Book borrowing from libraries has fallen as computer use has increased
Computer games are harming children’s reading, researchers warned last night.
They found that the reading ability of nine and ten-year-olds has slumped in countries where households have at least one computer.
Read more: http://bit.ly/mkDInG
G'day everyone! May 23-27 is Australian Library and Information Week and we would like all parents to get involved! Getting your children to love books and reading from an early age is one of the best things we can do to help them develop good literacy skills. It's as easy as singing songs together, making up stories, or borrowing books from your local library.
Welcome to the 2011 Read It Reading Challenge.
This a monthly reading group that encourages Australian library users to read and tweet about what they are reading.
Check the monthly themes at the blog to decide what you will read each month and how to tweet your reading experiences.
Run by the NSW Readers Advisory Working Group
Hundreds of school children will be getting behind The Pyjama Foundation’s 3rd annual Reading Frenzy. Will your school take part? http://bit.ly/kMHD0K
Poverty and third-grade reading proficiency have a huge impact on high school graduation rates, says a new study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private charitable organization that helps disadvantages kids.
Students who don't read at grade level by third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma than kids who are proficient readers, says "Double Jeopardy: How Poverty & Third-Grade Reading Skills Influence High School Graduation," which studied nearly 4,000 students nationwide. Overall, poverty compounds the problem: poor students are three times more likely to drop out or fail to graduate on time. And poverty impacts even the best readers, with poor proficient third graders graduating at about the same rate as subpar readers who've never been poor. more » » »
Publisher Simon & Schuster Australia has published a translation of Ted Prior’s Grug Learns to Read in Karrawa, an indigenous language from Australia’s Top End. The book – Grug Milidimba Nunga Read Imbigunji – has been translated by Ngingina. It’s been published with assistance from the Indigenous Literacy Project. The ILP will distribute the book among remote indigenous communities like Robinson (see image) and the nearby Borroloola on the McArthur River, where Karrawa is one of several languages spoken. Borroloola, a community of about 780, of which about 200 are not indigenous, is home to the Yanyuwa people. => http://bit.ly/eb8EIY
Why Should I Read?
Excellent question! Why should you? Why should anyone? You could be doing hundreds of other things instead – watching a movie, preparing dinner, going for a run, or spending time with your family. But when your kids ask you the same question, you’d better have an answer prepared. “Because I told you to” probably won’t cut it. “Because it’s good for you” isn’t going to work either. At least not if you don’t have some solid evidence to back it up. => http://bit.ly/i0rufA
Valuable lesson: Reading helps children develop socially and mentally, according to experts. (Posed by models)
Forget music lessons, sports clubs and trips to the theatre.
The only out-of-school activity that will really enhance a teenager’s career prospects is reading, research shows. => http://bit.ly/gEIhPN
Adult book-phobes will scoff at Michael Gove's ambition for schoolchildren to read 50 volumes a year, says Rowan Pelling. => http://bit.ly/hahCUa
BANGALORE // The first thing that strikes you about Shane Watson, the Australia all-rounder, is his imposing physique.
The muscular opener for the world champions in one-day cricket has the torso of an Australia rules footballer and has been dubbed "Tarzan" in certain circles. Yet there is far more to him than initially meets the eye.
For one, Watson is the International Cricket Council (ICC) ambassador for Room to Read, an organisation that "seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education". http://bit.ly/f18q8V