Developing a Genuine Love of Reading through Book Week
Readers Become Leaders
The ability to read with confidence and understanding is an essential life skill. Forbes Magazine identifies avid reading as one of the 8 traits that are scientifically proven to predict future success:
People who love reading are often more intelligent, empathetic and creative, as it improves brain connectivity and function. Not to mention the fact that reading allows you to constantly digest new information. You can spend a week reading a book of information that an expert took a lifetime to compile. Do that consistently, and you are growing your own inner capacity and exponential rates.
—Brianna Wiest, Forbes Magazine
At Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi, we provide a structured approach to the teaching of reading from Early Years to Senior School. In order for students to achieve in math, science, English, history, geography, and other subjects, reading skills must be developed to the point that most of them are automatic. Reading with understanding and discernment is the key that unlocks the higher levels of the curriculum and enables students to take true ownership of their learning. This provides our students with a real advantage at university, which requires the ability to read independently and analytically.
While comprehension is a fundamental to learning, reading for enjoyment is an equally powerful predictor of future success.
Reading with pleasure, and especially reading fiction, is far more important than we have ever imagined. Finding ways to develop engaged readers is important for every child.
—Jerry Diakiw
We agree! Our teachers share that students who genuinely love reading tend to be more curious, more creative and more adventurous in their learning. This is why Book Week is so valuable. The exciting events and activities that took place across campus last week were all designed to foster a love of reading. From awesome astronauts to deadly dinosaurs, Book Week has literally taken our students out of this world. This is central to a Dulwich education. Graduating Worldwise is understanding that we are part of something bigger. Reading empowers our students to take flight and spread their wings.
Let’s take a look back at some of the fantastic events and activities from Book Week 2021;
The children were greeted on Monday morning with a huge dinosaur and an astronaut as they entered school. These characters promoted lots of discussion and curiosity about how they got there and where they were from.
Through the week, the older students took time to visit Early Years to share stories, act out performances and enjoy books together. This gave the youngest members of our College a connection to the older students and the opportunity to share books with a wider community.
We also had a very important visitor from outer space who came to read a story as part of a whole community together time.
We spent time reading stories in the yurt with props and materials to accompany the stories, which is a wonderful way to support new vocabulary and encourage listening and understanding through real-life objects.
The classroom doors have transported us to many different worlds, as they’ve been transformed into various settings and characters from our favourite stories. In fact, the whole school participated in a door decorating competition which was judged by Ms. Sneath, Middle School Assistant Head.
Thank you to all our parents who joined in our ‘We love to read anywhere’ challenge, which involved so many fantastic places where the children enjoyed reading books! From sitting in their toy car, to sitting on their parent’s shoulders. We saw children sharing books with their siblings, while vacuuming the floor and whilst wearing fancy dress clothes. Children read from great heights, sitting in the windows of upper story buildings, to low down, reading underneath chairs and reading in many various positions on the floor. We saw children reading to their pets, while practicing their ballet moves and even when riding on a horse! There was such a creative variety of places to read, which showed that our students really do enjoy reading anywhere!
‘The more you read the more you know. The more you learn the more places you go.’
—Dr. Seuss
Our 5th annual book week was an incredible and exciting event across the primary school. It was a delight to see so many children take part in so many different ways. Reading is the one of the most important aspects of the curriculum, and developing a life-long love of reading not only improves children’s chances of academic success, but also impacts significantly on future wellbeing and happiness.
Reading regularly to children has a cumulative effect on their cognitive development from an early age. There is a proven difference between the vocabulary of children who do, and do not, engage in reading from the youngest age. E.D Hirsch Jr states in his book ‘A wealth of words’:
‘Vocabulary size is a convenient proxy for a whole range of educational attainments and abilities – not just skill in reading, writing, listening and speaking, but also general knowledge of science, history and the arts.’
By the time they leave primary school, children need a vocabulary bank of around 50,000 words in order to access the senior school curriculum. So it makes sense that the more they read, the more words they will acquire, and the more words they acquire the more they will be able to read. In order to do this, schools need teachers who are passionate about teaching children not just to read, but to love reading for the rest of their lives.
Book week is an important feature of this, as we focus on the many lenses involved in being a reader. By sharing our most favourite characters from our most favourite books, we discover new titles and authors that we might be interested in. We look at the tradition of story telling, an important oral art form. We even write our own books, and engage with authors and storytellers from around the world. We were delighted to welcome authors Trevor Lai, and Adam Bushnell to appear virtually in our classrooms.
Congratulations to our house challenge winners who put themselves forward to participate:
Story Reading. Gio Y4 Earhart House
Story Telling. Serena Y3 Song House
Story Writing. Tabitha Y6 Song House
Sustainable Costume Winner. Jaimie Y3 Earhart House
Book Door Winners. Y4 Leopard Class
Book Week was a very special one for Senior School, as we celebrated the enduring magic and power of stories through a range of activities.
Over the past two weeks in Senior School assembly we have focused on the importance of books in our lives with Head Student Isabel and Library Champion Regina both sharing what books have meant to them.
Throughout Book Week, students from Years 7-10 held a virtual meeting with Australian author A J Betts. AJ is the author of several award-winning novels, including Zac and Mia which has been published in ten countries and translated into eight languages. More recently, this novel has been adapted for Hollywood, first on Awesome TV and now streaming on Netflix US. As well as talking about her writing, AJ also gave the students many tips on creative writing.
We took a trip down memory lane with Tales on the Tannoy. On Tuesday, Mr Saunders read the classic fairytale The Gingerbread Boy, whilst on Wednesday we enjoyed the humour of Roald Dahl with Mr Rowland reading from Matilda. On Thursday Mrs Lloyd read out the Madhatter’s Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland.
We tested our knowledge on a range of books and authors by participating in the form Literature Quiz. Congratulations to the Year 9 Boys team who took out top spot!
A very big ‘Thank you!’ to Regina who not only wrote many of the questions on the quiz, but also organized a second-hand book sale at recess time which has raised over 500 RMB for school we support in Cambodia through United World Schools.
The week culminated in the Dress Up Day, where staff and students got to dress up as favourite book characters. We gathered together in the courtyard for break to look at all the wonderful outfits as we certainly travelled to Old Worlds, New Worlds and Other Worlds.
Puxi Passion for Parenting
Three things every parent can do to support their children’s reading:
- Read aloud to your child. Research shows that this is the most important activity that parents can do to increase their child’s chance of reading success. Keep reading aloud even when your child can read independently.
- Be positive about the value of reading with your children about reading. As children’s author Kate DiCamillo says, ‘Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.’
- Look for opportunities to incorporate reading into events and activities that are meaningful to your family. For example…
- If your child has a real interest e.g. dance, horse riding, football, then share books or articles that can extend this interest. These can be fiction as well as non-fiction.
- When you go on your next holiday when travel returns to normal, share a travel book about the destination or a story set in that location.
- If you have a pet, then share books about looking after that kind of animal or a story about children with the same pet.
- If you see a film or documentary that sparks your child’s curiosity in a particular area, then find a book that takes it further.
