Monday 11 September 2017

CHRISTINA: READ AND SHARE

Greek school teacher Christina Kasinti knows her pupils love reading... here she tells us about the brilliant 'Read and Share' eTwinning project they all took part in!

Christina says:
I am a teacher in the Third Junior High School in Corinth, Greece, and my students are great admirers of Cathy Cassidy and familiar with her books, especially Indigo Blue as a number of interesting exercises linked to this book are a part of First Grade in a Greek Junior High School. This year, we decided to get involved with a European eTwinning project called 'Read and Share', in which we worked with students from eight other countries across Europe. The aim was to create a love of reading in the students through various activities!

The project is cleverly woven around seven 'adventures' - these ranged from making and exchanging bookmarks, running a photographic contest for the best spontaneous photo of somebody reading, looking at unique and inspiring libraries and meeting an author. The project blossomed, and students from across Europe were able to exchange opinions on book issues and adopt ideas other schools had thought up, while adding in our own creative touch. At first, our team studied haiku poems and created their own haikus which were displayed in a 'poet-tree' - a pot of giant sunflowers at school. The Portuguese team were inspired to write their own haikus too, and their 'poet-tree' was a chestnut tree which they planted in the school yard!

The Polish team came up with the idea of reading picnics, and the Portuguese team adopted this too. The Spanish team took it a stage further and invented a special portable library, a travelling basket full of books to carry along! This was just a small taste of what we did - we shared so many experiences and feelings! We took a fairy tale trip to faraway China and celebrated Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Safer Internet Day at the library, as well as searching for the recipe for a good book, creating online games, painting legends and fairy tales and even creating jewellery, flowers and animals from old books! We staged a theatrical performance, set up a reading Flash Mob, a scavenger hunt and wrote a message in a bottle to future eTwinners!

One of the main outcomes of the project was the making of an eBook with a fairy tale structure which presents our adventures in story form. When we reached the end of the book, we realised that there is no end to our story - reading never ends, and for those of us who took part in the 'Read and Share' project, the adventures are only just beginning!

Cathy says:
Wow... this reading project sounds so, so awesome! I loved the eBook Christina's students made and the enthusiasm and passion for reading that the project awakened in those who took part. I wish all schools could do something like this! Have YOU ever taken part in an exciting book-linked project? COMMENT BELOW to tell us more! And BIG CONGRATULATIONS to the fab students of Third Junior High School of Corinth... you're just amazing!

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for presenting READ AND SHARE eTwinning project in such a unique way on your wonderful blog and for your great comments on it!It is such an an honour to have met you!We do hope that you will continue to inspire young people with your lovely books!

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