Reading Week 2016

Every year, Darla School observes Reading Week, and this year too, the Reading Week commenced from 12th to 17th September. The school organized a week-long series of activities to enhance reading and to help students understand its importance and the infinite benefits it facilitates in their academic growth as students and as better human beings in their individual and social lives. The theme of this year's Reading Week was "Dream Big, Read More."

During the week, special reading activities such as Readers' Theatre, Selected Reading, Random Reading, Mass Reading, etc., were initiated to provide opportunities for more students to participate in reading activities and thereby develop and inculcate an interest in reading. Some activities carried out as part of the Reading Week are described below:

Readers' Theatre
Readers' Theatre was conducted as a competition between the sections of grades PP–III. It was interesting to see the tiny tots of our school presenting themselves as little narrators and various fanciful characters in creative costumes and attire—as kings, queens, butterflies, birds, etc. Their babbling speeches and sing-song narrations created an effective ambiance and were appreciated by everyone. The presentations were evaluated based on creativity and coordination, and prizes were awarded accordingly.

Random Reading
This activity was conducted for students of classes VII–X to test their ability to read Dzongkha and English fluently, as well as their preparedness and confidence to speak before an audience. They were instructed beforehand to be ready with two passages (one in English and one in Dzongkha) and to read them out as the coordinator of the day randomly called their roll numbers in the assembly. The activity went as planned and achieved the desired results.

Selected Reading
This activity was for students of classes IV–VI. Some students identified by their teachers read out either pieces of news or interesting information they wanted to share with their fellow students in the assembly. This activity was also successful, though many students who came forward could not be permitted to present due to time constraints in the assembly.

Quiz
A mini-quiz of two questions related to books and reading was also conducted to evaluate students' awareness of popular books, writers, and some common literary terms. Prizes were awarded instantly to the winners.

Book Talk
As every Friday, two students presented reviews of an English and a Dzongkha book. These reviews help students become acquainted with interesting books in the library and arouse their curiosity to read them.

Mass Reading
To provide more time for general reading, an hour was created on Thursday by deducting five minutes from each period. After the instructional hours, all students and teachers came out to the open, settled in conducive places, and read books of their choice for an hour.

We are very happy to note that all the activities we envisaged went well, making this year's Reading Week a grand success. It is hoped that our plans for such activities in the future will also meet with the same grandeur and success. Below are some stills from the Reading Week.