Every year, on World Read Aloud Day, people around the globe read aloud together, strengthening kids and communities by the power of stories. LitWorld founded World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) in 2010 to advocate for literacy and to ensure that young people worldwide can experience the joy of reading, writing, and storytelling. On 1 February we celebrated WRAD with Primary students at first break in the library. We opened a present and discussed the ‘gift of reading’ and enjoyed a read aloud story together. We also had two very special guests join us. Mrs Weatherburn and her adorable labradoodle Ava came and read with us and we listened to Ava’s story.
Reading aloud is a powerful and transformative act. Reading aloud to children supports language development, improves listening skills, cultivates a love of reading, and strengthens relationship development skills. Across all ages, the overwhelming majority of children (86%) say they love being read books aloud at home or like it a lot. The top reason children say they enjoy being read aloud to is because it’s a special time with their parents/caregivers. Now is a great time to start building in regular time for independent reading and reading aloud moments in to your family’s routine. For more details on the benefits of reading aloud go to this link at Scholastic.
