Reading
At Bellerive, we are very clear about the importance of reading. By encouraging students to read both for pleasure and to improve their subject knowledge, we wish to foster a life-long love of reading. We have recently refurbished our library and a number of reading initiatives are taking place including ‘Drop Everything and Read’ (DEAR) and pupil-led reading groups.
Ms Gillen, our librarian, is working with students and staff across the school to help them develop a shared love of reading. Please see below for her latest update:
Summer term Reading Round-Up
We celebrated Spanish World Book Day on 23rd April (the date literary heroes Cervantes and Shakespeare are both said to have died) with a series of Spanish lessons for years 7-9, organised by Head of Spanish, Mrs Marquez. Students enjoyed a carousel of reading activities based in the library, including reading and translating old favourites (The Very Hungry Caterpillar!) and discovering some new ones like the comic series Mafalda. It was a great way for students to have fun developing their Spanish reading skills, get to know the library and to celebrate the special occasion.
In other news our resident book group, ‘A New Chapter’, has been busy shadowing the CILIP Carnegie Medal for the second year running. Group members have been reading their way through a list of eight titles and sharing their thoughts at meetings each week. The winner was announced on 18th June, (drum roll please…) it went to Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean, much to the surprise of the group! For more on what they thought about this year’s shortlist take a look at our group website www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/shadowing
This term students also had the opportunity to shadow and vote for the Excelsior Award – a national award for graphic novels and manga decided by young people aged 11-16. Students had fun reading and rating each book and reading books they might not usually choose. We now have a group of graphic novel and manga fans who can meet regularly next year and we’ll certainly be making this award part of our reading calendar from now on! For more information see excelsioraward.co.uk
Students in Year 9 Art lessons have been showcasing their artistic talents by creating this fantastic bunting inspired by their favourite reads to decorate the library and help spread their love of reading across school.
We’ve also been enjoying following author Tom Palmer’s Live World Cup 2018 Read, Defenders: Russia. A new and exciting chapter was released every weekday during the competition via the National Literacy Trust website and staff were able to read these aloud with their classes. Although it’s all over now, you can still catch up on all the installments here https://literacytrust.org.uk/resources/defenders-russia-world-cup-2018-football-story/
Wondering what to read this summer? Check out these recommendations for all ages from LoveReading4Kids and the Reading Agency:
https://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/genre/sr/Summer-Reading.html
https://readingagency.org.uk/resources/2920/
The links below will help parents and students alike with reading outside of the classroom:
100 best books for young people
World Book Day Writes of Passage
The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards
