SINGAPORE – Donovan Ng Jing Ren, a Primary 3 pupil at Casuarina Primary School, has found a solution to not being able to finish reading a book when it has to be returned to the school library by the due date.
“The novels in my bag, I actually had to borrow them again as they were too long,” he told The Straits Times.
“You have to remember which page you stopped at, and the page number. You return it, and then when the library opens again, you borrow it again, and then you flip to the page number. This is exactly what I did.”
He is one of many Casuarina Primary School pupils who have nurtured a love for reading, thanks to the school’s efforts to promote the activity and provide plenty of reading opportunities for its pupils.
Beyond English language lessons, school-wide initiatives have provided an immersive environment for the school to grow a reading culture.
The school set up a Reading Buddies Programme in March, where Primary 4 and 5 school prefects are partnered with Primary 1 or 2 readers who need more help during pre-assembly reading.
Teng Ian Gripaldo, a reading buddy and prefect who is in Primary 5, enjoys helping his younger schoolmates improve their reading.
“Not only do I help them when they are struggling with a word, I also like to encourage them,” he said.
“Ever since I started in this programme, I like to just tell them, ‘Good job! You did well today!’ I think this really helps them.”
When the school pivoted to online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, the lower primary English teachers used an application called Moo-O which allowed pupils to be self-directed while learning how to read effectively.
Moo-O is also used during lessons in school, where pupils voice the characters in a book and record themselves to create an audio book.
During English language lessons, pupils are exposed to books of different genres. They can also access a variety of newspapers, online reading materials and recommended titles specially curated in the school’s library collection.
Upper primary English teachers, such as Ms Steffi Sng Jie Ling, help pupils bring storybooks to life by having them perform short scenes from the books that they are reading.
The Primary 3 pupils, for example, just completed a showcase where they re-enacted parts of the book, Fantastic Mr Fox.
“When they dramatise the books, they get into character. It (gives them) a perspective about where this character is coming from, and the opportunity to express themselves creatively about how this particular character that they are playing would feel,” she said.
“So it immerses them into the book itself. Then, they will be more interested in reading and finding out more about a character.”
The school also collaborated with parents to form The Reading Mums Programme, to conduct reading activities both in school and at home for pupils who require greater support in reading.
Reflecting on Singapore’s performance in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2021, Ms Liew Wei Li, director-general of education at the Ministry of Education, said that reading literacy is the foundation for learning, and one of the most important skills that pupils acquire in primary school.
“Building a strong culture of reading takes a whole-of-society effort,” she said.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Primary 4 pupils in Singapore had emerged as the top readers in the international test.
Results of PIRLS showed that pupils here were strong in both foundational and higher-order reading skills compared with their international peers.
