Tips & Games for Reading Helpers

Last year I became a reading helper for Beanstalk, a charity which works at improving literacy in primary schools. The seed was sown three years previous when I read about the Evening Standard's literacy campaign. 

At the time I felt the required minimum of three hours a week sounded too much. In my post Emily and the Beanstalk I share my reasons for finally going ahead with volunteering.

I read with three children aged 9 and 10 years old. At first I felt I needed to prepare before every session, but now I'm much more confident and trust our box of materials to find stimulating reading and plenty to talk about.

Over the course of my first couple of terms, I've discovered a few things that work with the children I'm helping. I thought I'd share them:

A Game for the Distracted Reader

One of the children I read with was always distracted and none of the books held her interest. To be honest, I didn't blame her. So many of the books were dull and some quite depressing. Suspecting that she was quite clever, and only fidgeting because she wasn't being motivated enough, I devised a game that, to my surprise and delight, she instantly loved.

What you need: Scrabble letters, dice (optional), timer (optional)

I wrote a list of 12 challenges e.g. Find a synonym of angry, Name an Animal beginning with D, Give me an adjective to describe a bedroom, An adverb to describe how Mr Johnson ran... 

Then she would roll the dice, I would read out the challenge and she had to come up with a word and spell it out in scrabble letters. She loved trying to think of the word which would use the most letters. When the pieces had run out and she was left with lots of random words, she then had to make up a silly story using those words as she returned the letters to the scrabble bag.

A Book for the Upset Reader

I rotate the reading sessions and do my best to avoid taking the children out of sports or dance, or anything they might love. Unfortunately one day I didn't have much choice. The child was quite upset and I felt awful. Luckily I'd picked up a joke book from the last Beanstalk Book Swap and so I started reading that to her. 

Soon enough she took the book from me and started reading them out herself. She even started telling me jokes from memory. It was a relief to see her smile. 

It's a mistake to think reading only counts when there's a 'proper book' involved. Whether it's Top Trump cards, the back of a cereal box or The Hobbit it all counts as reading.

A Play for the Reluctant Reader

If a child's not very interested in reading books then I've found plays are the way forward. You can download them at twopageplays.com. 

At first the child looked unimpressed when I brought out A Gift from Winklesea. She chose the parts she would read and we began. When I put on an exaggerated voice, she followed suit and we really got into the story. We read for fifteen solid minutes without taking a break and I was so chuffed when she said, 'that was fun!' The good thing about reading plays together is the child has to keep focused so they don't miss their part. We shouldn't be afraid to be a bit silly sometimes!

Popular Books

I was quite shocked at how many miserable books there were for 9-10 year olds in my box of books. I expect they are written so that kids learn about the 'real' world. Well, when I read novels, I want to be transported into a different world, to imagine, to savour, to laugh... Here are just some that have done that for the kids I've been reading with. 

                       

To find out more about Beanstalk, visit their website. 

MY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Emily and the Beanstalk

Mini Me - Luckily I loved writing and reading

Things have suddenly got a lot more serious.

Previously, I wrote a blog post about activities I was doing to distract myself from waiting for news from publishers. These ranged from making bread to organising my tights into freezer bags. I also hinted at a new novel I was writing. If you're my agent reading this, I assure you, more writing has been produced than bread. Unfortunately both bread and writing have been of dubious quality.

 

As the unfamiliar limbo continued I began to think my world had become too small. All I did was write,  tea, wee, write. I needed to do more with my life.

 

Suddenly I found myself applying to become a volunteer for Beanstalk, a charity which works at improving literacy in primary schools. I say 'suddenly' which, not only is very bad writing according to Leonard Elmore's writing rules, but also a lie. I've been thinking of doing some charity work for a very long time.

 

Why literacy? Well, to be honest, I have my neighbours to thank for my choice. I can't stand them. They're dirty and inconsiderate, and if you happen to be my neighbour and reading this, then I obviously don't mean you, I mean the OTHER neighbours downstairs/upstairs. I have tried not to feel this way. But I do often dream of moving to a remote cave far away from human beings who spit with the enthusiasm of llamas.

 

And yet, I have to thank them. Because one day one of them left a note under our door, and I realised they could barely write. They had the literacy skills of a seven year old. And suddenly (sorry Leonard), I saw with a different perspective. How would my life be now if I couldn't read or write? What choices would I have? What would I be doing?

 

Personally, I believe kids should be coming out of schools knowing how to read without the help of volunteers. I mean, how can this country be called a first world country when free education is so bad? When some kids are going into school without shoes? That's certainly one reason why I might have stalled from volunteering before. I mean, it shouldn't be this bad! But the sad fact is that in some areas it can be. So instead of thinking too much about the 'shoulds', I thought I'd delve in and try to help. And I'm not trying to be a hero. I'm not even a particularly generous person, by any means. I obviously just want to minimise the risk of crap neighbours spreading across the nation.

 

I have yet to start the job. The charity might not even want me after reading this blog post, because they'll worry I won't be able to abide by the confidentiality rules! But of course I can and will. I won't say another word on the matter after this. I have done two training days, one entirely dedicated to child protection, which was heavy going, and made me realise how lucky I've been in my life. So, um, this post goes out to my parents for keeping me safe and putting so much effort into my education - thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!