Today, in our ‘Book Club’ session, we played Musical Books.
We started off by reading a book we knew we’d like and enjoyed reading this for 10 minutes. Then, we walked around the room while the music played. When the music stopped, we sat down next to the nearest book. For some of us, that meant reading a book we’d never have chosen.
After spending some time reading the new book, we shared and reflected on our experiences. To our surprise, most of us enjoyed reading all the books – some of us were even inspired to change our current book.
Here’s a snapshot of our conversations (without names because we’re keeping our personal information to ourselves – it’s important to stay safe online):
“It was actually really good and I think I’d actually enjoy reading Dirty Bertie!”
“It’s not really my type of book because I normally prefer non-fiction books. I enjoy finding out facts. Although it’s not my type, I did enjoy this book more than I thought I would!”
“We’ve read this book as a class and I didn’t really like it but now that I’ve read it again I like it more. Maybe it’s good to read books more than once so you understand it better!”
“I read a princess book (I’m normally into football books) and it was actually much better than I thought it’d be. I’m not sure you’d read it but it was nice to read something a bit different!”
We had such a good time that we managed to convince Mr Catherall to let us keep reading for longer.
Help at home by…
– asking your child what they read today and how they found it
– encouraging your child to read a range of books
– role modelling to your child being a reader
– taking your child to a free library and encouraging them to choose books they think they’ll like
– reading regularly with your child
The last point is especially important. We’ve recently changed our homework to give families more time to concentrate on the aspects of learning we consider most important – reading is most definitely one of these. Regular reading (10 – 20 minutes every day) will have a hugely positive impact on your child’s academic attainment and mental health.
