Children ‘miss out on books’
MORE than half a million children will read just one book from cover to cover during an entire year at school, a survey revealed yesterday.
The result is that pupils are failing to develop a love of reading and are missing out on wonderful stories, it was claimed.
Growing numbers of teachers admit to reading only “bite-size” extracts of a book in class and not the full story, meaning children don’t enjoy the full glory of classics like The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Treasure Island and Good Night Mr Tom.
The study of 516 primary teachers, commissioned by publishers Heinemann, found one in eight teachers has never read a whole book in class.
Former children’s poetry Laureate Michael Rosen said: “The idea that children can’t manage whole stories is a nonsense.
“Just reading extracts denies children the meaning of the story.”