Reading Gladiators 2017-18 Year 6 Challenge Readinggladiators.co.uk gladiators@justimaginestorycentre.co.uk @RGladiators Nikki Gamble

I’ve booked Reading Gladiators – what next? 18 July – introductory webinar links sent to registered schools End of July lead teachers enrolled on RG website – please let us know if additional group leaders need registering. We will need names and email addresses to enrol them End of July discussion guide available online Beginning of Autumn term delivery of Reading Gladiators books, hard copies of discussion guide, Gladiator badges This webinar outlines the Year 6 challenge for 2017 - 18

In a nutshell… Reading Gladiators is an annual reading challenge which is designed to develop adventurous reading choices and sustained reading for pleasure, purpose and understanding. The year 6 final challenge is a post- SATs enterprise project, which the Gladiators develop, with the aim of leaving a reading legacy for their school.

Reading Gladiators book choice 8 books chosen to take the children on a reading journey from the beginning to the end of year Start with most accessible texts and work towards a more reflective read. Focus on high quality writing and authors that are not the ‘usual suspects’ Emphasis on recently published books but with some familiarity Year 6 includes a classic book choice.

It’s all about the journey

2017 – 18 Book Choice

Opportunities for Comparison The books in this selection provide opportunities for comparison. For instance, power, children and war in The Children of the King and Pax. The power of love in Pax and The Happy Prince.

‘I had a parent thanking me for getting her son to read books that he wouldn’t usually pick up. The children are reading more and are enjoying the discussion with their friends. A bit of positive peer pressure works wonders!’ Clare Matthews, Rayne Primary School

The Reading Gladiators Session The organisation of Reading Gladiators varies from school to school Lesson time or reading club? Length of session? Number of sessions a week? Who leads the session? What works for you?

Supporting Discussion Guide General guidance Focus on high quality dialogue and discussion Sustained reading between sessions Organising and managing the group Generic ideas for initiating and deepening discussion Guides available online from the resources area of the website end of July Hard copies sent with books early September

Supporting Discussion Guide Book specific guidance Reading rate Introductory session Middle sessions Final session Further reading suggestions Mini-challenge outline

Key dates Key Dates Month Book Mini-challenge date Webinar September Children of the King 29th September 11th September – developing vocabulary October The Thing About Jellyfish 31st October 10th October – Making thinking visible November Pax 24th November 7th November – grammar and reading December Line of Fire 15th December   January A Story Like the Wind 26th January - February Carol Ann Duffy – collected poems for children 23rd February 6th February – reading poetry March The Happy Prince and Other Stories 23rd March May/June/July (post SATS) Phoenix Creative project 6th July

Mini-challenges Monthly mini challenges Collaborative tasks designed to stimulate discussion and deepen understanding Prizes – usually books or author related prizes Optional – enter those that interest your Gladiators rather than feeling under pressure to enter every challenge Some of our schools provide opportunities for children to work on the challenges outside the regular Gladiator sessions Particularly keen groups have been known to request time to work on challenges during non-lesson time! Challenges are uploaded via the website – guidance will be sent at the beginning of September Larger files e.g. films can be submitted via WeTransfer

Webinars There are 4 webinars for teachers in the year 6 programme These are linked to different skills and aspects of development of the programme They are optional, Reading Gladiators can be effective without them but they provide an excellent CPD opportunity and will help you get the most from the programme Dates for the webinars are in your discussion guide

Teachers Online Book Group We are running a monthly book group where we will be talking about the Reading Gladiators books. The book group is ideal for teachers who want to share thoughts and ideas about forthcoming books The first book group session is at 4.00 on 6th September, when we will be talking about Children of the King You will be sent a link inviting you to join this session

Website readinggladiators.org.uk Teachers registered to the website by the 24th July We will be requesting emails for group leaders so they can be registered on the website Group leaders will be sent login information Additional resources mentioned in the guide are available when you login e.g. Powerpoints, activity cards, graphic organisers

Find Your School Select your school from the drop down menu Selecting your school will take you to your challenge groups You can post updates to your group And see what other schools in your challenge area are up to

Updates The website is our community of readers Post updates to show other schools and what you have been doing The Reading Gladiators team will respond to your posts You can also comment on posts from other schools The update app is quick and simple to use Take a photo and write a short description You can bookmark the app o a mobile phone for quick posting You can also post from a computer, if you prefer

Final Challenge The final challenge for year 6 takes place after SATS. The Gladiators will undertake a reading promotion project in their own schools This might involve setting up a Pop-up book shop, a library development project, a book swap, developing a reading project for a specific year group. Projects are submitted in July 2018 with a prize of £1000 worth of books for the school library for the winning entry Full details will be sent out at the beginning of the Spring Term

Contact information Please get in touch if you have any questions and we will be happy to help. gladiators@justimaginestorycentre.co.uk Reading Gladiators Team Nikki Gamble Programme Director and Year 6 Co-ordinator Vicky Edge-Baron Programme Manager Caroline Bradley Year 4 Co-ordinator Sam Keeley Year 2 Co-ordinator