The document discusses creating a reading culture in schools. It emphasizes that children learn about literature from the adults around them and that readers are made by readers. It outlines several factors for successfully creating a reading culture, including having a large collection of reading materials, knowledgeable staff, adequate access to materials, modeling positive attitudes towards reading, and creating a welcoming environment. It also provides examples of how this looks in practice, such as book clubs, book week celebrations, book reviews, and creating audio and visual responses to texts.

1. The Age PRC Literacy Workshop:
Creating a Reading Culture
Dr Susan La Marca
Head of Library & Information Services
Genazzano FCJ College

2. Children learn about literature from
what the adults around them do
about it.
(Zahnleiter, 1985, p. 187
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3. THE ENABLING ADULT
Readers are made by readers.
Chambers, 1991, p. 87
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4. Reading is not a duty, and has
consequently no business to be
made disagreeable.
Augustine Birrell
Genazzano FCJ College

5. There is a great deal of evidence
showing that children with more
access to books read more.
Krashen, 2002, p 2
Genazzano FCJ College

6. Choice
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7. Creating a Reading Culture
To be successful there should be:
–a large, varied collection of reading materials
–knowledgeable library and teaching staff who know both the
collection and the students with whom the work
–adequate access to reading materials both during structured
reading programs and out of school hours
– varied forms of reading materials in an array of reading ability
levels
Genazzano FCJ College

8. Creating a Reading Culture
To be successful there should be:
–modeling by staff of positive attitudes towards reading and their
students as readers
–whole school support for reading as a necessary part of life
–an encouraging, welcoming physical environment
–a sense of ownership by the students of their own reading
development and their reading environment
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9. THE ENABLING ADULT
They provide books and time to read them and
an attractive environment where people want to
read. They stimulate a desire to become a
thoughtful reader. They demonstrate by
reading aloud and their own behaviour what a
‘good’ reader does. And they respond, and help
others respond, to the individuality of everyone
in the reading community they belong to.
Chambers, A. (1991) The Reading Environment, p. 92.
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10. What does this look like in practice?
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11. LISTS
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12. Outward facing covers
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13. Senior Fiction Collection
‘Readers are made by
Readers’
Genazzano FCJ College

14. Book Club
IASL bookmark project
Book week celebrations
SLAV Reader’s Cup
Reviewing
Favorites Lists
Book Selection
LITFEST – Song
Literary Afternoon Teas
Story reading in Junior School
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15. Blog – Communication / Competitions
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16. SHOWBAGS
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17. Responses to Text:
Audio files
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18. Responses to Text:
Photostory
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