How to love Literacy in Lockdown
In this article our Primary English Associate, Gemma Spence, suggests some quick and easy tips to keep the literacy love alive during the lockdown.
““Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are” ”
Here at Primary English, not a day goes by without us thinking about a book that we’ve seen or read and imagining the learning opportunities it holds. We are bookworms through and through and like all educators want to inspire a love of reading.
We teachers are the cogs of the literary machine; constantly whirring and spinning to ensure our bookish world keeps on working. We engage and challenge our learners introducing them to books they would not necessarily read themselves. Walk into a classroom during story time and you will see 30 pairs of eyes and ears being swept away by the words of Michael Morpurgo or giggling at the quirky illustrations of Quentin Blake. Literacy lessons allow children to explore, decipher and enjoy texts. Fostering a love of reading has been at the heart of schools for a long time. So, what do we do now when our classrooms are closed, and the majority of our children are learning remotely?
Here are our tried and tested Top Tips for Loving Literacy in Lockdown:
Share a story with your class via Zoom or Google Classroom. Is there anything more wondrous than reading aloud to children and seeing their faces react to the text? Read to them and ask them questions just like you would in the classroom.
Film yourself reading a story and share it via your online learning platform. If it is not possible to read to the children in a virtual classroom, then this is an ideal way for the children to still see and hear you reading to them. Ask them to write a book review about the story you have read.
Engage with parents. We are asking a lot of our parents at the moment but reading with their child has always been a priority. Regular, short bursts of reading will continue to help develop children’s skills. Provide parents with simple comprehension questions they could ask their child whilst reading.
Plan your remote learning around a text. At the moment, we want our children to be excited about learning at home like they are when in school. Plan learning from an exciting text to hook them in. We have developed a range of Starting Points which suggest reading, spelling, grammar and writing opportunities linked to high quality texts and referenced to the National Curriculum
Guided reading in school. The key worker and vulnerable children who are attending schools are in a perfect position to engage in high quality guided reading sessions. We have a range of Guided Reading Teaching Sequences linked to texts which include an overview, a detailed lesson plan and resources for guided and independent learning. Our Guided Reading resources can be found here:
Create a reading challenge. If there is something teachers know how to do well, it is to encourage children! Set up a reading challenge and virtually reward children by emailing certificates or sending postcards. With limited access to the outside world, children can re-read books from their own bookshelves or show them how they can access books virtually.
With these Top Tips, we hope you can continue to instil a love of literacy in lockdown.
Keep safe.
Gemma Spence
Gemma is a Primary English Associate with expertise in teaching children in KS1.