Reading programs go by the book

THE Beaconhills College libraries have seen a huge jump in book borrowings thanks to some innovative reading programs introduced at the college’s Berwick and Pakenham campuses.
The DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) program has Berwick students in Years 5 to 8 picking up a book for 15 minutes after recess, no matter what class they have at the time.
It has led to borrowing levels skyrocketing from January to July this year by up to 230 per cent (in Year 8) compared with the same period last year.
The school’s Pakenham campus has also introduced a variation on the program called Power Reading, where students also have a designated 15 minutes a day to read a text that interests them. They can choose a book or a magazine and get points for the number of pages they read.
That program has only run this year, but has already seen a 20 per cent increase in library borrowings.
Coupled with that, the two libraries have also made major changes to how books are categorised on the shelves, also leading to increased interest in reading. Books are now collected into various genres – similar to the system used in bookshops.
The Berwick campus’s head of information services Carmel Byrne said the changes were there for an excellent reason.
“Basically we are trying to build a reading culture, because there is a wealth of research out there that shows that students who read on a daily basis have significantly higher outcomes in Year 12 than those who don’t read,” Ms Byrne said.
The college’s two libraries have become vibrant centres of the school, with activities such as monthly book club meeting for Years 5 and 6 students (led by an enthusiastic Year 9 captain), as well as regular author visits and Book Week events.
To celebrate Book Week on Friday 26 August at Berwick Campus, students took part in a book parade, followed by a Snugglepot and Cuddlepie book party to pay tribute to Australian stories. Other events during the week included Book Balderdash, where teams had to invent the opening lines of a novel.