Book Week

Book Week 2023

We look forward to our Book Week celebration on Monday, 21st August. The students have an opportunity to dress as one of their favourite book characters for a parade starting at 9:15 a.m. This will be followed by fun literature activities in the classroom. This is a fantastic day to celebrate books and the enjoyment of reading. The theme is ‘Read Grow Inspire’ which represents with good literature all children can flourish. 

This year we would love to incorporate a book swap activity into the celebration day. For students who would like to participate, we ask that they bring one pre-loved book in good condition. It could be a fiction or nonfiction book and one they have enjoyed so much that they think another student could also enjoy. Please do not send multiple books to school but one special book. The classroom teacher will collect them, and I will set up a stall for the book swap on the day.

Amanda Jackson

Structured Literacy Leader

This week I have attached an article by Dr Justin Coulson to examine ways your child can grow and flourish with great literature.   

Book Week

For over 75 years, the Children’s Book Council of Australia has promoted Children's Book Week®. Book week isn’t just about finding a costume for the parade (and hoping that this year your child doesn’t want to dress up as Captain Underpants again), it’s about celebrating books. Australian authors and illustrators are particularly celebrated, as classroom teachers and librarians in schools and public libraries create displays, run activities, and tell stories relating to each year’s theme. This year, Book Week is this week (Aug 19-25), and the theme is Read, Grow, Inspire.

This article isn’t about Book Week though. It’s about why books and reading are so important for our kids that we should be celebrating books every day, not just one week a year. In this article I’ll also describe how you can help your child to get more out of their reading. And lastly, I’ll give you some tips on what to do when your kids don’t seem to want to read.

The science

It is never too early to start a habit of reading with your kids. A meta-analysis (a study that synthesises the results of lots of other studies, in this case, 99 other studies) found that when children are exposed to book reading from an early age, it begins a ‘causal spiral’; being exposed to books stimulates language and reading development, and in turn children who are more proficient in comprehension and reading skills choose to read more. Significantly, this study looked at every age from preschool to university and found that the gap between readers and non-readers widened every year, culminating in greater academic success in university. There is also some evidence that people who read more live longer, and that reading fiction boosts social skills such as empathy.

Getting the most out of reading 

Reading is good, regardless of how it’s done or what is read. But there are a few things we can do to help our children enjoy the benefits and satisfaction it offers. Here are three ideas: 

• Have your child read to you. Children don’t even need to be able to read to do this. Babies enjoy lifting up flaps and turning pages. Toddlers love pointing at the pictures in their favourite books. Then as our children learn to read independently, they tend to be really excited to read to us if we can find the time to slow down and turn reading into an activity to share.
• Read to your child. In addition to bonding, reading to your child helps them to learn about expression, pacing,    and the different ways we can experience books. Ask them questions about how they’d feel, what the characters are feeling, and what they’re thinking about the story. 
• Have FART time regularly. FART stands for Family All Reading Together. Perhaps once or twice a week, let everyone know it’s FART time. Grab some treats. Have everyone select a book. And sit together in the living room while you read those books together, either aloud or in silence.

Reading isn’t just about academics, just as Book Week isn’t just about winning the award for Best Dressed. Books provide a doorway to the world; through them, our kids can climb mountains, experience new cultures, and travel through time and space. As Barack Obama once said, "Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you."