There is a huge amount of evidence that young people who read regularly for pleasure make better progress in school than those who don’t. They do better in English and in every other subject as well. Reading for pleasure also brings lots of other benefits:
Reading for Pleasure is one of the three strands of our Key Stage 3 Homework Strategy. We are introducing a programme called Ridgeway Reading Routes to support the homework strategy and encourage students to read for pleasure.
Ridgeway Reading Routes is a bespoke reading strategy specially designed to encourage students to read regularly for pleasure. It is based on the idea of a map showing different train routes around the local region. Each route represents a reading genre. Students ‘travel’ along each route, choosing books to read from that particular genre. It ensures that over time they are reading a wide range of styles and topics.
There are nine different routes or genres: Comedy, Inspirations, Gothic Horror, War and Conflict, The Classics, Sport, Revolutionaries, Historical and Fantasy. Students in years 7, 8 and 9 are allocated a new route each term. Each route has seven books to choose from. Students select one book and we provide it for them for free. Books are to be returned at the end of the term.
One of the books on each route is particularly suitable for students with lower reading ages. We are using the company Barrington Stoke who design books that support weaker readers and/or dyslexic children. Their books are printed and written in an accessible style.
Year 7 are starting with Inspirations. The seven books on the Inspirations route are:
Year 8 are starting with Comedy. The seven books on the Comedy route are:
Year 9 are starting with War and Conflict. The seven books on the War and Conflict route are:
