Recreational reading is key to achieving and sustaining academic outcomes as well as a whole range of social and emotional benefits. The slowed pace of the school holidays affords our learners some extra time to read for pleasure and we encourage them to do so. The attached infographic summarises advice from librarians and literacy academics about how to support children to read for fun.
Sora is an excellent resource where learners can borrow free electronic books and audiobooks from the central ACT Education Directorate collection. Listening to audiobooks is shown to stimulate the same parts of a learner’s brain as reading a book does and it’s a lovely thing to do while playing lego, crafting or relaxing.
Libraries ACT offer more ideas to reignite reading for pleasure behaviours in children with a range of free activities as well as a massive collection for children and young adults. With branches all over Canberra, these represent fun and cheap book-based outings.
Finally, where families can, take the time to engage with environmental print as you move through your holidays. Pour over maps, share menus, write cards and shopping lists, read road signs, ponder food labels, figure out recipes. These actions will benefit oral language development, letter and phonemic awareness, vocabulary knowledge as well as a swathe of other literacy outcomes.
The Library wishes all the Evelyn Scott School community a happy and safe holiday.