Pupils from a local primary school have been discovering the joy of reading in a novel collaboration with Canterbury Christ Church University lecturers, library staff, and teaching students.
The Books and Beyond pilot project, which is led by Senior Lecturer Christine Cork, alongside Catherine Sherwood, the Learning and Research Librarian for Education, buddies school pupils up with third year Primary Education students to support the children in discovering their own unique reading identities, help develop their love of reading, inspire young readers and increase aspirations.
Over the course of four weeks, Year 3 and Year 6 pupils from St John’s Church of England Primary School in Canterbury, have visited Augustine House Library for special afternoon reading sessions, where they have been exploring the Library, choosing their own books to read, and discussing the books with each other and their teaching student buddy.
The University students allow the children to take the lead, encouraging them to explore their interests while introducing them to a broader range of literature, such as graphic novels and classic texts. This approach gives the children choice and agency over what they read, empowering them as independent readers.
The teaching students have used creative techniques to engage the pupils in reading, from taking turns reading aloud to using puppets. They have also created motivational resources for their pupils which promote their reading identities, such as ‘Ask Me What I’m Reading’ badges, reader identity lanyards, and certificates.
The school pupils have expressed real excitement about the visits and enjoyed the Library’s cosy and welcoming reading space, with some of them saying that they now want to attend university when they grow up. One of the school pupils said “This has made me love books again!", while another declared the Library is the “BEST BEST BEST BEST BEST”.
Being at the University and in the Library building made a real impression on the children, and introduced the concept of higher education and continuing study to some of them. This would not have happened if the reading event took place in their school classrooms, or even in a room on campus.
Catherine SherwoodLearning and Research Librarian for Education
The project also aims to support the University’s teaching students to develop their practice in the teaching of reading, increase their knowledge of children’s literature, and enhance their ability to promote reading for pleasure. The student volunteers reported that the project has helped them to better understand pupils’ perceptions of reading, and to extend and personalise children’s experience of books.
This project was transformational for the student teachers. They were able to explore reading for pleasure pedagogy away from assessed placements, which gave them a safe space to try out different ways of engaging the children with books. The positive responses from the children really surprised them and they have realised now that there are perhaps more effective ways of approaching reading in the classroom. They were also able to make much clearer links between the theory being explored in university and apply this to very best class practice.
Christine CorkSenior Lecturer
One of the teaching students, Sasha Brent, said: “Participating in Books and Beyond has shown me the incredible power of reading for pleasure. The sessions have helped me to choose quality reading materials, employ questioning with young readers and practice slow looking. They have also demonstrated that when given the support, time, and space to read for fun, children can blossom as readers and aspire beyond what they had previously imagined.”
Three of the teaching students are the University’s appointed Reading for Pleasure ambassadors, and in addition to the Books and Beyond project, are working with the Open University and UKLA - a national voice for language, literacy and communication - to promote Reading for Pleasure widely.
Following the pilot, it is hoped that Books and Beyond will continue with more teaching students and support more children from local schools to find a love of reading.
Christine Cork said: “The Headteacher of the school would love to have more of their children access this project, and where possible, we would like to invite other local schools to be involved. Further work on this project would involve a new cohort of University teaching students in the coming academic year.”
Follow the Books and Beyond project on Instagram at @readingforpleasurecccu