Reading godfather
Reading mentors are people who promote the reading skills of others, i.e. who promote reading .
As part of extracurricular projects, reading mentors go to schools , preschools , day-care centers , libraries or other reading locations for one or more hours . There, read it either before, read together with the kids or have it read by the students / children. If the sponsors themselves are pupils, they are called "reading scouts".
Depending on the goal, they either work with the same child or the same group of children over a longer period of time, as in a sponsorship , or they work openly with changing children.
The focus of reading promotion is on children of preschool and school age. But kindergarten children, toddlers and young adults can also be supported. Some groups also offer sponsorship for adults who want to acquire a higher level of reading skills, for example because they are not or only insufficiently capable of reading in German.
Reading mentors generally work on a voluntary basis and usually belong to a reading initiative .
Goals and backgrounds
The reading mentors want to awaken the joy of reading and increase the reading skills and literacy of children.
The ability to read and understand what is read is a fundamental and essential cultural technique of our world today. Reading is seen as a prerequisite for education and successful participation in professional life and social processes.
The idea of reading sponsorship arose from the observation that in many families little or no reading or reading is done. There is a fear that some children will remain alien to the world of reading and especially books . The USA played a pioneering role in the idea of reading sponsorship.
Exemplary target presentation of the reading initiative Lesewelt Berlin | Lesewelt Berlin eV:
“The aim of Lesewelt Berlin eV is to awaken the joy of reading in children by reading aloud. The ability to read is closely linked to the willingness to read. Therefore it is important to motivate the children to read. When adults look at books with children, not only does the curiosity about stories grow in the children, but they also enjoy the feeling of personal attention during this time. In this way it can be possible to give the girls and boys a nice experience with books.
But not only that. Reading aloud also supports patience, perseverance and concentration. These skills make it easier to learn to read in school and thus increase the chances of a successful school career.
And for children from non-German cultural and linguistic areas, the reading world reading hours are a carefree opportunity to improve their language skills. Reading aloud, telling stories and playing games together expand the vocabulary and encourage speaking. "
Reading initiatives
There are various associations and institutions that are committed to promoting reading and provide reading mentors. In some initiatives, finding sponsors is just one of several projects to promote reading or civic engagement .
In the aftermath of the Pisa study , in which reading and language proficiency was found to be inadequate in Germany, further reading initiatives were founded in Germany.
There is a selection of different reading initiatives in the Web Links section.
Some institutions, for example schools, have reading mentors who only work there and who do not belong to any other association.
Web links
- Lesewelt Berlin eV - One of the oldest reading initiatives in Germany, has existed since 2000.
- We read aloud - an initiative of the magazine Die Zeit and the Reading Foundation .
- Citizen Network Education - A project of the “Association of Berlin Merchants and Industrialists”, headed by Sybille Volkholz .
- Germany reads aloud - non-profit association and campaign under the patronage of Doris Schröder-Köpf .
- LesLust - A project by the Berlin Community Foundation .
- The reading club for reading sponsors - The reading club of the Reading Foundation offers everyone who wants to volunteer for the reading culture and competent media handling the opportunity to put their commitment into practice.
- Reading in Germany - An initiative by the federal and state governments to promote reading outside of school.
- Reading sponsors - The database active sponsorships of the Förderverein Patenschaften-Aktiv eV also contains contact details for local agencies for reading sponsors.
- Mentor-Leselernhelfer - Mentor - Die Leselernhelfer is an initiative by volunteers to promote reading and language skills of open-minded and needy children under 16 years of all school types with a focus on primary and secondary schools.
- Academy for Reading Promotion of the Reading Foundation - The State of Lower Saxony and the Reading Foundation support the promotion of reading skills and reading pleasure in children and young people through a project that is unique in Germany: the Reading Foundation Academy for Reading at the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library.
Footnotes
- ↑ Heinrich Kreibich, Bettina Mähler: Fun in reading, 2003, p. 151
- ↑ Lesewelt Berlin eV - A book with exciting pages! Retrieved April 17, 2013 .