Special class to 'inspire' reading culture

Special Class

Up to this point, although the new school year 2024 - 2025 has been 3 weeks, Hoang Thuy Anh (class 4D, Hung Binh Primary School, Vinh City) is still extremely excited to talk about the class "Reading, writing, presenting, introducing, and storytelling skills based on books" that she participated in last summer. There, in the meeting room, the children sat around, on the table were many different types of books, from comics to novels, from history to literature, by Vietnamese and foreign authors... Next to the teachers' guidance position, there was a podium to help the children feel more solemn and comprehensive when presenting.

“It is called a class but it is not exactly like a class, there are many ages in the same class, the curriculum is good books. After the teachers' instructions, we stand on a high platform, wear microphones in our ears to speak, and the teachers correct and give comments on every little thing, from the content to the posture and expression. Just beingread a book"I just received books and feel like an adult, so every day I go to school I am very happy" - Thuy Anh said.

Since joining the class, this little girl has developed a new hobby: buying books. Thuy Anh has been planning to build her own bookshelf and is still in the process of saving money to collect her favorite books. This change of Thuy Anh has surprised her parents.

At the end of the class, the children can go to the free reading area, engrossed in colorful books in a cool, clean space; or gather in the playground on the left side of the library. The older children also take the opportunity to read to each other to correct mistakes together.

Sharing the same feeling with Thuy Anh, after the course, many children also had more interests related to reading. “Thank you teachers for your dedication in organizing a useful and interesting program for the children during the summer. Since the first days of participating in the program, the children have really changed their attitudes towards reading, actively looking for good books, and enjoying retelling stories. Seeing the program content and listening to the children's sharing, I was determined to let my children participate to the end. Even though their house is far away, they did not miss any class. This is a "success" of this summer for them. If the program is still organized next summer, they will definitely continue to participate" - a parent sent a message in the class group.

This special class took place in 10 sessions with a "voluntary" tuition fee, but it truly became a beautiful and meaningful memory for more than 40 children last summer. For many of them, this was the first opportunity to stand in front of a crowd to express their feelings and thoughts. Most of all, the children were inspired to read, to find interesting things in each book and to learn how to share them with everyone.

Teachers who do not stand on the podium

What can maintain the regularity and fullness of a voluntary class with “optional” tuition? It is the interesting and practical content of the class.

From the beginning, when the idea of ​​opening a class on "Reading, writing, presenting, and storytelling skills based on books" was born with the unit's operating budget, Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang - Director of Nghe An Provincial Library determined: "The biggest goal is to train and discover factors for the reading movement in general and the Reading Culture Ambassador contest in particular". That is also the reason why more than 40 students were divided into 2 classes and the program lasted up to 10 sessions, with enough quality and time to form passion and interest for the students.

As one of the three staff members taking on the role of class teacher, Nguyen Ha Phuong shared: “Those assigned this task have been real teachers for a while, having to stay up all night to prepare lesson plans, write, correct lessons, learn how to make slides, practice speaking fluently, read more children's books, search for more materials... I have the advantage of graduating with a degree in pedagogy and love and passion for working with children, so teaching the class is not too difficult. The biggest pressure probably comes from creating interest and connection for a group of children of many ages (from 7 to 15 years old) in all four skills of reading, writing, presenting, and storytelling. The difference in levels between groups of children requires the teacher to be flexible in building lesson plans, psychological in guiding, creating interest for the children, ensuring that every child gets to present and be carefully commented on. Fortunately, all the lessons have done this, creating an atmosphere of concentration, respect, and important, connecting for all students. My motivation and joy is when I see the children progress after each lesson, listening attentively and speaking enthusiastically."

With limited funds, to create the best conditions for the class, the librarians also prepared drinks, candy, turned on the air conditioner throughout the class, and gave priority to the meeting room for the children. Even to ensure the height of the presentation podium, the librarians carefully bought and placed an extra car tire underneath so that the children could stand higher.

Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang added: “Along with the requirements of innovation, librarians must also make great efforts to improve, from planning skills, work management to soft skills of communication, guidance... With jobs that are "inspiring" like this, if you are not passionate, responsible, if you do it superficially and perfunctorily, you cannot succeed. It was not until we finished organizing the last class, giving certificates to all the students who had registered from the beginning without "dropping" any students after 10 sessions, that we could truly breathe a sigh of relief: Finally, we did it."

In addition to the values ​​that the class "Reading, writing, presenting, introducing, and storytelling skills based on books" brings, in recent years, Nghe An Provincial Library has also made many innovations to get closer to readers and children. Typically, such activities include coordinating with schools to organize extracurricular activities at the library, organizing festivals related to book events, opening and renewing reading and learning spaces... Along with the efforts of the library staff, the local government has also been very enthusiastic about this content. It is known that Nghe An is a leading locality in issuing development plans.reading culturein the community for the period 2021-2025, oriented to 2030.

From the above concerns and innovations, over the past 5 years, Nghe An has continuously ranked first in the country in terms of achievements at the Reading Culture Ambassador Award. After the success of the class "Reading, writing, presenting, introducing, and storytelling skills based on books", we have the right to believe that reading books is always an extremely attractive source of knowledge for children, regardless of the era, if we know how to inspire and spread it.