I was talking to one of our teachers recently, who had just attended a literacy course, and was reminded that some of the best examples of language use is in some of the classics. I've noticed that not many of the children read the classics, and we were wondering how to encourage them.
One of the things I really like about school is that a great deal of encouraging the children to do positive things because they have chosen to, not becuase it's a rule, so I want to encourage them to read some of these classics, and some they will like, I hope, and of course, some they might not like, but we have to try things to discover things we might never have expected to enjoy.
So slowly I'm putting together a reading challenge. Most of the classics in the library are in the silver and gold bands, so these are children who are comfortable with reading. I've got the list of books, but need to write it somewhere - here - of course! That's one problem solved. They will need to read somehting like 5 of these classices in order to receive the award. I was looking at getting a really nice quill pen (Thank you Mrs Dennis, good idea) though wondered if some children might to be thrilled by this (I would be!) so did a quick look for a really nice matchbox car - I know some of the children areally are into their classic cars - so I just need to look at that in more detail.
So it's beginning to come together - I'll update you when I've got this more finely tuned :)
