Librarians Page
Introduction
When training for a sport, it helps athletes to have a goal. With support and encouragement from coaches along the way, everyone can be trained to reach that goal and feel a real sense of pride in what they have achieved. Team Read gives children the encouragement they need during the summer to stretch themselves in terms of reading, a goal with long-lasting results.
It does this by:
- getting children to join in a national activity, taking part alongside hundreds of thousands of other Team Readers
- presenting reading as a real activity for the summer holidays, while also promoting sport and its associated health benefits
- encouraging children to share ideas with each other about books to read
- introducing children to authors that they may or may not know
- giving them advice from lively and engaging library staff who really know about children's books
- allowing children to create their own personal reading record which will support their sense of progression and give them a feeling of achievement at each stage (bronze, silver, gold). They'll be able to print this out as a record of their summer reading, ready to take into school for the start of the new year
- generating a real sense of fun while opening up an inspirational world of books and reading through libraries.
Ways of using the website to promote reading:
1. Author blogs. We've got some great authors on board who are going to write a blog entry every week during the summer. Get the children reading them to find out about the author and what they've been up to. Get books on display so children can read books by these authors. Encourage them to send in a comment and engage in a dialogue. (this is found on the Coach's Office notice board)
2. Ask the Coach. Here's a chance for children to send in their questions about books they've read, and to get advice on what else they might like to read. We have library staff lined up as trainers to give them tips and ideas. Encourage children to send in questions to test the coaches!! (this is found on the Coach's Office notice board)
3. Messages. Children can send in messages about books/authors they like, and encourage each other to complete the challenge. We'd like tens of thousands of messages to generate that feeling of a huge 'must-do' activity on a national scale! (this is the Big Screen at the back of the main stadium arena)
4. Teams. As a workshop/reading group activity, you can encourage children to set up teams; to build up their scores and compete with other teams. (This is found on the Gym notice board)
5. Games. Some games are just for fun, but most games also help children get to know authors, build their book knowledge and extend their reading repertoire. (Found in the Games area)
6. Extreme Team Read. The website gives the older age group (transition year 6/7) their very own place within Team Read, acknowledging that they're ready to step up to secondary school. We need children of this age group to send in lots of messages and engage in dialogue about the books they are reading. The personality quiz is something they can print out and take with them to school. We'll be piloting this approach in secondary schools. (Access to this area is found in a secret locker behind the mirrors in the locker room - they will need to enter the Extreme Team pin code on the hologram card)
Reading group activities
There are lots of ways the website can be used with Reading Groups, or for workshops in the library during the summer.
1. Children can work their way through the activities and games in relay teams. This can be done in competition (timed for example) or simply as a shared activity to encourage completion.
2. Team Readers can be encouraged to read the blogs section and then make comments on the Authors' Blogs. They can also be encouraged to write their own blog, detailing what they are getting up to over the holidays, what books they are reading, where they are going, etc.
3. Think up questions to put to the coaches to ask their advice on new titles to read, ways to encourage family and friends to join in, or author news and information.
4. Send messages to other Team Readers recommending books and authors they have discovered as part of the Summer Reading Challenge.
5. Send messages of encouragement to other Team Readers encouraging them to work their way through the bronze, silver and gold medal stages.
6. Link in to seasonal sporting events/activities as featured in Team Read, and feedback any comments in group discussions or via the website.
General website notes
The website has been created to give the visitor the experience of entering and walking around a giant stadium. The first page you will see when going to www.teamread.co.uk will be outside the stadium gates. Here you can pick up an entrance ticket and stadium guide.
Logging in - for the first time the Summer Reading Challenge website will include a log in, so children can return throughout the summer and update their reading scores. This only requires a password (no personal data is kept). If they forget it they will have to start again, so we have suggested they use their name and door number - this will be suggested to them via an on-screen message.
Following a visit to the ticket booth - the stadium guide will appear in the left bottom of the screen and clicking on this will open the guide up - it is a useful quick reference showing all areas of the website and a main key to what you can do and where everything is. To familiarise yourselves with the website this may just be the best place to start and will help if you get asked questions.
Once in the stadium moving around can happen via the keyboard arrow keys as you now have a character in the bottom centre of the website. On first visit children can go and set up their character (referred to as a 'ReadMe' character) by going to The Gym. Setting up of a character allows children to:
- Keep a record of their summer reading scores
- Let other children know what their favourite top three books are
- Join and or create a team whose over all game scores can be seen by other players
- Customise their ReadMe character
When children have completed each stage of the Summer Reading Challenge (2,4,6 books ) they will be alerted automatically to go and pick up a special bronze, silver, gold trophy in the Hall of Fame which is located under the big screen in the main stadium.
Again if you get asked questions or need further guidance we suggest opening the stadium guide and hovering your mouse over each area on the map, this should tell you where and what everything is.
Extreme Team Read
For the first time this year we have added an Extreme Team area which can only be accessed by children who have the pin code (on the Extreme Team card) This area is located in the Locker Room in a hidden locker, the children's character can get to it by walking around behind the mirrors, where they will be prompted to enter the pin code.
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