Combining sport and literacy
To get children interested in reading and writing, we must first tap into what they like, enjoy and are passionate about. To this end, the National Literacy Trust uses sport and major sporting events to motivate children and young people to improve their literacy skills.
Whether it’s freestyle football, rugby, athletics, basketball or cricket, bringing sport into the classroom often yields fantastic results when it comes to helping children develop an enjoyment of reading and writing.
Indeed, primary children who take part in the Premier League Reading Stars reading intervention, which we run in partnership with the Premier League, make 6 months’ reading progress in just 10 weeks, and a third of secondary students who take part in our Skills Academy freestyle football reading intervention make 11 months’ reading progress in a similar time frame.
When it comes to the tools children need to improve their literacy skills, sport is unique in the building blocks it can provide:
Motivation: lots of children get excited by sport, so bringing it into the classroom – no matter the subject you teach – can be a great way to get your pupils reading and writing