Abstract:

PISA 2018 Reading Results show that 37.7% of students in Serbia, after primary school, are functionally illiterate according to their reading performance (some of the primary schools in Jagodina were included in the testing). There is a total of 5,360 preschoolers and primary school children in the municipality according to the latest statistics. Children have problems with reading comprehension. Teachers point out that children become less interested in the school reading curriculum; lose main idea of a story; focus on irrelevant information when trying to relate a book to something in their life; cannot tell logical sequence of events, etc. The library team started a programme “I have the right to read” for preschool and primary school children (6-12 year olds) during winter break 2022 because its mission was to meet the needs of the community members in a non-formal learning environment.

The main objective is to develop and foster reading comprehension skills of pre and primary school children. Specific objectives are: to improve imagination and creativity, develop empathy, gain deeper understanding of the world around them, build stronger friendships, encourage cognitive development through comprehensive reading. Some of the programme workshops are: TV commercials; Our theater; You are me and I am you; Draw to flow; Battle of the Brains; I spy with my little eye. As the workshops go, children improve their social skills, independence, interaction and self-esteem. They explore their feelings and how to express themselves. The library is a neutral territory, therefore children are not evaluated like in school and do no not get grades. They do not compete just participate equally in the play.

The programme activities take place in the library. More than 700 children (preschoolers and 1st to 6th graders from primary schools) have participated in the programme up to date. In September 2022 the visits to the Children’s department increased by 17% compared to the September 2021. The number of children attending the workshops increased by 32%. The circulation of books for compulsory school classes increased by 15%. The collective membership increased by 2.5%.

The qualitative survey with open-end questions conducted in September 2022 included 150 randomly selected children who attend the programme and it shows the following: Children like the fact that they can play in the library during school and that they can make their own predictions and opinions about a book. They like pretending being characters from books and working on their own scenarios. They like the freedom to read and play and not getting evaluated by teachers even though they are present. The teachers whose classes participate in the programme say that students are excited about the workshops at the Library and get interested in school reading curriculum by participating more in discussions and that has a positive effect on their test-taking ability. The benefit of the programme is that it is sustainable and can be modified in accordance with the needs of children and does not require a high budget. Also, reading comprehension skills they gain are not only vital for language and literature classes, but also for other school subjects.

Keywords:

Children, reading, reading comprehension, skills, public library.