Education Making reading fun! At Chiswick House School many different initiatives are in place in order to encourage pupils to read. Pupils may choose reading books from the class or school library. They are also encouraged to choose a book from the mobile library. Another initiative which is in place in Junior 1 and 2 is ‘Author of the Month’ where pupils get to know about an author and are exposed to books they have written. The School Librarian also encourages reading in Junior 3, 4 and 5 by taking different authors and carrying out sessions with the pupils in the library itself.
them on individual flashcards. Display them somewhere prominent, like the fridge or the child’s bedroom door, and refer to them whenever the opportunity arises. Also, pile the flashcards up and go through them, asking the child to say the words on the flashcards. Timing this activity can add that little bit of excitement, with the child trying to shave a few seconds off her time on every occasion. A few high frequency words should be introduced at a time. Considerable exposure is required, and these words should be cumulatively reviewed. Vocabulary is one of the unsung heroes of reading success. Oftentimes, it is not given the credit it deserves in terms of the reading process. As beginner readers, children use the words they have heard to make sense of the words they see in print. They have a much harder time reading words that are not a part of their oral vocabulary. Therefore vocabulary is crucial for reading fluency and comprehension, as children need to know what most of the words mean in order to help them decode words and make sense of what they have read. It is important to engage the child in language and to use creative language when doing so. Don’t restrict your child’s adjectives to ‘nice’, for example. Use ‘wonderful’, ‘great’, ‘excellent’, ‘fantastic’ and Spring 2012 - Issue 17
other synonyms from the colourful array which exists. Also, speak to the child only in languages that you are fluent in, so as to only model language that is being used proficiently. Children learn what most words mean indirectly, through oral language, listening to adults read to them, and independent reading. Direct instruction of vocabulary relevant to a given text also leads to better reading comprehension. When thinking about which words to talk about with your child, consider the words that are important to understanding the text, the useful words, and the difficult words. Try to give child-friendly explanations by making the words relevant to them, and get the child to actively engage themselves with the words. Most importantly, foster an awareness of and an interest in vocabulary in your day-to-day lives. It has been argued that a child will be exposed to more standard academic English through children’s books than through living in a household with two university graduates. This is highly likely, and adds further importance to the idea of reading to children given that it is standard academic English, so vital to one’s academic success, as opposed to the English used in day-to-day conversation.
Last February Chiswick House School became a Guinness World Record Holder. As part of its literacy drive, Chiswick House School set out to break the world record for the largest ever gathering of people dressed as different storybook characters, at 453 characters. The aim of the event was not simply to break an existing record, but, more importantly, to excite the children about books and reading, as well as to increase their appreciation of literature. A range of characters were chosen from over 60 books from Maltese and English children’s literature. Throughout the scholastic year, in preparation for this event, teachers worked hard to introduce new authors and books to the children at all levels. Children were encouraged to read the books of the character they represented. For the purposes of the record, all characters were different and needed to have first appeared in books. The day was an extremely exciting and rewarding one for all the children. There was a very clear sense of achievement – and a lot of children reading new books that might otherwise not have come to their attention.
For more information: Chiswick House School, Antonio Schembri Street, Kappara, SGN 4233 Tel: 21374396/7 www.chs.edu.mt info@smc.edu.mt
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