MARCH

LITERATURE CIRCLES
Apart from being involved in thinking and using knowledge they already have, 6th formers were able to consider issues from different points of view. The topics discussed through reading The Exposer converged in one unique conclusion: not to make abrupt judgements on others. Apparently this is a rather hot issue among 6th formers.
In terms of the reading skills worked on I must say that categorising, comparing and contrasting were easy. However, when it came to infer writer's intention and purpose, a few difficulties cropped up. Not an impossible hurdle to jump at all, just like the reading aloud obstacles I spotted in some students too.

BOOK CLUB
I found myself enjoying the three Autumn sessions in themselves more than last year. I would have preferred to have the books photocopied in time, so that more children had more opportunities to read, because of time and amount are affected this way. Sometimes lack of proper working hands undermines projects. Pity this is still so.

BREAKTIME READING
I'm really enthusiastic about the possibility to have netbooks in the library during the second breaktime on Wednesdays. I need to find the way to use the tool favourites to save the interactive webpages so that there's uninterrupted connection and so that my project can go on. Kids just loved this, so it's worth trying to find the way.

Some kids say...

These are some comments made by students who come to read to the Library.
  
          READING IS...

¨It's when you look at a word and underastand it.¨
¨It's to get to know things.¨
¨It's something fun and educational.¨
¨Its is learning.¨
¨It's about someone or something and like a little world.¨
¨Reading is spelling.¨
¨Reading is something that you have to use for your whole life.¨

READ
Read
by Ann Turner

Do you remember
learning to read?
That book full of squiggles
like ants, escaped.
the teacher's big thumb
on the page,
your heart beating inside
afraid that all you'd ever see
was ants---
Then a word popped out.
"See," and another, "cat,"
and my finger on teacher's
we read "I see cat."
I ran around the room
so happy I saw words
instead of ants.

What is READING?

I go back in time and find that in some old Teaching Training College notes about reading, I described the skill by using simple words such as SPEAK, PRONOUNCE, and UNDERSTAND but I'm glad to have experienced that reading implies so much more.