READ READ TO TO SUCCEED SUCCEED
Name: Form:
English Teacher:
This reading award has been designed to grow as a reader by offering you a range of exciting and challenging reading tasks.
You can use each task as an opportunity to be bold about your text selection, exploring new genres or seeking narrators who allow you to consider alternative perspectives. Reading your way around the world is just one way to engage in broader global contexts. The follow up questions require you to be reflective about the reading
experience, evaluating your own responses to particular aspects of the texts or producing something creative instead.
Good luck and happy reading!
1) They’re Classics for a Reason
2) Prize-Winning Fiction
3) Get Subject Specific
4) Poetry Corner
5) A Recommended Read
6) This is Your Life
7) Please, Sir, Can I Have Some More?
8) Round the World in 80 Pages
9) Whodunit?
10) Walk a Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes
11) Just a Quick Word
12) All the World’s a Stage
13) I Like the Pictures
14) A Blast from the Past
15) Read All About It
They’re Classics for a Reason
Read a classic novel– this can be something considered a ‘children’s classic’ but should not be abridged.
1.
Title: ………………………………………..….
Author: ……………...….. Describe how the language of the novel was different from a more modern text:
Did you think the story was old fashioned, or were there timeless/ universal
themes and ideas? Use your intellectual confidence to express your opinion.
2.
Prize-Winning Fiction
Read a text which has won a literary prize (like the Carnegie Medal) within the last 5 years.
Author: ……………...….. Prize won (and date): …………………………………………………………
Title: ………………………………………..….
Reflect on why you think it won the prize? Did it deserve to?
Get Subject Specific
Read a non-fiction text which helps you to become more knowledgeable about a topic which you have been studying recently.
3.
Title: ………………………………………..….
Author: ……………...…..
Subject and topic: ….. ………………………………………………………… How did reading this text help you increase your knowledge and understanding of the topic?
What connections can you find between what you read and what you have been doing in the classroom?
Read at least five poems written by the same poet. You should try and find an anthology of their work
and think about how the poems connect to each other.
Poet: ……………………………………………..
Which were your favourite three poems, and why?
How would you describe this poet’s style to someone else?
Poetry Corner
4.
A Recommended Read
Read a book which someone has recommended to you. Be bold, and choose something which you wouldn’t try by yourself!
Title: ………………………………………..….
Author: ……………...…..
Who recommended it to you?
Why did they like it?
What did you think about the text?
How would you convince someone else to try reading the book? Think about the best way to communicate your ideas to your audience.
5.
This is Your Life
Read a book which tells a ‘life story.’ This should be a non-fiction biography or autobiography .
Title:………………………………….
explore through your reading?
After reading the text: reflect on what you learnt and how it compared to
Author: ……………………………... Before reading the text: what sorts of questions do you have about this person and their life? Can you think of three inquiry questions you want to your expectations.
6. 1. 2. 3.
Please, Sir, Can I Have Some More?
Read at least two books which are part of a series.
7.
Series Name: ………………………………….. . Author: ……………...……. Choose one character from the series and explain how they develop throughout the series. Think about ways in which they change, and why these changes might occur.
Round the World in 80 Pages
At BGS we actively strive to be conscious of our role as global citizens, so choose a text which is set in a different country to
explore representations of different cultures and their concerns.
Title:…………………………………. Author: ……………………………... Where is this novel set?
What new information have you learnt about this country, or the cultures of the people who live there?
Which aspects of the culture seemed similar or recognisable to you, and were there aspects which seemed really different?
8.
Whodunit?
Be open-minded, and read a book from a genre that you normally wouldn’t choose. 9.
Title: ………………………………………
Author: …………………………
Genre:
………………………………………….
What type of book do you normally choose to read?
Was the story what you expected? Reflect on your reading experience.
Would you read something else in this genre in the future? Why/ Why not?
10.
Walk a Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes
Read a text where the main character is someone very different from you , allowing you to see alternative perspectives.
Title:…………………………………. Author: ……………………………...
Describe the main character:
To what extent did you find the differences between yourself and the main character difficult to overcome, or a refreshing change?
Just a Quick Word?
Read at least four short stories from a collection or anthology. 11.
Title: ………………………………………
Author: …………………………
Title: ………………………………………
Author: …………………………
Title: ………………………………………
Author: …………………………
Title: ………………………………………
Author: …………………………
In what ways did you find reading a short story different to a whole book (apart from the obvious)?
Which was your favourite story, and why?
All the World’s a Stage
Read a play which you have not studied in class or performed as part of a theatre group/ school.
Title:…………………………………. Author: ……………………………... How was reading a play different to another type of text?
What do you think it would be like to see this play on stage?
Think creatively: if you were directing the play, what would you do to make the performance interesting for the audience?
12.
I Like the Pictures
Read a graphic novel. This could be an adaptation of a novel or play, or an original graphic novel in its own right.
Title: ……………………………...…….
Author: …….………………………
Be imaginative! Create four panels of your own graphic novel, either an original or an adaptation.
Consider how you can use images to communicate with little to no writing.
13.
A Blast from the Past
Read a piece of historical fiction– something set in a distinct time period which is WW2 or earlier.
Title:………………………………….
Author: ……………………………...
What did you learn about this period of history?
Time period:
Critical Thinking : how historically accurate do you think the novel was? You might need to do some research to support your reasoning.
Would the novel have been very different if it was set in a different time? How/ why?
14.
Read All About It!
Engaging with the news helps us to understand global and national issues in society. Read five articles from a news paper (not First News) over at least five weeks.
Article 1: Title, Newspaper, Date and Summary
Article 2: Title, Newspaper, Date and Summary
Article 3: Title, Newspaper, Date and Summary
Article 4: Title, Newspaper, Date and Summary
Article 5: Title, Newspaper, Date and Summary
15.
Reflecting on your Reading
What skills or attributes do you think completing the reading scheme has helped you to develop?
Bold– can you identify ways in which you were brave or moved beyond your comfort zone, taking risks?
Imaginative– how did the scheme encourage you to be inquisitive, to follow your own enquiries and to seek opportunities to be creative?
Reflective– were you able to reflect on your reading experiences? What have you learnt about yourself as a learner or a reader?
Communicators– can you identify ways in which your communication skills might have improved through completing these tasks?
Resilient– were there times when you needed to persevere or draw on your resilience to meet the challenges of the tasks?
Open minded– which opportunities did you take to broaden your experiences through being openminded? How did the reading tasks encourage you to consider the views of others?
