The Importance of Reading

It’s proved that reading aloud is a wonderful way of engaging with young children. It helps them promote language development and early literacy skills. That’s why at IA School, we’ve developed a reading program which connects early ages in Infant stage, where they mainly work with phonics, with 1st and 2nd graders in Primary stage, where students read aloud weekly in small groups. This practice comes along with some warming up activities, thinking routines and wrap up activities like story sequencing.

Reading builds motivation, curiosity and memory. Moreover, it gives kids the tools needed to face external exams, such as Starters and Flyers (Cambridge). Considering how beneficial reading is within the learning process, 6th graders have organized their own storytelling workshop for our 5 year olds to honor World Book Day.

Students adapted Michael Rosen’s ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ and turned it into a wonderful adventure full of challenges to be overcome. Infants students explored a dark forest, swum in a deep river and made their way through a whirling snowstorm. As you can see in the video, they had so much fun!

By telling the story in such a fun and engaging way, 6th graders have conferred their own passion for literature on to the younger kids and have proven how effective teamwork can be.

Ms Carol