Enriched Readers Programme
Programme structure
Each S2 class visited the Library Resource Centre (LRC) one period a week for their Enriched Readers lesson. The LRC manager and transition teacher delivered the lessons based on a four-week structure:
Week one - Introduction to genre
Pupils were introduced to the genre through an activity and an extract read aloud by the LRC manager or transition teacher. Pupils then had the opportunity to choose a related book, either fiction or non-fiction.
Week two - ICT/Research task
Key ICT skills were introduced to pupils, which were then reinforced through practical work. The ICT tasks included copying and pasting, skimming and scanning, keywords, using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and bibliographies.
Week three - Creative writing
Various genres and styles of writing relating to genre were studied. These included horror writing, new covers for old books, instructional writing, persuasive writing, poetry, obituaries and crime writing.
Week four - Book review
Pupils evaluated their chosen books, which incorporated elements of talking and listening.
The themes covered in these lessons were horror, Thanksgiving, adventure/thriller, funny poetry, travel, autobiography and crime.
Activities
The LRC manager and transition teacher used a wide range of activities to engage all pupils, including:
- Group brainstorm on scary words, which led to the creation of scary sentences
- Turkey poster displaying Thanksgiving facts
- Use of kitchen objects to stimulate discussion about gadgets
- Creation of pupil quizzes on a travel destination
- 'Poe-tree' displaying pupils' favourite poems
- Use of box template for pupils to create autobiography boxes
- CSI crime scene for pupils to solve.
The lessons followed a pattern, starting with fun, relevant prompts to ensure pupils were thinking of the genre, followed by the weekly activity. Pupils quickly worked out the routine and looked forward to it each week.
The pupils were in Standard Grade classes, which allowed for the work to be differentiated. Tasks could be modified for pupils in Foundation classes. These ranged from providing writing frames for the creative writing to simpler worksheets and objectives for the ICT tasks.
Word File: Horror reading booklet (115 KB)