CBSE Project To Get Kids To Read More

If you are a book lover, then imagine reading Harry Potter in school with your teacher’s blessings. If you are not an avid book reader, then the time is now to read books — from Panchatantra to Huckleberry Finn to Sherlock Holmes. For, the Central Board of Secondary Education plans to introduce a reading project for upper primary and secondary classes by recommending a series of books ranging from Mark Twain to contemporary writers like Sudha Murty.

The project allows schools either to choose the recommended books or suggest their own. The schools can vary the level but every child has to read at least one book per term.

The objective is to inculcate the reading habit among children. The board feels the project will lead to independent learning or reading skills. It’s not enough to offer children a good selection of reading texts, the board feels, as this will not ensure the child will read a passage and become a good reader. Children will be encouraged to read on science, technology and politics too.

Teachers can give students books of one genre which can be read by the whole class. The books under this project should not be taught in class but introduced through activities. “It should be left to students to read at their own pace. Teachers may, however, choose to assess a child’s progress in reading the book by asking for verbal or written progress reports, looking at the diary entries of students, engaging in a discussion about the book, giving a short quiz or a worksheet about the book/ short story,” the board said.