In a recent National Literacy Trust Survey it was found that just 2 in 5 pupils said they enjoyed reading in their free time. With this, it is clear that fostering a love for reading in school is more critical than ever. Encouraging reading for pleasure not only enhances students’ cognitive skills but also sparks their imagination, creativity, and empathy.
Promoting a culture of reading for pleasure within your school requires a multifaceted approach, but it is a journey worth embarking on.
In this article, we will explore 7 strategies to promote reading for pleasure in your school.
Create a Reading-Friendly Environment
Design inviting and cosy reading spaces within the school. Comfortable nooks, libraries, and reading corners can inspire students to pick up a book. Showcase students’ book reviews and creative writing, or artwork relating to books to encourage a sense of pride and community engagement.
Offer a Diverse Book Selection
Provide a wide range of books, magazines, and other reading materials that cater to different interests and reading levels. Recommend engaging titles and help students discover their literary preferences. Variety is the spice of reading life!
Schedule Regular Reading Time
Dedicate time during the school day for independent reading. Encourage students to explore books of their choice during this period. During this time, create a calm and comfortable reading environment that sparks their curiosity.
Establish Book Clubs and Reading Challenges
Organise book clubs, where students can discuss and share their thoughts on the books they’ve read. Implement reading challenges with rewards to make reading fun and competitive. During these challenges, encourage teachers to get involved too, by sharing their own favourite books and demonstrating the joy of exploring new genres. Being a reading role model can make a world of difference!
Involve Parents and Caregivers
Engage parents in the reading journey by organising family reading nights and providing resources for at-home reading. Share reading lists and at-home challenges to reinforce a reading culture beyond the classroom.
Invite Guest Authors and Storytellers
Invite authors and storytellers to the school to spark students’ interest and connect them with the world of books. Book fairs can also be a great way for students to meet local authors and participate in book related activities.
Embrace Digital Resources
Utilise digital literacy programs like Lexia Core5 Reading and Lexia PowerUp Literacy to enhance reading skills while making it engaging and interactive. By breaking reading down into its core skills, Lexia programs can make reading accessible to all students.
Promoting reading for pleasure requires a combination of building students’ confidence and skills while also instilling a lifelong love for reading. By creating an environment that celebrates books, offering diverse reading materials, and using innovative resources like Lexia Core5 Reading and Lexia PowerUp Literacy, we can cultivate the next generation of avid readers. The joy of reading is a gift that keeps on giving, shaping minds and enriching lives for years to come.
Click here to learn more about how Lexia products promote engagement with reading.
This month our Star School is Crail Primary School, Fife!
We spoke to Gary, who is a teacher at the school. He told us how Crail Primary School has benefitted from rolling Lexia out across whole year groups!
How did you first come across the Lexia program and what led to the school’s final decision to purchase?
Personally, I have previously used it at another school. I was teaching a P7 class there and I noticed that the learners who were on Lexia really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. When I came to Crail and Lexia was first mooted as a possibility for us, I was quite excited at the potential. Our Headteacher, Natalie, trialled the program and then we were able to purchase 50 licenses to target those with the greatest need in school.
What do you feel makes Lexia stand apart from other reading skills software products on the market?
I liked the fact that it was individually tailored and that students could progress at their own speed. It was very adaptive in terms of flagging up areas that need more reinforcement. I liked the way that it has the recognition built in as well not just in terms of the program itself but the certificates. The students have really responded to these physical aspects of the program as well.
How is Lexia used in your school? Please provide details of your daily routine and how you ensure that you reach recommended usage as well as which pupils use the program in school.
We use it with every pupil in P2, P3 and P4 as well as those in P5 to 7 that would benefit most from it. This is so we can know we are making the most effective use of the licenses. In terms of usage, each class has tailored Lexia time. Some classes have a timetabled system while others have a rota of groups that use Lexia. In the case of P5, 6 and 7, where there are fewer pupils accessing Lexia, they can do a little each day. We have also communicated this with parents and the fact that the children would benefit from accessing it at home. We’ve made sure to let them know that they don’t need to do it in one big chunk. Because Lexia records all usage, we can really leave it up to parents whether they do a 30-minute slot or a few 10-minute slots. Those that have been accessing from home have really seen the benefits.
Describe the impact that Lexia has had on your pupils. Have you noticed a positive change in their motivation to succeed in literacy? Can you give an example of a Lexia success that sticks out to you?
We have definitely seen a positive change and one of the things I have seen develop over time is their attitude towards Lexia itself. There was a bit of a spread in terms of their initial reaction to it when we first started. Some instantly thought it was really good and really enjoyed it but for some it was a bit of a harder sell. I thought the way that the program is set up really helped these students. Once they started finishing some sections and getting that recognition, it gave them the impetus and motivation to keep going. I think the more we are using it and the more it becomes embedded, the more they are responding to it.
How have you used rewards to motivate and celebrate success on the Lexia program?
One of the things we have done within the school is a wall display dedicated to Lexia. As part of that we do things like photographs of pupils that have gotten the star achiever award and we’ve also started including comments from pupils on how they find Lexia.
We have a weekly assembly on a Friday. Lexia certificates are printed off and presented to students there. We are quite a small school so the whole school is together at once so its really nice for students to get that recognition in front of their peers. Their photographs are then taken, and they are put on the board in the hall so there is a record of their achievements visible there.
The individual class teachers have also been great in terms of responding and recognising the work in their Lexia sessions as well. They are keeping the motivation going and helping them recognise that although everyone is working at their own pace, everyone is succeeding in what they are working on.
How useful have you found the myLexia reports in terms of demonstrating progression and informing planning?
In my role, I’ve tried to dig into the reports to support learning where I can. I am a bit of a data geek when it comes to things like that, and I think it is really user friendly. I like the way you can break it down by classes, by stage and by individuals and especially in terms of the mix of infographics available.
As part of my role, I have been able to compile progress reports for the headteacher and for the individual class teachers to help get a sense for how each child is progressing. It can help us establish those pupils that aren’t getting the minutes we were hoping for and helping us to investigate the reasons for that. We are also able to identify pupils that are racing through it and identifying how much use they have had at home to support that, for example.
The fact that the reports also highlight the Lexia Lessons to be delivered has really helped as well. I can use these to meet with the class teachers and decide how we can best deliver each particular lesson. Some will be done in small groups and some will be done on a one-to-one basis.
In terms of the lessons themselves, I have found them really useful in the way that they build on the essence of each topic and distilling it into the key skills that they need to know. I appreciate the fact that the lessons take the teacher through each of the step. From the starter task, main task and the further support that is folded in if needed, I think it is broken down really nicely.
For one of the lessons, we have decided to do as a whole class input as ‘inferencing’ has come up for a few individuals. Looking at the lesson, we found that actually it would benefit the whole class, so it is great having that resource there.
Is there anything else you would like to add? Please provide any personal comments on why you feel Lexia has been successful in your school.
I’ve really appreciated how it’s been able to grow over time. We haven’t used it for too long, it’s probably only since January that we have been able to get really settled into a Lexia routine. In that short time, we are already seeing the benefit of it. As we get more comfortable with what the program can do and sharing best practice amongst ourselves as a staff, I think we can only benefit from that, going forward.
What feedback have you had from your Lexia pupils?
In our Pupil Voice interviews, they have said it was fun. One of the P7’s said it has been good for growth mindset and that they found it relaxing. From what I have seen walking across school is that the pupils are really keen to work on the program. I was really pleased, when I was looking for pupils input that they all seemed to enjoy it and enjoy different aspects of it.
A huge thank you to Gary for speaking with us and for his dedication in championing the Lexia program across the school!
When in comes to establishing strong reading skills, we understand that practice is key! With the myriad of responsibilities for educators to tend to and only so many hours in the day, it can be challenging to provide our students with the time required to practice their reading skills.
In addition to utilising Lexia® Core5® Reading or Lexia® PowerUp® Literacy for explicit and personalised literacy practice, educators can also build reading skills activities into other areas of the curriculum such as PSHE, music and PE.
Here are 6 Reading Activities to get kids moving, perfect for integrating into a PE lesson or outdoor session.
Early Years Readers
Letter Leapfrog
Write letters on the ground with chalk or masking tape and have pupils jump to each letter as you say it. Bonus points for naming a word beginning with that letter!
It’s Time to Rhyme!
Say a series of rhyming words, then throw in one that doesn’t rhyme. Have pupils do a jumping jack, perform a push-up, or touch their toes when they hear a non-rhyming word.
For a more indoor-friendly approach, try a quieter version of the game that involves pupils tiptoeing around the room and freezing when they hear a non-rhyming word.
Sound Scavenger Hunt
Listening for the sounds that make up each word is an important step in learning to read. Focus on three to five letters and review the sound that each one makes. Then, have pupils look for objects that begin (or end) with that sound. Give them a list and a clipboard to make the hunt even more fun!
Key Stage 1 Readers
Sight Words are Hopping!
Write sight words on sheets of paper and place each sheet on the ground, or head outside and write on playground with chalk. Then, have pupils hop from one word to the next, saying each word aloud. Bonus points for using the word in a sentence!
Staircase Sentences
All you need are some stairs and a book to reinforce the concept that sentences are made up of words! Read a sentence from a favourite book and have pupils repeat it. Then, have them step up (or down) as they say each word.
Key Stage 2 Readers
Literacy Skill-Building Charades
An idiom like “It’s raining cats and dogs” is a group of words that don’t mean what they seem to say. To reinforce this concept, have your students act out the literal meaning of each of the following idioms, then award points to anyone who can explain the figurative meaning:
- To bark up the wrong tree (to look for a solution in the wrong place)
- To get the ball rolling (to get started on something)
- To throw in the towel (to give up)
- To go in one ear and out the other (to be told something but quickly forget it)
- To be on the fence (to be undecided)
- To turn over a new leaf (to have a fresh start)
- To be the tip of the iceberg (to be a small part of a bigger problem)
We hope our suggestions inspire you and your readers to get moving and try something new! For more literacy tips and support in gaining best practice with Lexia programs, be sure to follow us on our social media channels; Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Lexia programs are designed to help pupils develop their literacy skills to give them the best chance in life, but we always recommend that pupils read as much as they can to solidify the skills they learn within the program… practice makes perfect!
We’ve put together a list of resources for accessing free books of various styles, genres, and topics, to help pupils broaden their vocabulary and reading comprehension…
Free Kids Books
A US-based site with books for Toddlers, Children, Older Children, and Young Adults and covering Activities & Crafts, Classics, Dinosaurs, Nature and more!
Amazon
There are plenty of books available for free under the Kindle Edition option. (Download the Kindle app or use the browser Kindle Cloud Reader.) Some are also available with Audible Narration – why not download both to listen and follow along?
Oxford Owl
A collection of free eBooks for children aged 3-11, and some great advice for parents, all in one place. Register to get started and filter the library by age, level, book type or series to find something suitable.
FreeChildrenStories
Another US-based site, with a great range of books for ages 3-10, with an additional category for ‘Middle Grade’ children (ages 8-12) with a larger vocabulary who are able to manage stories with higher word counts.
Book Trust
A site which offers free interactive books and games to engage reading. Children can use the navigation arrows to turn the pages of the interactive books and read along as the each word is highlighted in turn. They also have a Storytime playlist on YouTube featuring some famous faces.
ManyBooks
Best for Secondary aged pupils, the ManyBooks library is full of classics including Alice in Wonderland, The Adventures of Sherlock Homes, Macbeth, Wuthering Heights, Little Women, and The Jungle Book. For avid readers, there are over 50,000 titles to explore.
Barnes & Noble
Choose from over 5000 free eBooks covering early years word & picture books through to YA literature. Create an account, add to your cart and checkout for instant access.
Free-Ebooks
This site has over 100 Children’s Classics available, including A Child’s History of the World and Winnie-the-Pooh. Create an account to access as many as you like.
Lemons and Letters
The owners of this site decided to make their illustrated children’s books available for parents to access for free. Find over 30 Bedtime Stories and Fables to read with your children at home.
With lots of changes on the horizon for students, our focus often shifts to preparing our pupils for their new class or school at this time of year. This important task helps our students enter the new academic year feeling confident and ready to learn.
Here are 5 tips to support transitions this half term:
Involve older students.
Invite older school peers to share their personal experiences of transitioning to a new school or class. These older peers can provide valuable insights and practical advice to help younger students navigate the challenges they might face. Their stories can also offer reassurance and build confidence among newcomers, creating a supportive and empathetic school community.
Get started now.
Make the most of transition day by involving students in the types of activities they will be completing once they join you. For example, introducing your new Year 7 students to Lexia PowerUp Literacy now can make literacy sessions run smoother in the new academic year.
Get to know your students.
Take the time to learn as much as you can about your new students, their interests, and their abilities. Lexia’s Auto Placement activity offers a quick and easy way to identify any areas students may need to work on in the new school year.
Make sure your students get to know you!
Make sure your students get to know you by personalising transition resources and letters with photos and information about yourself and the new classroom. This approach helps students feel more at ease by familiarizing them with their new teacher and learning environment before they arrive. Additionally, it demystifies the upcoming changes, reducing anxiety and fostering a sense of connection and comfort.
Provide summer activities to help prepare your new students.
Providing your new class with activities over the summer can help them to prepare for life in your class next year. Visit the myLexia Resource Hub for access to Summer Reading Bingo challenges and Reading At Home Activities.
For more information about how Lexia Core5 Reading or Lexia PowerUp Literacy can help your school in the new academic year, get in touch with our team on 0191 482 1939 or by emailing info@lexiauk.co.uk.
This month our Star School is…
Meadowside Community Primary School!
We spoke with Assistant Headteacher, Alan, and Key Stage 2 teacher, Conor, who coordinate the Lexia program across the school. Read on to find out how they have engaged both staff and students in Lexia and the impact this is having on their progress.
How is Lexia used in your school?
Alan: Lexia pupils come in to school 20 minutes earlier in the morning to complete their Lexia time. This gives them a chance to settle down and get ready for the day. We have also started to fold Lexia time into the afternoons, particularly to support any interventions that take place at this time.
We use a range of different ways to identify students for Lexia use in school. In pupil progress meetings, we ask the teachers to rank their children from 1 to 30 and we’re focusing on the children that are just below where they need to be to really give them that boost.
We use a combination of these teacher judgments and standardised tests to paint the whole picture. This approach helps us identify any children that would seem just below or those that are technically age-related but need a bit more confidence and a bit more practice.
From the children’s point of view, this allows us to address those little nagging misconceptions that children have that could be preventing them achieving everything they possibly can.
Describe the impact that Lexia has had on your pupils. Have you noticed a positive change in their motivation to succeed in literacy?
Conor: I think the main thing is their motivation. They enjoy doing it and they’re wanting to get those certificates. They want to succeed.
For example, in my class there is a girl that, when completing Lexia at home, her Mum came in and said she was sat with her and was concerned about how accurately she was working on the program. So, I was able to show this pupil the myLexia report and address the low accuracy that displayed on the reports. That’s given her much more of a boost. She’s asked today to sit outside where it was nice and quiet so that she could really focus on working accurately.
Alan: One thing that came out of our Annual Training last week was that we were talking about the way we celebrate Lexia in the school. We had gone down the route of focusing on how many minutes children are doing and celebrating them coming in early. Now, the way we want to do it moving forward is celebrate the number of units they do and give certificates out on that basis, displaying them on a leader board. This is a way we can use the data to improve what we do to make the impact even better.
How have you used rewards to motivate and celebrate success on the Lexia program?
Conor: We have a display in the Key Stage 2 corridor where we put up a set of shelves to display the certificates and a graph showing the usage of each class to encourage a bit of competition between the classes.
We are finding that a lot of the competition is between the staff wanting to beat the other classes and then that drives them to motivate the children. We found that works well to increase the staff buy-in. It’s getting them motivated and then they are telling the children; “Right, we need to beat Year 5! We’ve got to beat their usage!” That helps a lot as well.
How useful have you found the myLexia reports in terms of demonstrating progression and informing planning?
Alan: Last week, we had a chance to go through some more of the reports in our Annual Training. We couldn’t believe how detailed some of the individual reports are for the children. That is something we would like to focus on more.
We have some members of staff that are logging on to Lexia frequently, but our next step is to really make all staff aware of the potential of the myLexia reports. We want all teachers to really utilise it to its full potential.
Conor: We have also started using it for the intervention groups. We’d look at the areas that have been flagged up for the children and would be able to identify a few children that need a specific skill so we can teach to that group specifically. It allows us to have more dynamic groups in terms of being more focused on the specific needs of those children.
I think the level of detail in the myLexia reports is ridiculous in a good way! There is so much potential beyond just looking at usage and units gained. We can really show the children what they’re achieving as well and explain it to them. I think that’s going have a lot of impact on pupil’s self-efficacy and their awareness of what they need to improve on, especially for older pupils.
How have you expanded Lexia into home-use? How have parents responded?
Conor: Generally, parental engagement is really good. They have to bring their children in early for them to complete Lexia, and most do. We had good home use before Covid, and we were able to utilise it during the lockdown as well. We have quite a few children that do log in consistently at home and want to increase their minutes. When we first launched it, we sent home the letters and the explanation of how to use it for the parents, so they were well informed.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Alan: I think the most beneficial thing for us is that children can use it independently and that it is tailor made for their needs, which is exactly what every school’s looking for, really. We can also use it in a group situation, we can use it as an intervention, and we can fill gaps with it.
It’s a powerful tool to have and we want to make sure we get the most out of it. That’s why we’re always looking to enhance what we’re doing rather than just plod along.
Conor: I think that one of the reasons why it’s been successful here is that it’s easy. That’s one of the most fundamental things. It’s easy for staff to manage. It’s easy for staff to roll out and for the children to do their work independently. Logging in is not a complicated process. It’s self-explanatory for the children.
I think that’s one of the most fundamental things, is it’s easy. If something is easy to do, you’re going to keep doing it and it’s not going to fall aside when something gets a bit difficult. I think it’s very beneficial that it is a very simple tool to use that’s very effective.
What feedback have you had from your Lexia pupils?
Alan: When I’m in the classroom working with the children, you can see that they do love it. They are really engaged with it. They are wanting to get their minutes up and complete those units. So, it’s always positive.
It can sometimes be a challenge to get the kids through the door early but the fact that they do is testament to how much they really do like Lexia. They see the benefit of doing it and they enjoy doing it.
Conor: It’s often the children that are dragging their parents in early because they want to do Lexia! They have a real drive to do it!
Most of student’s vocabulary growth and language development will come organically rather than through direct teaching. But how can we accelerate this growth to better aid curriculum access? Here are some of the ways the Lexia programs can help broaden vocabulary:
Vocabulary Strategies
Core5 and PowerUp explicitly teach and encourage students to use context clues to unlock the meaning of unfamiliar words. By providing students with cognitive strategies and supporting students to put these strategies into use while reading, Lexia simultaneously promotes vocabulary development, comprehension and independent learning.
Morphology
Focusing on the understanding of meaningful word parts ensures that students have all the tools they need to infer meaning from unfamiliar words. By recognising common Latin Roots and Greek Combining Forms, students can employ prior knowledge to help them find out the meanings of words across various curriculum areas.
Vocabulary Checks
Vocabulary support for students is also folded into Comprehension exercises to ensure understanding. Before accessing a new texts, students are encouraged to explore any academic language or subject-specific vocabulary in a ‘preview’ of the passage. Providing students with this prior opportunity promotes curiosity when accessing a new text with unfamiliar words while solidifying success in fully understanding the passage.
Remember, you can preview any of the students activities in Core5 and PowerUp using Educator Mode. Simply log into the student program with your myLexia staff log in to browse every level freely.