International Literacy Day is an annual celebration dedicated to ensuring the importance of literacy is not forgotten.
While progress in literacy has been made worldwide since International Literacy Day was founded in 1967, there is still work to be done to advance towards a more literate society.
Recent global events and changes, such as COVID-19, have worked to widen inequalities and dull literacy progress even further.
This year’s theme is ‘Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies’. It intends to embrace the relationship between literacy and life development, not only on a personal scale but in the building of more inclusive, peaceful, just, and sustainable societies.
Reading Solutions UK recognises that having the ability to read has an immense impact on people’s development, ability to access society fully, and life outcomes. We believe reading is a fundamental right; therefore, we are very proud that our programme, Reading Plus, is helping students in over 1,300 schools nationwide to progress with their reading comprehension, fluency, and stamina.
Read below to hear Year 8 student Natalia’s Reading Plus journey and discover how the programme enhanced her love of reading.
Natalia – My Reading Plus Journey
Before starting Reading Plus, I was certainly an avid reader in my own time; I had started reading independently as soon as I knew how to do so. Additionally, I have always had a natural apt for writing and could pick up linguistic skills quickly, unlike mathematical ones. Due to this, I have found myself always enjoying English-related subjects and participating in anything I could that is related to this. My love for writing further fuelled my love for reading, and vice versa.
In the past, I mainly enjoyed non-fiction stories. While I still enjoy this, I have discovered other genres I prefer, such as, historical fiction and horror stories, especially ones that include realism.
When starting out on Reading Plus, I once again found my love for non-fiction and informative texts as these made up most of my reads. I enjoy reading things that seem real, almost tangible, and the truth behind non-fiction texts satisfies this factor. Despite this, I still enjoyed the odd fiction text on Reading Plus.
My favourite text would most likely be ‘Victoria’s Diaries’. This text stood out to me because it managed to connect the audience with an infamous historical monarch and shed light on the lives of others that we may deem to be out of touch. Alongside this, the author often referred to factual information, which allowed me to believe what was being said.
I already knew many words within the vocabulary levels. However, one word I specifically remember learning was ‘socioeconomic’, which I now use in some analytical pieces. This word describes connecting social and economic factors contributing to a situation or event.
There are many facts that I have learned from the texts on Reading Plus. The most interesting fact I learned is that language can go extinct due to cruelty from other populations. It is an extraordinarily large part of a person’s heritage and culture, and losing it can be incredibly dehumanising.
As a whole, I do feel that Reading Plus has improved my reading skills and is beneficial to my comprehensive understanding. The level at which Reading Plus creates a personal improvement system that is both challenging and comfortable for the user ensures improvement. Over the time I used the programme, I definitely noticed a change in my skill level through completing the reading and vocabulary tasks.
Reading Plus was set as homework to be completed every week, which I enjoyed much more than other homework sites. Also, I used Reading Plus within the comfort of my home to fulfil work that needed to be done or to simply gain a level.
Weekly tasks on Reading Plus included five reading and a singular vocabulary task; however, I would complete additional tasks on some weeks. My family believe in training your reading skills, so I completed tasks wherever possible.
When starting on Reading Plus, I recommend focusing on improvement rather than perfection. There were definitely points in which I was disheartened with a score, but I always decided to look at the bigger picture. While it may be disappointing, always remember that you can attempt the task again and should always take a break to relax your mind when overwhelmed instead of forcing yourself to complete something immediately. I would also suggest completing your homework, as reading can assist in every single lesson you take.
To conclude, I would like to state that this experience may be unique to me or universal. All individuals will progress at their own rate, even if their peers do so differently – it is important to recognise individuality within academic genres.
For more information about Reading Plus or to book a ten-minute call with our expert Reading Development Consultants, fill out the form below.
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