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

2. 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 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

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. It’s all about the journey

6. 2017 – 18 Book Choice

7. 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.

8. ‘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

9. 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?

10. 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

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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. Website readinggladiators.org.uk
Teachers registered to the website by the 24th July
We will be requesting s 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. Contact information
Please get in touch if you have any questions and we will be happy to help.
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