What we've read so far this year....
At Sedgehill Academy reading is one of our most important activities and beginning the day with ‘Read Aloud’ in our tutor groups for Years 7-10 is a key part of helping all students experience the joy of reading. Tutors read aloud to the class while all the students follow along in their own copies of the text using their reading rulers. These rulers have been proven to help students of all reading abilities track the text and are an important part of our reading routine. If your child has misplaced their ruler they are available to purchase on ParentPay.
Most tutor groups are well into their second novel since September, with Year 7 finishing reading Benjamin Zephaniah’s ‘Refugee Boy’ and Year 8 ‘The Garbage King’ by Elizabeth Laird and Year 9 finishing ‘Noughts and Crosses’ by Malorie Blackman OBE. Each of these books deals with important issues of identity and belonging, with Noughts and Crosses exploring issues of racism and prejudice. Please do ask your child to tell you about their experience of reading these books.
Students have said “Reading together is a nice way to start the day, especially before lessons” and described the programme as “a unique way to gain more knowledge”. 8SVA have enjoyed their second book so much that they have already finished ‘My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece’ by Annabel Pitcher, reading all 224 pages since the return to school in January. One student commented that this book was “really funny, and interesting to read, and led to some deep conversations about racism. The books put us in someone else’s position and make us feel what someone else is feeling.”
Year 7 are now reading ‘Chinese Cinderella’ by Adeline Yen Mah, a memoir of growing up in China in the 1940s, and Year 9 have begun ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak in which the story set in Germany in 1930s and 40s is narrated by Death; an interesting and challenging read.
Read more about why we read aloud here...