Gearing up for the 100-day reading challenge

Many primary schools are putting in extra effort to meet the objectives of the 100-day reading challenge initiated by the School Education Department

Chennai Urdu Girls Primary School at Thousand Lights has tweaked its school timings to facilitate a reading programme for children from Classes III to V. The last bell that would usually ring at 1 p.m. would now ring later — two hours later. In these two additional hours, children would be taught to identify words, read sentences and pick their favourite stories from newspapers.

At Chennai Primary School in Vannia Teynampet, the headmistress has allotted each day of the week for a visit to a particular class where children get to showcase their reading abilities. “Monday is assigned for Class III, Wednesday for Class IV and Thursday for one section of Class V,” says HM Kasthuri U.

In an effort to inculcate the reading habit in them, children are encouraged to read story books and newspapers (of course, in addition to class textbooks).

“We have set aside a timetable for each of these activities,” says Kasthuri.

With the School Education Department having asked its primary schools to engage its students for a 100-day reading challenge, many institutions are taking diligent steps towards fostering the reading habit.

This exercise however is not easy. “We have 150 students who are being specially groomed for this purpose but the environment around them is such that they do not get to read books. Most of the parents are daily wage labourers and do not place much emphasis on reading,” says Kasthuri. Her school has completed 30 days of the reading classes so far and hope to finish the challenge by July 27, the summer vacations causing a break in this activity.

“Unless children get some support from home, they will forget most of what they learnt in school, especially if the language is new to them,” she says. During the pandemic, lessons were were sent via the mobile; but Kasthuri says the same strategy cannot be followed as parents think children are already spending considerable time on the phone. Another teacher from a school in Thiruvalluvar Salai says a one-size approach does not work in a class, so they have to have tailor-made activities.