“To learn to read is to light a fire.” Victor Hugo.
We have just celebrated book week in Ireland and internationally. What is the purpose of book week? The cynical among us will say it’s about selling more books but if we go beyond that cynicism and look at the faces of children enraptured by a brilliant story being read to them or sitting cross-legged browsing the latest book by a favourite author, we will know that the gift of reading is one of the greatest lifelong gifts we can give to our children, and why not celebrate that?
During Book Week in our school children were immersed in the world of reading through a variety of activities ranging from storytelling to story reading, silent reading to buddy reading, browsing in the book fair to having time in their own school library. The children took part in a range of book related writing and drawing activities and even had a visit from a well-known children’s author, Malachy Doyle, whose books are on the bookshelves of their classrooms. All of these activities were intended to promote reading and the love of books. Even without book week, all the reading related work of the normal school day has as its aim not just to help children ‘learn to read’ but to encourage the enjoyment of reading as an end in itself. Gone are the days when children lined up around the teacher’s table and read aloud in turn from a ‘reader’. Now, while reading aloud is still part of the curriculum and a valuable skill in itself, the reading lesson could involve talking to a group about what has just been read, asking them to summarise a chapter and make predictions about what might happen next. They might be asked to answer questions based on a story to check for understanding or do a related written task such as make up a poem or slogan based on the story, do a drama activity or some art work. They might do some research on a related theme, make a 3D model of part of the story, write a letter to a character or to the author, make up a quiz, crossword or word search based on the story for others to complete, or do a sequencing or cloze activity. The list is endless. One thing is certain; reading is not just about learning words, it is about engaging with a text on a deep level. For this reason there is a constant revision of the texts we are using to ensure that they are up to date and relevant to the children’s lives, as well as including some timeless classics that are still a joy to read. Some of the reading can even be done on computer using such excellent programmes as Reading Eggs and Reading Express.
So, will all these activities combine to instil in children a love of reading that will stay with them for life? Can books still hold that ‘magic’ for children that some of us experienced as children? One of my own fondest memories from my schooldays was when the library van arrived at the school with a whole new set of books to explore, especially if I was in the group chosen to pick the books. But then I had no tablet or game console to keep me amused. Today’s children’s authors are producing quality books for children yet they have to compete with the whole world of digital media. But to quote American author May Ellen Chase, “There is no substitute for books in the life of a child”. Books have to be introduced when the child is young; there is no nicer time to bond with a child than at bedtime story. If children grow up with stories and see their parents reading and valuing books, then there is a good chance that they too will see the value in reading. A book can be a friend, a companion, an inspiration, a refuge in difficult times, a source of hope or a passport to knowledge. Books are a way to open up the world for children; let’s hope we will always give them the incentive and motivation they need to choose books and the gift of reading.
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