Our first interaction with written words occurs when we are told stories at home. From that moment on, and especially at school, we acquire and perfect the ability to read. A learning that we perfect throughout our lives.

At school, starting from primary school, reading is directly present in all subjects. In all subjects it is necessary to read and to promote reading comprehension . For this reason, all teachers are, in a certain way, language teachers.

There are many strategies to encourage the habit of reading: the literary passport, the traveling suitcase, book trailers , storytellers… There are even story dances and crafts designed to encourage reading.

My proposal to encourage reading LEE (Reading with Enthusiasm Educates) is a teaching tool that can be applied to any subject and course. It is inspired by various methods of reading promotion that, when combined, allow teachers to observe the progress of students and evaluate the results, as well as bringing students closer to the school and classroom libraries.

Reading time in the classroom

The LEE reading promotion plan is structured into sessions divided into brief, independent sections that encourage its application from just one hour a week –- or even less –- up to a total of five hours a week.

Students are divided into homogeneous groups according to their reading, comprehension and writing skills. Each team works with a story, one copy for each member, graded according to the age and characteristics of the group. Classroom, centre and municipal libraries can help to provide a sufficient number of stories.

This way of working establishes five phases or steps in which different linguistic skills are worked on, both in groups and individually. Once the process is automated, it can be carried out autonomously in any circumstance, with any text.

From individual reading to the assembly

The first step focuses on individual reading . While reading quietly, students write down vocabulary or expressions that they do not understand and that hinder comprehension, as well as the hypotheses they draw from what they read.

This leads to the second step, where they begin to work on oral communication and active listening, sharing the doubts noted . Together they try to elucidate the meaning of the words they have not understood and the general meaning of the text.

One step up, it’s time to read again, but this time out loud. A shared reading , to work on expression and intonation. Each student reads a part of the extract from the selected book while the others listen.

The fourth step consists of transferring a summary or drawing of what has been read to an individual journal (depending on the course and level). It also includes reading comprehension activities such as marking three important events that occurred during the reading. This works on the ability to synthesize and remember.

The fifth and final step is to share what has been learned in a class assembly . The representative of each team comments on an event that has happened to them during the various activities carried out throughout the process, such as how they have resolved the questions raised, or the part of the story that they liked the most.

The teacher marks the time that the students spend on each step. He divides his time between the different groups to observe how they are working and asking questions to see if they have understood the story and how they resolve the difficulties.

In short, it is about helping teachers introduce reading in a dynamic, formative and comprehensive way, and helping students discover literature and their own tastes.

Author Bio: Maria Pilar Serrano Sanchez is a Lecturer in Education degrees and research staff at the Universidad San Jorge