“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader”

Reading is a fun and enriching activity. It promotes the development of language skills besides improving the cognitive and mental health of individuals. A person who reads regularly has a better command over the language, the grammar, and also an improved vocabulary.  

We at GIIS understand the importance of books and the positive impact it can bring in the lives of our students. That is why students are always engaged in activities that give them a chance to explore the world of books at their own pace and interests. 

To foster a lifelong love for reading, April was observed as the reading month for grade 1 students of GIIS Noida. Various activities were conducted throughout the month that helped in reinforcing the habit of reading among children.

To begin with, children were recommended to read two books named Panchatantra Stories and The Missing Tooth by Joanne Cole over the month. They participated in different activities that helped them in their communication and literacy skills. Let’s have a look at the different activities the children were engaged in: 

·         Reading Corner Activity - The students were asked to make a reading corner at a comfortable spot in their home along with a specific area designated to keep the books they wish to read on the spot. This helped the students in nourishing their creative and imaginative skills, and also inculcate a habit of learning.

·         Fun with words (Flashcard Activity) – flashcards are a versatile tool that help in the development of fine motor skills, complex thinking, and brain development skills of students. The students enjoyed reading the story ‘The Elephant and the Tailor’ from the book Panchatantra Stories along with the teacher. Children were asked to mark the words that were repeating in the story and make flashcards of those words along with the pictures for their benefit. This activity helped in improving their presence of mind and vocabulary as they got to learn some new words along with their meanings during the activity.

·         Short and Long Vowels Activity (Finger Puppets)- Reading permeates nearly every aspect of life inside and outside the classroom. By participating in the short and long vowel activity, children were able to learn and identify different vowel sounds and the difference between them. They made short and long vowel puppets with the help of paper which they later used to identify the short and long vowels during the story narration.

·         Book Mark Activity- Children were sensitized with the use and benefits of using a bookmark while reading a book. Each child got an opportunity to demonstrate their creative side of the personality as they decorated the bookmark. Through the activity, they were able to learn that a bookmark is used to put between the pages and mark a page for future reading. They understood that using a bookmark can help them in finding the page easily once they start reading the same book some other day again.

All these activities helped the young minds in exploring their love for various genres and simultaneously improve their reading, writing, and communication skills. By getting engaged in the activities organized across the month, the students got an opportunity to take a break from the routine of reading online, and for a while spend some time alone with their books and feel the joy of being lost in the world of stories, characters, and places.