Good Practice

Time to Read Contd.

Mentors who have been working in the programme for a number of years report that it is good practice when working with the children to:

Be prepared - at the end of a session plan what you will do with the child on the following week
Arrive in the school some time before the start of the session, perhaps get a coffee from the staffroom, and set out books or materials for the first child to work from.
Go to the child's classroom promptly to collect him/her from the room - a good opportunity to interact with the teacher.
Think about the interests the pupil has, and try and provide reading material associated with those interests.
Non fiction may be the only way to get reluctant readers interested if the subject is one of their passions.
Don't set out all the books for the children to rifle through - they could happily spend a lot of time sorting through them!
If starting a new book, select several books and have them on the table for the child to choose from a limited number.
Vary the diet and type of reading material.
Find books that look good. Many children (especially boys) are very sensitive to books they consider too 'babyish' or biased towards one gender.
Look for humorous books - it's the age of endless joke telling and a fun way to get hooked.
Choose books that address issues relevant to the child's growing awareness of the outside world.
Poetry can be funny, rude or thought provoking.
Computer or adventure game books may be the answer for the game playing maniac.
Keep a record (a Time to Read diary) of what material/books have been used - simple book reviews are often useful.
If, as a group of mentors, you want to consider giving individual gifts to your children, decide on a strategy - perhaps birthdays only for example; gifts should be inexpensive and related to reading (a book or book token?)

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