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Last week, during half-term Reading Matters had a stall at the Sheffield Fostering Service Bag-A-Book Day, at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium. It was a great day, lots of fun. It was the first time Reading Matters had been involved so we were not sure how to best particpate. Because of the setting I decided on a set of football word games, but these were put to shame by all the othe activites on offer; paint-a-pot, face-paining, mask-making, urban poetry, street dance, stadium tours, story-telling and lots lots more. So next year we need to think of something really exciting, suggestions very welcome! 
Rhyme and Reason Bookshop Books at Hillsborough
I spotted a poster for Sheffield Parents' Week, and thought I would investigate further. I found some very useful stuff, in regards to Reading Matters and as a parent myself.
A great post on the great blog Trapped by Monsters all about comics got me looking for some free online comics that might just engage a reluctant reader:You would need to check the content, some comics especially graphic novels, have quite an adult theme, but I think there is going to be something here for most young people.
In a previous post I asked about books with a local connection and had a couple of really good suggestions, I am definitely going to check out The Voyage of the "Silver Bream" by Theresa Tomlinson and Dear Nobody by Berlie Doherty. Perhaps even better they both have fantastic website's, in particular Theresa Tomlinson's has some fantastic short stories to download, including one called The Sheffield Thwitel, which is great.This got me looking at other author's websites, starting with those recommended on the Kids' Books UK blog.So in no particular order are some of my finds:What do you think? Any other suggestions?
Just a quick post in the first week back after the summer holidays. Thanks to the Sheffield Libraries webpage, I have just learnt that the new Children's Laureate, Anthony Brown, was born in Sheffield! I always thought his books had a very Yorkshire feel to them, I think it's those tanktops.
Last week I was holidaying in Wales, we had a great week, but lets just say the weather was far from great.The misty, rain soaked welsh hills really reminded me of Alan Garner's The Owl Service, which I read recently. It has inspired me to check out his other books, especially The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, which I read when was younger and loved. It also got me thinking about location specific books, a great way to connect with a book. There was a timely article in the Guardian about Beatrix Potter's links with the Lake District. More locally I recommend Malcom Rose's books especially the Traces series set in a futuristic Sheffield and The Kiss of Death about
Eyam the Peak District 'plague village'.I have set up a 'books with a local connection' reading list, it is a bit sparse, and I'd love some new ideas.
I have just come to the end of my first academic year with Reading Matters, and I'd love to say my head is spinning with all the exciting projects I have been involved with, but I am afraid my focus is purely on the six and a half weeks of summer holiday ahead.My partner, Rhian, has stretched out her maternity leave, so we have the whole time off together with 10 month old Rose (who as you can see is shaping up into a keen reader herself), what a treat.
I'll be keeping an eye on things across the summer, check out my News from across the web, and I look forward to catching up with you next term.
Alan Gibbons, an author we have a good relationship with due to his work with Barrington Stoke, has long been a advocate for the importance of school libraries, with his Campaign for the Book.He has organised a petition on the 10 Downing Street website to make school libraries statutory, I urge you to sign it today"We, the undersigned, call on Her Majesty’s Government to accept in principle that it will make school libraries, run by properly qualified staff, statutory and to prepare the necessary legislation in consultation with the appropriate professional associations and trade unions."
I think I will start a regular feature, links to online resources. With links to printable fun sheets and other ideas for reading partnerships.I have already made a couple of posts: I'll try and think of a good name for this new series, but in the meantime here are bunch of links for you to explore:The Teachers Corner - Lots of great printable work sheets, and other resourcesThe Children's Laureate - Activity sheets based on Michael Rosen's booksRoald Dahl Day Treats - Games and activities based on the classic author's booksTimless Teachers Stuff - This site is a bit overwhelming but there are some perfect resources availableFun Brain - Some nice ideas based around popular books, films and factsBBC Skillswise - Downloadable sheets and online resourcesRHL School Reading Comprehension - Worksheets including stories, poems, essays, and articlesBritish Council Print and Do - Activities with a geographical themeAmbleweb Literacy Hour - Loads of literacy activitiesActivity Village - All sorts of resources (we have used their Harry Potter games recently)Armoured Penguin - Tools to make you own word-searches, crosswords and other word games (I love the name of this site)Online toolsThe following sites provide links to activities and games to play onlineFun with Words - Play Boggle, Hangman and other games online, lots more to explore tooBBC Bitesize KS2 - Help with spelling and grammarEast of the Web Word Games - Word games to play onlineWordnik - This is a bit different, it is a huge online dictionary, thesaurus and search engine all rolled into one, you can contribute tooVocabSushi - Play games and build your vocabularyHave Fun
There have been students from local schools visiting the Bannerdale Centre where I am based to do some exams. I like to think the student who 'adapted' this sign in the toilets was once in a Reading Matters partnership, they have a clear love of words.
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