Creative Ideas

for developing

Reading Comprehension

Lancashire Primary Literacy

2

What is reading comprehension?

Once children have learned to de-code a text through the blending of phonemes to

read words and recognise high frequency words, they must also understand or

comprehend what they read. To help them to do this they need to be taught a range of

reading comprehension strategies and be encouraged to reflect upon their own

understanding and learning. Such an approach helps children to go beyond literal

interpretation and recall to explore the complex meanings of a text using inference and

deduction.

The importance of talk and language development

The Rose Review of Early Reading stated:

‘When children learn to read, the comprehension processes they use to understand

written texts are the same as those they already use to understand spoken messages.

The major difference is that language of written texts is accessed via the eyes rather

than via the ears.’

Therefore, the more ‘spoken messages’ children are exposed to, and conversations they

are involved in, the better their comprehension.

In recognition of this, many of the activities in this book are based upon talk

Comprehension is an active process that involves all of these strategies and

behaviours

Understanding the text

Engaging with the text

Making connections with existing knowledge

Critically evaluating the text

Reflecting upon responses

Monitoring own understanding making decisions about which strategies will clarify

understanding

3

Creative Reading

Freeze frames:

Still images or silent tableaux to spot light a specific incident in the text;

Opportunity to scrutinise an incident;

Body shape and positioning used to convey ideas and emotions;

Classmates can ‘sculpt’ body shape and language to portray emotions more clearly.

Thought tracking:

Use in conjunction with Freeze Frame;

The children not in the freeze frame contribute ideas as if they were speaking the

thoughts of one of the characters;

These can support or contrast with the words that character actually says.

Conscience alley:

To explore a character’s mind at a moment of crisis or decision;

To explore the complexity of the decision;

Two lines of children facing each other;

Character walks through - line of children voice thoughts for and against.

When children are familiar with this technique, stop periodically and then challenge

the child’s thoughts. Ask them to respond with further argument to extend their

reasoning.

Hot seating:

Close focus upon a character;

Explores character’s motivation;

Explores gaps in a character’s story;

Class ask questions of someone in role;

Questions can be prepared or improvised;

Role player and questioners need to be familiar with character.

Forum theatre:

To view an incident or event from different points of view.

Small group acts out a scene;

The class direct the group to move, speak act differently;

Questioning actors in role;

Suggesting alternative interpretations of what is happening.

Meetings:

Teacher in role calls a meeting of whole class;

Information shared with whole group;

Decisions made about the situation they face;

Paired improvisation:

Encourages collective role. Children works in pairs;

Given a role or agree them for themselves;

Begin dialogue on a signal making the conversation up, as they go along.

4

Flashbacks and flash forwards:

Children stop at a particular dramatic action;

They refocus upon something that happened before that may have caused event;

Focus on something that might happen later as a consequence of the action;

Other techniques used to review situation from different perspectives; e.g. freeze-

frame;

Crystal ball – what might this character be doing in 5, 10, 20, 30 years?

Visualisation

The teacher reads a text/poem to the children;

Whilst listening, the children sketch what they imagine onto a plain piece of paper –

or scene by scene into boxes.

They annotate their drawing with words and phrases from the text.

Role on the wall

A large body-shape is drawn onto a large piece of paper.

The body shape represents one of the characters in a fiction book or a character

from history or popular culture.

The children write the character’s feelings, or their own feelings about the

character, onto post-it notes and stick these inside the body shape. They write

facts about the character on different coloured post-its and stick these around the

edge of the character.

Vary this with different colour post-its; what you know about a character placed

inside body (direct retrieval from text), what you think you know placed

immediately outside body (inference) and sometimes also what you’d like to know

about the character placed around the edge of the paper.

When reading a novel as a class or guided group, redo the role on the wall during the

novel – has our knowledge or thoughts about the character changed etc.?

Focus Boxes

Dislikes Likes

Puzzles Questions

5

Children note down their thoughts in each of the boxes as they read or listen to a text.

This technique can also be used for 'reading' a film.

The Question Hand

Who? What? Where? When? How? Use to explore stories, newspaper reports or historical

events.

Mind Maps

The details retrieved from texts are added to each branch of the map.

KWFL Grids

Use these grids at the start of a topic/unit work. Complete as a class: what they

children already KNOW; what they WANT to know; how they will FIND it out and what

they have LEARNT (at the end of the topic). Encourage the children to generate

questions which they would like to find the answers to throughout the topic.

what we KNOW what we WANT

to know

how we will FIND

it out

what we have

LEARNT

6

Magic Mirror

This is a good technique for developing open-ended questions. The ‘Magic Mirror’ can

only give explanations and cannot answer ‘Yes’ or ‘ No’. The ‘Magic Mirror’ never lies.

The children, in the role of a story character, ask questions of the ‘Magic Mirror’ about

what the consequences might be of an action, opinion or choice that they make. For

example, Willie Beech in Goodnight Mr Tom might ask, ‘What will my life be like if I

return to London to be with my mother?’ The teacher or ‘Magic Mirror’ person answers

the children’s questions.

Why on Earth?

Children interrogate the characters in a text/ story asking ‘Why on Earth did you . . .?’ questions.

The PEE prompt.

The PEE prompt can help you answer the 2 and 3 mark questions.

1. P—make your Point.

2. E—find Evidence in the text to support your answer.

3. E—Explain or Elaborate upon your answer.

e.g. ‘I think that Jack is a stupid boy. I know this because in the text it says, ‘Jack was not bothered by intelligence. This makes Jack appear simple, but content to be the way he was. Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats

Edward de Bono developed the ‘six hats method’, A simple yet powerful tool which can

be used to teach people to view problems from a range of perspectives, and so develop

a more rounded way of thinking. It helps people to look at things in a collaborative way,

beyond their normal perspective, and to see new opportunities.

When considering a problem or proposition, (or situation in a text) people within the

group will look at the issues from different perspectives.

The White Hat deals with just the facts.

The Yellow Hat explores the positives and probes for value and benefit.

The Black Hat is the devil’s advocate and spots the difficulties and where things

could go wrong.

The Red Hat expresses emotions and feelings and shares fears.

The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives and new ideas.

7

The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process and ensures the Six Thinking

guidelines are observed.

Encouraging children to try out roles makes it easier for them to understand the

approaches to thinking through problems. This approach could be used to discuss:

Issues in a text leading to deeper comprehension;

School issues such as rules, bullying, playtime, etc;

Historical events from different points of view;

Geographical issues such as building by-passes.

The facts The manager Difficulties Feelings New ideas Positives

Novel as theme

Writing to/from one of the characters;

Writing an extra scene;

Re-writing a passage from another’s point of view;

Asking the author questions;

Taking the setting and writing a factual report about such settings;

Drawing the setting and annotating with words, phrases, similes and metaphors.

Putting yourself into the book and adding your own dialogue/responses.

All the above drama techniques to explore themes and ideas.

FS and KS1 READING

Make sight words out of gingerbread dough. (get children to make a word you are

trying to add to their sight vocabulary). Once cooked, they can be read and then

eaten! Children have to recall who ate which word and find 'their' word on the word

wall.

Organise a word hunt - make a set of some HF Words for each child and a duplicate

set that have been hidden in a variety of places. Children can work independently or

in pairs to find them. The words can be tailored to their individual needs. Great for

outdoor literacy!

Make prop boxes for re-enacting stories

Set up small world play activities for retelling e.g. We're Going on a Bear Hunt by

Michael Rosen could use a (BRAND NEW, not used!)cat litter tray for each section

of the story (thick oozy mud, long wavy grass) etc... Helps with sequencing, oral

language etc..

Story sacks

Role play stories e.g. turn role play area into the 3 bears' cottage and provide

relevant props

8

Artwork - allow younger children to draw and paint pictures of well-loved stories

and use them to talk about the 'who, where, why, what' of a story. Graduate to

'setting, characters, problem and ending' for Y1 upwards.

Dressing up, role play and hot seating. Younger children can find it too abstract

unless you provide some costumes/props.

9

Reading Tasks to develop skills and comprehension

Pretend you are a

literary critic giving a

radio broadcast about

the book. How would you

rate it? Would you advise

children to read it? Why?

Paint a picture of your

favourite part of the

story and explain why you

picked it.

Pretend you are the

character in the book ten

years on...write a short

commentary on how you

feel about the story now

and how you might do

things differently.

Did the story inspire you

in any way? Write about

what you have learnt

from the characters in

the story in a letter to a

friend.

Write about your

favourite part in the

story and explain why you

liked it.

Create a Mastermind quiz

about this book to check

whether they have read

it carefully.

Pick 10 WOW words from

the book and create a

word search!

Draw a film set with

annotation. Or, if you

have time at home

produce a model in a box.

Draw a poster to

advertise the book you

have read. Make sure you

write on the poster why

people should read it.

Find 5 – 10 WOW words

in this book. Access

Puzzle Maker on the

Discovery site and create

a crossword!

Select a part of the text

with plenty of dialogue

and transform it in to one

scene of a play script.

Remember to include the

correct features of a

play script, including

setting, props, stage

directions and names of

characters.

Pretend you are one of

the characters in the

book. Who will you be?

Write your diary for one

day in the story.

What facts did you learn

from this book? Even

though it’s a story, we

can still learn interesting

things...Investigate one

of these facts on the

internet and write a

short report.

Which chapter or part of

the story is the most

important? Write a front

page news report about it

to include quotes from

the characters involved.

Write a formal letter, in

character, complaining

about an issue or another

character in the story.

Who was the most

interesting character?

Conduct an imaginary

hotseat interview to

investigate more about

their motives. Be sure

you write detailed

responses for your

characters.

Create a ‘story mountain’

under these headings:

*opening *build-up

*dilemma *resolution.

Produce a coloured mind

map to illustrate the plot.

Include drawings of the

characters, quotes,

speech bubbles and other

graphics.

Think of 5 questions you

would like to ask one of

the characters in your

book. Then swap these

with another person in

your group and write the

answers as if you were

that character.

Construct a

timeline/flowchart to

show all the main events

in the story in the order

they happen. You might

like to illustrate this as a

river, or a road or any

other image that the

book suggests to you.

Select a part of the book

with little or no setting

description and write

your own! It may be

helpful to draw it first.

Remember it must

connect with the text

and create the right

atmosphere!

Imagine that you are one

of the secondary

characters in the story.

Write a diary excerpt

concerning the main

character and what you

think about him/her. Why

do you feel this way?

Who is the author? Do

you know anything about

them? Research him/her

on the internet and write

a short bibliography of

their work with details

about the books.

Produce a

storyboard/comic strip

of the main events in the

story. Don’t forget to

include speech bubbles

and a sentence or two

below each picture.

10

Write a summary of the

story in 50 words only

for a children’s magazine.

Don’t forget to include

some facts about the

author!

Select one of the

characters that you know

little about and create a

biography for them

leading up to their

involvement in the story.

Create a PowerPoint

presentation of the story

abridged for a younger

audience.

Pick a particularly

emotional part of the

story and write a poem

describing it more fully.

Pick one of the main

characters and decide

what that character will

be like in ten years time

and what they might be

doing. Draw a picture,

annotate with your

suggestions and give your

reasons with reference

to the story.

Add in your own scene!

Chose one of the

secondary characters and

write an additional scene

involving them in order to

develop their personality

more fully. It might be at

the end or in the middle

of the story.

If there is an animal in

the story, pretend they

can speak and compose a

short monologue giving

their version of the

story. How do they feel

about the main

character? Perhaps they

have a different view

point!

Divide your page into

four equal parts using a

pencil and ruler.

First box-name of book

and author.

Second box-name of

characters.

Third box-main idea or

summary.

Fourth box-your

favourite part – write a

summary.

Divide your page into

four equal parts using a

pencil and ruler.

First box-name of book

and author

Second box-list of

questions about the

story.

Third box-list of words

you didn’t know.

Fourth box-questions you

would ask the author.

Write a letter to the

main character.

Use correct punctuation

and capitalization

Use the correct form for

writing friendly letters

Draw a picture showing

the main idea of the

book. Identify the main

character(s) and the

setting.

Write a letter from one

character in the book to

another character.

Use correct punctuation

and capitalization

Use the correct form for

writing friendly letters

Continue the story after

the last page written by

the author. Be sure to

use the same characters

and setting.

Draw a book jacket of

the book you just read.

Needed-

12 X 18 paper

Name of book & author

Picture of main character

Short paragraph about

the book

Write a letter to the

author and tell why you

did or didn’t like the book

Use correct punctuation

and capitalization

Use the correct form for

writing friendly letters

Write a new ending for

the book so that

something else happens

to end the story.

Decide what you would

change and write two to

three paragraphs.

Write a new beginning

for the book. Decide how

you would start the book

by writing one to two

paragraphs. Remember

to use appropriate story

openers.

Draw a picture of your

favourite part of the

book.

Imagine that the main

character is in the HOT

SEAT. Write questions

that you would want to

use in an interview with

the main character.

Write an acrostic poem

for the main

character(s).

Example:

S = studies hard in school

A = Always listens to the

teacher

M = Made good grades

Write a book review to

share with the class. Tell

who, what, where, why, or

how events happened in

the book.

Make a list of five titles

that would make a better

name for your book.

Make a poster about your

book. Be sure you have

the name of the book and

the author on it.

Write a three-day diary

by the main character to

explain how they were

feeling and why they

behaved the way they

did.

11

Write an e-mail to the

main characters in the

book to advise them

about how you think they

could alter their

behaviour in the story so

that the ending is a

different one

Make a list 10 or more

difficult words from your

book.

Find their meaning in a

dictionary.

Add these words to your

spelling journal.

Make an advertisement

for your book to sell it on

e-bay.

Write a paragraph trying

to convince someone to

read your book, even if

you did not enjoy it.

Make a mobile about the

main characters in your

book.

Draw a story mountain to

explain the outline plan

of your book.

Find 10 words in your

book that have a prefix

and 10 words that have a

suffix.

Make a list of good

qualities that your main

character has.

Make five higher level

thinking questions to ask

the class (3 mark

questions).

Make up book quiz for

your book with 10 or

more questions. The

next person to read your

book will have to answer

your questions.

Write a letter to your

teacher telling why or

why not you liked this

book. Use evidence from

the text to explain your

reasons.

(PEE)

Design a birthday card

for your main character.

Alter the main setting in

your book and describe

how the main character

might react if the story

was set there.

Design an invitation to

ask the characters to a

party at your house.

If you were to give a gift

to the main character,

list three gifts you think

the main character would

like and why.

Divide your paper into

four using and pencil and

a ruler. Make a comic

book of the story (choose

four main events in the

story).

Use program

www.wordle.net to create

a collage of words and/or

pictures to go with your

book.

Make a timeline of

important events in the

story.

Design a house for the

main character to live in.

Make a list of the

characters in the story

and tell why they are

important to the story.

Get a paper sack and

draw five things that are

important to the story

and put them in the bag.

Draw a picture on the

front with the name of

the book and the author.

Design a t-shirt for the

main character.

Make a bookmark telling all

about your book

Make a word search using

character names, places,

events and important

words from your book.

Make a wanted poster

for the main character in

the story.

Design a postcard to send

to one of the characters

in the book. The

postcard should show

something that relates to

that character on the

front.

Choose something that

belongs to the main

character and pretend

the character lost it.

Write a lost notice for

the newspaper.

Retell the story to a

friend in class.

12

Make a Peek and Look

page.Draw a picture

about your book.

Cut out three sided flaps

so you can glue a paper

beneath the cut out

(about 2cm by 2 cm).

Glue paper on back side

and write in each box-

Name of book, author,

main characters and

setting.

Make a windsock.

List the

characters from

the story and

draw a picture

of them.

Make a facts

chart or a fact

file poster about

a character.

Draw a

timeline of

events in the

story.

Make a list of

the main places

where the story

takes place.

Using ideas from the text, make a

TRUE/FALSE quiz for a friend

Write a

summary of

the story in

no more than

100 words.

Make a list of five titles that would make a better title for your book.

Write a

newspaper

report of an

event in your

story.

Compare 2

characters in your

story.

How are they

similar?

How are they

different?

Write a letter to the main character telling them how they affect other characters in the story.

Design a new

cover for the

book.

Using speech bubbles,

write a conversation

between 2 characters in

the story.

Janet Gough Cockerham C of E School

14

Write an email to a friend telling them about parts of the story that are similar to your own life.

Retell an event in

the story from a different point of

view.

Write your opinion of an issue in the book

Predict what will happen next in the story.

Write a poem about a situation in the story.

Write a letter to

the author asking at

least three

questions about the

story.

???

Pretend you are a literary critic giving a radio broadcast about the story. How would you rate it? Would you advise children to read it? Why?

Draw a picture of your favourite part of the book and explain why you picked it

Pick 10 wow words from the story and create a wordsearch!

Write about your favourite part of the story and say why you liked it.

Produce a story mountain: o opening o build up o dilemma o resolution

Produce a comic strip of part of the story.

Janet Gough Cockerham C of E School

15

Write a formal letter complaining about one of the characters in the story.

Make a cartoon strip showing the turning point in the story.

Choose a section of the story and rewrite for a younger audience.

Find other books dealing by the same author and find similarities and differences.

Find some phrases you like. Explain why you like them.

Draw a timeline of events in the story.

Make a bookmark about events in your book.

write the blurb for the book’s back cover.

Use program www.wordle.net to create a collage of words and/or pictures to go with your story.

Make an information page about a character in your story. Include effective features of the text type.

Write a biography of a little known character up to their involvement in the story.

Write 5 questions to ask the rest of your group about the book. ?????

Janet Gough Cockerham C of E School

16

Write a review

of the book as if

it was your job.

Write about your

favourite part of

the book and say

why you liked

it.

Create a quiz

about this book

and get other

members of your

group to

complete it.

Create a

PowerPoint

presentation of

the book for

younger

children.

Using ideas from the text, make a

TRUE/FALSE quiz for a friend

Write about

which part of

the text is

the most

important and

why.

Make a list of the facts you have learned from reading this book.

Choose one

fact and find

out more

about it on the

internet.

Design a t-shirt for the main topic in the book.

Write an ACROSTIC for the main topic.

Design a new

cover for the

book.

Draw an

illustration for

a section of

the book.

Who is the author?

Find out more about

them and make a list

of books they have

written.

Write a

summary of the

book in no more

than 100

words.

Write your

opinion of an

issue

in the book

Make a poster

about the

book. Include

the title and

author’s name.

Write a poem about an issue in the text.

Write a letter to

the author

asking at least

three questions

about the story.

???

Janet Gough Cockerham C of E School

17

Pretend you are a

literary critic giving a

radio broadcast about

the book. How would

you rate it? Would you

advise children to read

it? Why?

Draw a picture

of your

favourite part of

the book and

explain why you

picked it

Piick 10 wow

words from the

text and create

a wordsearch!

Write about

your favourite

part of the

book and say

why you liked

it.

Produce a mind map of the topics in the book to show how they are linked.

Make a fact

file about a

topic in the

book.

Make a poster to

advertise the book you

have read. Say why

people should read it.

Make a list of

five titles that

would make a

better title for

your book.

Choose a

section of the

book and rewrite

for a younger

audience.

Find other

books dealing

with the same

topic and list

similarities and

differences.

Find some phrases you like. Explain

why you like them.

Turn

information

into a Flow

Chart or set of

instructions.

Make a bookmark

about topics in your

book.

write the blurb

for the book’s

back cover.

Use program

www.wordle.net

to create a

collage of words

and/or

pictures to go

with your book..

Make an

information

page about a

topic in your

book. Include

effective

features of the

text type.

Make a connectives bank and group them with sub-headings.

Write 5

questions to

ask the rest

of your group

about the

book.

?????

Book review question track What was the most

exciting part of the

story?

What happened at

the end of the story? finish Did something bad

happen in the story?

What was it?

Was someone kind in

the story? What did

they do?

Describe one of the

characters in the

story.

Which was the best

picture in the book?

Did you like the

story? Why?

Rules

Throw a dice. Move your counter.

Ask the next person the question in the square you have

landed on.

If they can answer the question they can throw the dice.

Who was the funniest

character in the

book?

What was the worst

part of the book?

Why?

What was the

funniest part of the

book?

Where did the story

take place?

Name 4 of the

characters in the

book.

Name 2 of the

characters in the

story.

What was the best

part of the book?

What happened at

the beginning of the

story?

What is the title of

the book? start Racing to English Gordon Ward

19

end

Start

Racing to English Gordon Ward

20

finish

start Racing to English Gordon Ward

Articulating and writing responses to texts

Many of the techniques mentioned in this booklet can be supported by response hooks –

sentence starters to help the children to articulate (and ultimately write) answers to

comprehension questions.

- The author wants me to feel/imagine;

- This makes me imagine;

- The effect of this simile is to make the reader . . . .

- The author has used this phrase to give the impression that . . .

See www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/nationalstrategy/literacy for Response Hooks in the reading

section

Creativity and APP in Reading

All of the above techniques can provide evidence for Assessing Pupil Progress in

Reading.

Observations of how children respond and interpret will give insights into their depth

of understanding.

Ways in which children act out characterisation will inform how well they infer ‘hidden’

information, as well as retrieve literal information.

Role play will show how well the children have understood story structure and the

sequence of events.

Writing in role and visualisation will provide written evidence for APP.

Presenting factual information in different ways indicates how well the information has

been interpreted. e.g. Changing text into labelled diagrams; presenting chronological

information on a time-line.

Creating a Reading Community

Reading buddies

Decide on your focus first. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to focus on

promoting simply enjoyment of reading? Or do you want to give children the opportunity to

practise reading aloud? Or are you focussing on improving comprehension by giving

children the opportunity to discuss books? Then decide on pairings. Will it be older

children with younger children? Less confident readers paired with more confident

readers? Pairing children of similar ability or with similar reading interests? Train reading

buddies before they begin and consider timetabling a regular slot for children to pair up

with their reading buddy.

Boys’ reading

Organise reading groups specifically for boys. Display posters and photographs of men

reading eg take photographs of dads with their favourite book.

Reading is about enjoyment.

Offer and display a breadth of reading materials such as magazines, newspapers, comics,

fiction and non-fiction books, poetry and websites.

Reading is something very individual.

Think about Readers’ Rights eg right to not finish a book, skip pages, dislike a book.

Parents in the library

Reserve an area of the library for parents and allow parents to borrow books from the

school library.

Celebratory events

Promote reading achievement at celebratory events, especially those to which families are

invited. Present children who have completed a reading challenge or become Reading

Champions with a certificate.

Sports days and summer fairs

Set up a stall with relevant reading materials at events to which families are invited.

Parents' evening

At parents' evenings, encourage teachers to direct parents towards a reading for pleasure

stall.

Ambassador sessions

Ask a parent who can inspire and relate to other parents to take on the role of family

reading ambassador. Ask your ambassador to come in during a school event to talk to

families about the importance of reading in the home.

Demystify the jargon for parents. When explaining to parents how they can help their

child with reading, try to avoid using jargon.

Library visits. Plan a trip to the local library exclusively for parents. During the visit,

encourage parents to join the library and inform them about all the services and different

activities that take place there.

Richard and Judy book club for parents.

Breakfast clubs

Encourage families to attend breakfast clubs as part of the Extended Schools agenda,

during which they can read or discuss books in an informal setting.

Speed dating

As a warm-up for a reading activity with parents and wider family members, hold a speed

dating session where people can get to know each other in a relaxed situation. If

appropriate, hold different themes for the sessions, such as 'my most embarrassing

reading story' or 'my best reading recommendation.' Ask participants to vote for the

most convincing story or recommendation following the event.

Recipe book

Ask parents to design their own page of a recipe book, which once compiled could be

distributed to all parents or sold to raise funds for the school library.

Parents in lessons

Invite parents and wider family members to come into school to take part in reading

activities in class.

National Children's Book Week (first full week of October)

During National Children's Book Week, organise a tea party themed around a popular

children's book about food, for example 'Mrs Wobble the Waitress'. Encourage children

and adults to read the book before the event and invite families to attend the party. Visit

www.booktrust.org.uk.

National Storytelling Week (end of January - beginning of February)

Invite professional storytellers to school.

World Book Day (first Thursday of month)

On World Book Day, organise a trip for families to go to their local bookshop to redeem

their WBD vouchers. Visit www.worldbookday.com.

How to read a picture

As a precursor activity to any reading activity, engage parents and wider family members

by introducing the 'How to read a picture' activity. Give them a picture and ask them to

imagine what the relationship is between the people in it, what happened before the

picture was taken, what will happen afterwards and what is being discussed. This is a good

icebreaker activity and will help participants to understand the value of a picture book for

children and how it helps develop their imagination and powers of prediction.

Storytelling workshops

Set up a 'Bedtime Story' workshop/club in school and encourage families to exchange

children's bedtime stories with each other. For follow-up sessions, introduce the idea of

compiling all the stories for the school or website or a book.

Storyteller visits

Consider inviting a professional storyteller to your sessions to give top tips and help with

technique. A list of storytellers is available from Reading Is Fundamental, UK project zone

at www.rif.org.uk.

Memory boxes

Ask families to create memory boxes at home, including family photos, books or pieces of

music. Use these boxes as a starting point for sharing personal stories.

Transition (primary - secondary) -School library visits

Offer primary school pupils and their families the chance to visit the secondary school

library.