings, Jamila Gavin, Josh Lacey and Gill Lewis. It's a very arbitrary list, so please don't pull me up on any wonderful authors that are missing (although do feel free to add to it!).

In order to widen the children's knowledge of authors and poets, about three years ago we decided that each class in the school would have a Class Author. The author would change 4-5 times a year, and would sometimes be selected by the teacher and sometimes by the children. A child joining us in Year 3 and leaving us in Year 6 would then be exposed to the work of at least 20 different authors during their time at junior school, as well as that of all the ones they know about anyway. Three years down the line and the idea is still going strong.

4JB's Class Author

Each class has an author display in their classroom and there is also a school display of current and previous authors outside the library. Revealing the new author is always very exciting and is done in a variety of ways. Some teachers reveal their identity on the class blog or via Twitter and one puts up a photo of the author in his classroom to see if the children can recognise who it is. If they don't get it straight away, he then throws in an occasional clue during the week.

Recent Class Authors (including Mildred D Taylor, Rene Goscinny, Noel Langley, Terry Deary, Michael Rosen and The Brothers Grimm)

Every teacher is given a book budget of approximately £50 for each class author they have during the year so, as time has gone on, the classrooms have become much better stocked with great books. The staff all approach the idea differently. Some have a fixed author slot every week where they find out information about their writer alongside the children, some encourage the class to research the author at home, almost all ensure they find time every day to read one of the author's books. In fact, pretty much anything to raise the profile of the writer and their work. Occasionally the children have emailed the author to let them know that they are their chosen Class Author, share a picture of the classroom display and ask them a few questions. Most of the time, the authors have been really receptive and happy to engage, and one even offered to hold a conversation via Skype with the class.

It's a simple idea that has been very effective. It's noticeably improved the children's awareness of different authors, as well as that of the school staff. At the end of last year, I asked my Year 4 class to list as many authors as they could- they came up with over 50 between them! The fact that there's a new author every few weeks keeps it fresh and the children know that if their current Class Author isn't really their cup of tea, another one will be along pretty soon.

49 ideas to raise the profile of reading in schools

These are just bullet points at the moment but I will put it all into some sort of coherent state whenever I get an opportunity. The ideas are a mixture of what is already happening in my school and my R4P 'wishlist'. Some are directly relevant to the school I work in, but could easily be transferred into any school. The majority are pretty standard practice, although there should be a few in there that you won't have tried before (there's definitely a few I haven't tried yet!).
 

Reading for Pleasure- whole school ideas

Children learn about literature from what the adults about them do about it.

Zahnleiter, 1985

You want weapons? We’re in a library. Books...the best weapons in the world!

Dr Who, 1879

Finding ways to engage children in reading is one of the most effective ways to leverage social change.

OECD, 2002

 

Children

• Whole school questionnaire for pupils to gauge attitudes to R4P- present results to staff
• School book council/reading council- two pupils from each class to attend meetings to talk about how to raise profile of reading
• Lunchtime reading boxes for quiet area in playground
• Regularly share favourite books and poems in assembly
• West Earlham Junior School book awards- each year group to judge a particular category
• Class author/theme- opportunities needed for classes to feedback to each other
• Class ‘book talk’ sessions (at least once a week)
• Extreme reading photo competition (pupils, staff and parents)
• Weekly fifteen minute DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time (pupils and staff)- staff as reading role models (newspapers, magazines, graphic novels, etc)
• Lunchtime story and poetry clubs
• Book club (and, equally importantly, Not A Book Club, where pupils read poems, magazines, comics, graphic novels, etc)
• Class and individual rewards for using Reading Records
• Book swap box (‘wandering’ book) for pupils and staff- reception area?
• ‘Mr Green is reading…’ posters to also include all non-teaching staff
• Daily class storytime
• Reading cafes
• Poem of the Day- to be performed by children and staff- classes to make anthologies of poems, short stories, etc
• Book/author quiz- Between classes (families involved?)
• ‘I am reading.…by....’ badges (pupils, staff, visitors)
• Shadowing national book awards/competitions (Carnegie, Blue Peter, etc)
• Out and about- book festivals, author visits in other schools, bookshops, libraries, etc
• Video and audio books reviews- upload onto class blogs, etc
• Pair up with a class from another school to swap reading recommendations
• Celebrate World Book Day, National Poetry Day, Non-Fiction Week, etc

Staff

• One staff member per week to share a book in staff meeting (2-3 minutes)
• Regularly share favourite books and poems in assembly
• Patron of Reading- Who to replace John Dougherty at the end of his tenure?
• As well as regular visits from PoR (2-3 times a year), at least three visits a year from other authors or poets
• Host meetings for SLS KS2 Fiction Group
• Mystery Book/Random Read/Blind Date With A Book
• Staff reading interviews by children (to be filmed or recorded on Audioboom)
• R4P INSET- either at NCBC or invite Marilyn to us
• Review folder/space on wall (Reading Wall), bank of ideas for staff to find out about new authors, poets, etc- reviews from Carousel, Books For Keeps, etc.

Parents / Community

• Dads & Lads reading group (or similar)- focus on dads
• Make it possible to borrow books from the school library
• Events to be held jointly with WEIS (paired reading, etc) and CAN (especially library)
• Community- West Earlham’s Favourite Books, ‘flash’ reading events.
• Regular involvement with local library
• Parent readers/Reading champions
• Home/school liaison (My child loves reading xxxxx. What else will they enjoy?)- available in library one evening a week?
• Information pack for parents- local libraries, websites, a few recommended books for each Year Group
• ‘New for old’- parents to bring in books their children have outgrown and swap them

Environment / Resources

• Library- ‘If you liked… then try…’ posters and bookmarks (Recommend for a friend)
• Library and classroom- List of author/poet websites
• Library- football magazines, comics, etc- use car boot sales, jumble sales, etc to pick up
• Posters of new books, etc up all around the school (eg sport books in the changing rooms) and in classrooms
• Posters of staff reading
• Posters of ‘cool’ kids reading
• Books from other cultures, dual language books

The Daily Poem

We've only introduced the Daily Poem into the classroom in the last couple of weeks but it's really fired up the kids' enthusiasm for reading and performing poetry. There is a 'signing-up' sheet by the classroom door where they can put their names if they would like to share a poem they have chosen with the class the following week. We then free up a five-minute slot, usually straight after lunch, where they perform their poems. The only requirement is that the children agree to spend at least five minutes a day during the week before they perform practising their poems.

For the first week, it was modelled by the adults in the class. We talked about why we had chosen the poem and how we had practised it to help improve our performance. There was no time spent on analysing words, rhythm, structure or meaning; it was read (or recited), the class had a minute or two to talk about it with their friends, and then we moved on.

The sheet was left blank for week two. After a day or so, nobody had signed-up and I was starting to think the idea had flopped. During lunchtime, two girls came in and asked if they could perform a poem together. Hooray! They added their names to the list and went off giggling to practise their poem. In the middle of afternoon registration, one of the least confident readers signed-up, planning to read a poem that she had written herself (called The Witch And Her Cat). By the end of the following day, the sheet had been completely filled and the children were asking if we could have two Daily Poems so that they could all have a go.

After performing their poem, the children are then allowed to write the name of the poem and the poet on one of the classroom windows using a board pen (check this rubs off first!). It's another way to familiarise them with the names of different poets (and they love the fact that it's a bit naughty!).

So far we've had Michael Rosen (numerous times), Spike Milligan, Brian Moses, Valerie Bloom, Josh Seigal, Julia Donaldson and a couple of the kids' own poems. The sheet is currently full for the first week back after half-term and the kids have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It's great to see them wandering around the playground with a book of poetry and it's helping to further raise the profile of poetry across the school. We've paired up with a Year Six class, and once a week the children go and perform to each other. We have also recorded some of the performances using Audioboom, adding them to the book blog so that any interested parents can have a listen.

http://wejsbookblog.blogspot.com

New school year- poetry and parents!

This year I'm going to continue to try and introduce different ideas into the classroom in order to encourage reading for pleasure with the kids I teach. I will be focusing on two areas in particular, engaging the children with poetry and (the Holy Grail) finding more ways to involve parents in their children's reading.

Poetry is something I tried really hard to push last year, with pleasing results. By the end of the year, the class had heard over 100 different poems and knew of at least a dozen new poets. We made sure that every day we found time for at least one poem, even if it was when they were getting changed for PE or lining up before they went home. We also watched lots of great video clips of performance poetry. Craig Bradley, aka That Poetry Bloke, was a real favourite, as were the obvious choices, Michael Rosen, Benjamin Zephaniah, Brian Moses, etc. Writing a 'Three Minute Poem' a couple of times a week grew in popularity throughout the year. The children also enjoyed creating their own Poetry Zone (although we tried to put up poems all over the classroom, and not restrict poetry to one corner of the room). We had regular class Poetry Shows, where the children chose a poem to perform in a group from books that had been randomly dished out, and we had lots of fun with rhyme and rhythm whenever possible. Sometimes during the register the children would rhyme their responses (Hi, I'm Chris- please don't give me a kiss!). I would also throw in a rhyme at random and get them to shout out the final word (Today is Friday so it's eat-a-pie-day...Yes, it's raining but please stop complaining, etc).

Some progress was also made with engaging parents. Our Patron of Reading, John Dougherty, held a short Parents' Workshop, where he talked to a small group about why finding time to read with children is so important. We also ran a very successful Dads & Lads reading group (mentioned in an earlier post) and, although it never actually happened, there was a lot of interest in having class Reading Cafes and inviting family members along to take part.

What next? This year one of the ideas suggested to try and engage parents is to run a Family Book Quiz, hopefully hosted by John Dougherty and organised by members of school staff. Families would come along in small teams, and answer fun (and non-threatening) questions about children's books. And eat snacks. More details to follow about this when it eventually gets organised! I'm also going to look at other strategies to embed poetry as part of the daily life of the classroom. I desperately want new ideas, so would love to hear from anyone who would be willing to share something they've tried, whether it was successful or not.

Our school reading environment

Reading for pleasure needs to be visibly promoted around the school and in the classroom and is a huge part of helping to create a reading culture. I've just had a (very objective) look around my classroom. It's not too bad, but the reading environment is definitely something I want to develop further.

On the outside of the classroom door there are this week's 'Book of the week', 'Reading Star of the week' and 'Mr Biddle is currently reading...' posters. There are also lists of previous books of the week and reading stars, as well as front covers from some of the chosen books.

          

In the classroom itself we have a featured author display (currently Paul Jennings- one of his short stories, The Busker, never fails to have the class in tears by the end).

Paul Jennings

There are also lots of book posters on display around the room. Our new 'Poetry Zone' display board is currently extremely popular. It contains a good mixture of the children's own poetry and poetry they have enjoyed reading. The poems are currently changed every week and more children are becoming involved in selecting the poems.

Poetry Zone

We also have the current 'Mystery Book' in a folder at the front of the classroom (see previous post). This still generates discussion regularly (every time the book is changed, the colour of the folder is also changed).

The books themselves are currently on shelves and bookcases in different areas of the room. The children have ownership of how they want them displayed and volunteer to come in at lunchtime to rearrange the books. They are often organised by genre, author, size, number of pages, even the colour of the front cover.

Due to the size of the classroom, our Reading Corner is practically non-existent. It currently consists of two chairs and a few cushions squashed at the back of the room. Thirty kids and fifteen tables doesn't make it easy to move things around, so really the whole room needs to be a giant Reading Corner.

The rest of the school

It's really heartening to see the profile of reading for pleasure rising across the school on an almost weekly basis. The school library is now a far more welcoming environment than it was a couple of years ago, far more comfortable and many more books.

The library

In the library we have several displays, including one about our Patron of Reading, John Dougherty, and one created by our book club.

     

 Some of our current library displays

In Year Six, where there is a lot more room, there is an absolutely fantastic Reading Corner. It contains book recommendations from the children and some posters of members of the book club with 'motivational' reading slogans (Readers Are Leaders is my own personal favourite).

     

 Year Six Reading Corner

Along the corridors there other displays dotted about which are dedicated to reading and authors. Overall, I think we can be proud of the progress that has been made across the school. It would be interesting to hear how other schools and teachers have developed their reading environment.

 

Enid Blyton

 

Philip Ardagh

Kes Gray

 

 

We love reading

Patron of Reading

Here is a copy of an article I wrote about the Patron of Reading scheme which is currently gathering momentum in schools across the United Kingdom.

PATRON OF READING

Author visits to schools can often be one of the highlights of the academic year, enjoyed by children, staff and writers alike. However, after the initial ‘high’, the enthusiasm and energy created by the visit can sometimes be lost as the reality and pressure of the school timetable takes over.

Tim Redgrave, the headteacher at Ysgol Esgob Morgan in North Wales, has come up with a simple yet effective idea to help ensure that momentum created by author visits is maintained, by encouraging schools to have a Patron of Reading. A Patron of Reading is an author (or possibly a poet, illustrator, scriptwriter or storyteller) with whom a school forms a long term attachment. The author and the school work closely together to promote reading for pleasure over a period of three years and create a real reading ‘buzz’ in the school.

The idea originally came about when Tim took one of his classes to St Asaph Library in Denbighshire to hear author Helena Pielichaty give a talk as part of Denbighshire Libraries Book Week. He quickly realised what a big impact the visit had made on his pupils and started to think about how he could make the most of the opportunity created. He emailed Helena and they spent a lot of time sharing ideas about how to promote a love of reading in schools. Eventually the ideas turned into the Patron of Reading scheme.

Helena has now held her role for two years and said "I am thoroughly enjoying being Patron of Reading at Ysgol Esgob Morgan. The buzz the role has generated is wonderful; there is no doubt that this school is a school that reads for pleasure – the evidence is everywhere. When I visit, children can’t wait to tell me about the books they are reading; there are folders full of reviews, innovative displays and plays being rehearsed - not to mention the frequent amount of blogging going on. It’s all so inspiring. I’ve benefitted enormously, too. The role has enabled me to have a unique relationship with the staff and children that a one-off visit can’t provide. I am thrilled when I see a suggestion that I’ve made has been put into practise by the teachers and ecstatic when I’m told that a pupil has gone from being a reluctant reader to a keen one because of me. I love reading books the children and staff have recommended to me, too. So far I’ve discovered Malorie Blackman’s Cloud Busting, Gill Lewis’s Sky Hawk and next is David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny. Ofsted talk a lot about ‘enrichment’ and I think this idea provides that in spades. I can’t wait for my next visit to the school."

The idea has quickly spread across the country and there are now at least thirty Patrons already in place, with many more ready to take up their role in September. Current Patrons include John Dougherty, Nicola Morgan, Tom Palmer, Cathy McPhail, Gillian Cross, Julia Jarman and Sita Brahmachari. There are also several established writers available who are keen to get involved in the idea (see the website for the latest list, as it is regularly updated).

The role of the Patron varies widely from school to school, depending on where the school is currently at in terms of promoting reading for pleasure and what they feel the next step to be, but there are some key ideas which have been adopted by most of the partnerships. One of the main roles of the Patron is to visit the school at least once per year during their tenure, but in many cases it is more often. This aspect of the partnership is organised and paid for just like any other author visit. Patrons then make regular contact with their schools either by Skype, email or newsletter, providing updates on the latest books they are writing, what they are reading, etc. Some Patrons, such as Helena Pielichaty, have also contributed a foreword to their school’s Literacy policy and scheme of work.

The role of the school also varies widely but generally includes promoting the scheme in newsletters, online and to the local press, having a display in the school showing the Patron and their work and putting a link to the Patron’s website on the school website.

Several partnerships have also set up successful blogs which contain contributions not only from the Patron, but also from the staff, the pupils and their parents. Pupils enjoy the opportunity to share what they are reading and exchange ideas for recommended books with their Patron. As with any drive to promote reading for pleasure, getting the support of the parents is crucial and this has been done by inviting them to special assemblies, book signings, after-school meetings, etc. Some schools have also sent home a flyer, jointly written by the school and the Patron, introducing the scheme and providing some tips on how parents can support and nurture their children’s passion for reading.

There have also been exchanges of ideas and information between Patrons, teachers and librarians regarding new developments in reading and books. Writers and school staff regularly share their successful ideas on the Patron of Reading blog, allowing other partnerships to quickly adopt them.

If a school is considering getting themselves a Patron, it is important that they think carefully about which author to approach. Although it is not always possible, it should ideally be one with whom there is already some kind of connection. For example, Molly Naylor, the Patron at City Academy Norwich, spent two or three years working regularly in the feeder primary schools and has already developed a good relationship with many of the students. They already know much of her work and her methods. As already mentioned, there is an up-to date list of potential authors available on the Patron of Reading website although many schools have decided to approach an author directly, usually with good success.

Although the idea is spreading rapidly across the country, it is still relatively new. Most Patrons are only in their first term or haven’t yet started, so it is difficult to assess the impact that the idea has had. However, the early signs are positive. Tim Redgrave, who came up with the original idea and is involved in the most established partnership, explained “Having a Patron of Reading has made a significant difference to all of our children and their approach to reading for pleasure. It has inspired all of them to visit libraries, explore a range of books and authors and is changing their lives - literally! We have a school full of confident readers and it doesn't take a genius to know how this is improving standards across the board at our school.”

Tim’s view is backed up by the school’s latest inspection report from April 2013 which states ‘‘School leaders have focused well on implementing a range of national and local priorities, including improving pupils’ literacy skills. For example, the school has developed a ‘Patron of Reading’ initiative. As a result of this programme, pupils engage in purposeful reading and writing experiences with a professional author. This has improved pupils’ interest and standards in reading.’

Joe Craig, the Patron at Parkside Federation Academies, agreed and said "The Patron of Reading scheme is such a fantastic opportunity and a huge boost for reading and writing. Authors can connect with schools, schools can connect with authors. It’s the best way for me to share my passion for stories. The joys of reading and writing can be infectious and when an author and a school build the kind of relationship that the Patron of Reading scheme allows, that buzz can become a lifetime habit of reading for pleasure. Now what could be more fun, or more valuable, than that?"

The Patron at the school where I currently work, John Dougherty, has now been in his role for about six months. After a couple of phone calls and several emails, we formulated a rough idea of how we wanted the idea to work. John’s first contact with the pupils and staff of the school was via an email, in which he explained a little bit about himself and what he hoped the role of the Patron might entail.

A few weeks later John visited the school for the first time. By this stage, the majority of the children were familiar with at least one of his books (we had asked the local library to get in extra copies) and were very excited about the visit. During his visit he was able to meet with every class and provided the children with a sneak preview of his new book. He also led an assembly at the end of the day to which parents were invited. John took this opportunity to talk in a very passionate way about the value of reading for pleasure and how crucial the role of the parents can be in this. The day finished with an extremely successful book signing. A member of staff from the local library was also invited, displaying some of the new books available and encouraging pupils and parents to join up.

John followed up his visit with a letter to each class the following week and then continued to keep in touch via a school/Patron blog, which has seen lots of discussion about favourite books. Just before the summer holiday, John recorded a five minute video for the pupils at his local library, encouraging them to get involved with the Summer Reading Challenge and sharing some of the books that he would be reading over the summer. Our focus for the coming year will be to continue to promote the role of the parents in reading and try to come up with some simple, fun ideas to encourage more reluctant readers.

It will be fascinating to see how this idea grows and develops over the next couple of years. Hopefully, the passion and commitment of the early schools and Patrons involved can be maintained on a wider scale, and allow Patrons of Reading to really boost the profile of reading for pleasure in schools all around the country.

Links

www.patronofreading.co.uk

Twitter: @patronofreading

Facebook page- Patron of Reading