English Secondary School celebrating book week

The increasing popularity of the internet, smart phones, games consoles and
television has meant that reading is in danger of becoming an outdated leisure activity among today’s youth. One of our biggest challenges as English teachers is getting students to read, and to foster a love of reading.

Parents often ask us as English teachers, “What can we do to help our child improve their English?” The first answer is always, “Make sure that they are reading for pleasure.”

There is a direct correlation between how much students read and their proficiency in English. It does not matter what students are reading, as long as they read. Avid readers have a much broader and richer vocabulary, are better at spelling and structuring their writing and can express themselves more eloquently.

Book Week is one of many ways we try to help our students cultivate the art of reading. It was Book Week at school from 9-13th November, so on Friday 13th, all the students in the English Secondary section were asked to come to school dressed up as one of the characters from the books they have been reading in English lessons.

Students and their English teachers got themselves suited and booted and into character. Year 7 were characters from fairytales, myths and legends, Year 8 were war-time characters, Year 9 came as flappers and gangsters from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Year 10 were characters from J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls.

We encourage a love of reading through book reviewing and book-swapping andcwill try any tactic to get students to read more. We have English lessons where students bring in a favourite book and then do “speed dating” with the books. All the books are spread out on desks and the students have a few minutes to get to know other students’ books and then hopefully decide they want to read the book themselves.

We would welcome any ideas you may have about how to get children reading more.

Contact 

k.clausnitzer[at]iil.ch

Picture published with parental consent.