Activity 5.11: Setting up a classroom reading corner for silent reading

In the TGM, read through the suggestions listed below for supporting reading. Work with a colleague to share ideas about what would work best in your school. Make sure you each commit to doing two of the things on the list.

Here are some ideas from teachers who have been developing their book areas and libraries in school.

• Ask relatives and friends with older children if they have any books at home that their children no longer want.
• Contact another school or a teacher in your school and exchange books with them.
• Write to NGOs such as World Vision and Child Fund to ask if they could contribute in any way.
• Cut out suitable reading texts from colour magazines and paste them into books or on charts.
• Collect newspapers, magazines and comics to add to the collection. Encourage your learners to find suitable reading materials from their communities.
• When you have access to the internet, visit the African Storybook (www.africanstorybook.org) website. Here you will find hundreds of stories at different levels in a range of African languages. Download some onto your phone or the school computer.

Ensure that your collection appeals to a range of levels of reading ability and not just your highest attainers. Include a variety of genres among the books available, such as:

• storybooks
• factual books on sport, nature, making things, etc.
• dictionaries and atlases
• poetry
• joke and riddle books
• books in your learners’ home languages, if possible.

Bookmaking

Older learners can produce a book containing their own poems or stories. They could write a short play, develop a book about a topic that has been focused on in their lessons or write a book for younger readers. They can design a cover for their book to make others want to read it.