Bike & Literacy Club Commissions Intensive Reading Program

The Intensive Reading Program that was commissioned for students in the Bike and Literacy Club, with funds provided by the school's parent supported Literacy and Numeracy Fund, was trialled for the first time today.

Students responded enthusiastically to Unit One (Types of Bikes), and early indications are their literacy skills may be enhanced by the time they complete the six units in the program.

The booklet is based on the acclaimed Heather Harvey Intensive Reading Programs but has been adapted to the bicycle theme.

It was written by a former Senior Teacher of English at Mount Lawley, Wayne Lamotte, who has written other English texts that are used in schools in Western Australia.

The program is based on the belief that every student wishes to be able to read more effectively, and given the right conditions, the majority of them can make enormous gains.

According to Heather Harvey,

"Fundamental to the 'right conditions' is a reading program which fills the gaps in their word attack skills and significantly enlarges their sight vocabulary. Only then, can the student concentrate unhindered on the real task of reading i.e. to extract meaning from print."

Of course, as Harvey observes, the program needs to be relevant to the student's needs.

Hence our program is based on bikes, radically different in content and style to that which they have experienced previously.

It is within this philosophical framework that our program has been designed by Wayne Lamotte.

We thank him for the excellent booklet he has produced for us.

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