The Toolbox Project explained
For five years now, CBN has been writing, creating, discussing (and testing with upper primary schoolchildren) a different way to encourage reading.
Our toolboxes are not a ‘reading scheme’ with graded readers. Neither are they library boxes with carefully chosen books in them. They are something different, something new. They have been developed for children who can read (having completed the early learning phase of their education). Children who are between ten and twelve years of aga. Children who can technically read. But who don’t read.
The Toolboxes include hundreds of specially written texts and stories as well as a guide to training for better reading, and a linked writing course that adds understanding to reading and to thinking about ways we communicate.
The CBN material links to books supplied with the reading toolbox. As these can vary with availability from suppliers, the texts are theme driven rather than being closely linked with a specific book. Fifty books are suppied with the toolboxes, including key titles and a collection of themed books to read individually.
Above all, the project aims to encourage imagination and creativity through reading. Scoring higher results in a reading test is not the goal. That is incidental to the process of making reading important to children. Reading is, a skill that beings enrichment, knowledge and comfort to anyone who has learned to read with ease. That is our goal.
The three toolboxes:
RED Books and stories (Aimed at readers around ten years-old)
This toolbox is complete and is in final editing stages. It introduces story – and ways of telling stories – and draws children into activities and thoughtful and imaginative activities.
GREEN Environment (Aimed at readers around eleven years-old)
The reading in this toolbox is driven by the same principles, but with a focus on our world and our environment.
BLUE Time and Landscape (For readers of around twelve years-old) A priority now!
The reading excitement is increased as the texts and ideas get to grips with challenging concepts ad take the imagination to the ends of the earth and the beginning of time.
We hope to have all three toolboxes fully developed and trialed by the end of 2022. Currently the material is being assessed by reading experts and we will be reacting to their input before publishing.
