The reading corner is usually combined with a writing area and provides a quiet place for children to read, browse and work. The amount of space available varies but children need a literacy area in their classroom from the nursery years right through to Year 6. Bearing in mind the age group, teachers try to make the corner inviting by providing simple seating and display areas. There are many attractive books and materials for children of nursery age and we would expect there to be alphabet and word books, nursery rhymes, big books, picture books, folk and fairy stories and illustrated early non-fiction books. The ‘starter list’ at the end of Chapter 3 in Marian Whitehead’s book Supporting Language and Literacy Development in the Early Years provides many suggestions for enjoyable books for the Foundation Stage.
From Reception to Year 6 most schools follow the Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics (2006) and the collections in each classroom include examples of the text types children are using in Literacy Time for that term or year. Children need to be helped to move from enjoying picture books, story books, short poems and simple non-fiction to classic fiction and poetry, full-length novels and more demanding kinds of non-fiction suitable for the later primary years.
There is also a need for dual- language books and for books made by the children themselves. As well as books the corner should include video-films, video cassettes, CD-ROMs and computer software, posters, magazines, newspapers and collections of advertisements and letters. I recommend ‘Resources for reading’ in Graham and Kelly (2007) for a detailed discussion of the kinds of books and resources for each year group. They remind us what experienced teachers know – that if we want children to feel involved in the book corner it is necessary to involve them in setting it up. Discussions about how to house the books – on shelves or in simple plastic containers – and how to categorise and label them are valuable. If the teacher uses some reading scheme books these could be stored separately.
The reading area should be a resource that is built into the work of the class. The books and resources should be those used each day and there should be fair ways of making sure all the children have equal access.
Graham, Judith and Kelly, Alison (third edition, 2007) Reading Under Control: Teaching Reading in the Primary School London: David Fulton.
Whitehead, Marian (1999) Supporting Language and Literacy Development in the Early Years Buckingham: Open University Press.
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