How to open the door to a world of reading for enjoyment in Scotland
A recent case study shows that Pearson’s Bug Club reading programme helps increase reading enjoyment in children.
We’re in the midst of a technology addiction epidemic. Everywhere you look, there are televisions, phones, and tablets. Children are growing up in a world where television, YouTube, Netflix, and online video is more popular than ever before - and is only getting more popular.
Which begs the question: what about reading? What’s going to happen to books? To children sitting on the sofa, throwing themselves into a world of imagination, interest and intrigue? It’s a problem for parents and teachers everywhere.
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It isn’t going away anytime soon. So why fight it? Bug Club embraces technology and uses it to encourage children to read super stories using tools they already love to engage with.
We recently spoke to headteacher Christine Boyle, of St Bernadette’s Primary School in North Lanarkshire, who said that adopting Bug Club at her school helped her children to enter a world of reading and enjoyment.
A world you can enjoy anywhere
Christine was impressed by the fact Bug Club could be accessed anywhere. and was easy to implement. Rolled out across all year groups at her school, Christine used both printed and online versions of Bug Club. This helped the school to decide the best method of independent reading, and adapt the programme to suit her class’ individual needs.
And while there was one parent concerned about their child reading on a tablet, they soon discovered that their child was much more engaged in the stories they were reading, and noticed their child quickly made reading progress.
“Children who wouldn’t necessarily be taken to a library, have then got the online library. That’s a great benefit across the board.”
Children from low-income families also benefited from the online reading world, many of whom didn’t have access to printed books for reading for pleasure. Christine told us that “children who wouldn’t necessarily be taken to a library, have then got the online library. That’s a great benefit across the board.”
An online world full of brilliant books
And it’s not just in Christine’s school that children love Bug Club - a recent independent study* showed that children from all backgrounds and attainment levels enjoy using Bug Club’s books and eBooks, with the variety of genres and characters just one reason little learners loved reading.
Each child can read stories about Sarah and Duck, or go on an adventure with The Doctor in Doctor Who books, and many more well-known characters.
So if you’re looking for a solution to your reading needs that helps children progress in reading while enjoying themselves and using tools they’re already comfortable with, try Bug Club.