• Week 2: It’s all about READING for PLEASURE!
Last week was Literacy Week 1 • Have you completed your: • Apostrophe Rules poster? (deadline this Thursday 24 Sept)
• Acrostic poem about what makes Desborough special? • Your adjectives about your year group’s characteristics?
•Remember ALL entrants will receive house points and the winning entries from each tutor will compete against their year group for the top prize (shortly to be announced on Facebook!)
Week 2 of Desborough Literacy Fortnight is also International Book Week
International Book Week Activity 4:Discussing your reading • A recent study found that young people who read for pleasure made more progress in maths, vocabulary and spelling between the ages of 10 and 16 than those who rarely read. • Reading for pleasure puts young people ahead in the classroom. • At Desborough we support your reading by giving you time TWICE a week in tutorials to read your own choice of fiction and non-fiction.
International Book Week Activity 4:Discussing your reading • How many of the points below do you think are proven results of reading for pleasure as a teenager? • • • • • • • • •
Reading attainment and writing ability; Text comprehension and grammar; Breadth of vocabulary; Greater self-confidence as a reader; Pleasure in reading in later life; General knowledge; A better understanding of other cultures; Community participation; and A greater insight into human nature and decision-making.
International Book Week Activity 4:Discussing your reading •YES! ALL OF THEM!!! And in case you’re not convinced of the benefits of improving your reading……
International Book Week Activity 4:Discussing your reading •
70% of pupils permanently excluded from school have difficulties in basic literacy skills.
25% of young offenders are said to have reading skills below those of the average seven-year-old.
A 2011 DFES study revealed that 52% of male prisoners and 71% of female prisoners have no qualifications at all.
International Book Week Activity 4:Discussing your reading •
So! It makes sense on many levels to give yourself the best chance and read as often as you can – you more you do it, the easier it gets!
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Q1: Which books have you most enjoyed reading throughout your school years so far?
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Write them down in groups and share with your class.
Recommendations for boys KS3 How many have you already read before GCSE?
1. Anthony Horowitz • Anthony Horowitz's series about a 14-year-old boy recruited by the British secret service has proved phenomenally popular: there are nine novels, from 2000's Stormbreaker to Scorpia Rising, released last March, suitable for readers aged around 10 and over; a number of spinoff shortstory collections; a film; and a video game.
2. Harry Potter • No list would be complete without JK Rowling's muchloved novels about a teenage wizard battling the evil Voldemort, while getting to grips with Quidditch, strange spells and first love. Their addictive qualities are likely to have young boys (and girls, of course) wanting to devour all seven in a row, quickly putting them ahead in the competition
3. Young Bond • Covering similar ground to Alex Rider, Charlie Higson's books – suitable for ages 10 and over — act as a compelling prequel to Ian Fleming's Bond series: here, we meet Bond as a 13-year-old at Eton in the 1930s.
4. Horrid Henry • Younger boys will love Francesca Simon's series about a perpetually naughty young boy and his butter-wouldn't-melt brother, Perfect Peter. In the UK we might be permitted to call them a phenomenon: 20 books, a number of joke books, a series for early readers, a film, a stage show and a CITV cartoon series
5. Flat Stanley • This classic children's book, written in 1964 by Jeff Brown, tells the decidedly surreal tale of a boy named Stanley Lambchop who is flattened in the night by a collapsed pin-board. "This book is really likely to engage boys who don’t think they like reading."
6. Artemis Fowl • The anti-hero of Irish author Eoin Colfer's seven novels(the last is due out this summer) is like the Blofeld to Higson's Bond: a teenage criminal mastermind named Artemis Fowl II.
7. Diary of a Wimpy Kid • All boys can and do relate to American author Jeff Kinney's tales about a hopelessly uncool boy named Gregory. There are six books in the series, and they are ever popular, flying off the shelves.
8. Captain Underpants • In Dav Pilkey's series of amusingly illustrated novels, two primaryschool boys accidentally hypnotise their headteacher, turning him into the eponymous superhero. Exuberant fun for funloving boys.
9. The Cherub series • Bestselling author Robert Muchamore became the subject of controversy last October, when a north London junior school cancelled his scheduled visit, citing a number of complaints from parents about the challenging subject matter of his books about a group of orphaned teenage spies (anyone sensing a pattern here?)
10. Holes • Louis Sachar's awardwinning 1998 novel about a 13-yearold boy named Stanley Yelnats, sent to the juvenile detention centre Camp Green Lake after being wrongly accused of stealing a pair of shoes, will appeal to boys of 10 and over.
Recommendations for boys GCSE Years 9-11 – What can you read next?
Recommendations for boys GCSE Years 9-11: Why not try Steampunk? Steampunk is a type of science fiction and fantasy writing. Two key features of steampunk fiction are a Victorian or alternate reality setting and futuristic inventions powered by steam, gears, and clockwork parts. Steampunk fiction writers encourage readers to re-imagine how technology and machines might have changed history.
Recommendations for boys GCSE Years 9-11: Why not try Steampunk? Why do teens like to read steampunk? Steampunk mixes science fiction, fantasy and technology and creates a very appealing story for today’s teen. Born into a world of technology and constant advancement in invention, it’s not surprising that teens enjoy reading stories with a retro futuristic theme.
Recommendations for boys GCSE Years 9-11: Why not try Steampunk?
Westerfeld’s Leviathan is set in the alternate reality of World War I where two teens who are supposed to be enemies cross paths and find themselves sailing on the airship Leviathan.
In A Clockwork Angel , the first book in Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices series, teens known as Shadowhunters police the underworld of Victorian London with unusual mechanical gadgets.
Activity 4: Best books so far… Q: Discuss which books you have read and most enjoyed……..(either in school or out!) • As a class share your thoughts about the best and worst; the books which have made an impact on you and the ones which you keep meaning to read. • Make a wish-list based on recommendations and set yourself a target to read a few before Christmas. • Nominate a scribe to record your results
International Book Week Activity 5: Directed Reading time • Turn to Page 52 of the book you are reading. • Count down to the fifth complete sentence on that page, and write that sentence out on the A4 that is being passed round. • Fold the paper over and pass it on • Do not divulge the title of the book! • At the end pass it around in the other direction and read aloud the sentences recorded!
Day 6: Complete all tasks and then RELAX AND READ! The end of Literacy Fortnight is here! But if you’re one of the 57% boys 11-16 who say they don’t enjoy reading, this should be the start of your reading journey to success! (Clarke and Douglas Ofsted 2011)
• Take out a book today and give yourself the time to enjoy it!
Literacy Fortnight Activity Rewards! • Each tutor group will have one winner for each activity submitted - with each winning group member earning housepoints. • Each year group will have one winner selected per activity in assembly with housepoints and glory celebrated via the school website! • And year group winners will receive BOOK TOKENS to help them to develop their love for reading and life skills!
Relax and Read!