subjects > english
Page 4
YEAR 9 students discovered the defini-
tion of the word ‘hero’ when they were
visited by two firefighters.
Andy Gould and Brian Cappello came
from the Community Safety Preven-
tion department based at Torquay Fire
Station to discuss the concept of heroes
with 10 Year 9 students.
The students have been studying
heroes as part of their Research Project
in English and have been using various
sources to gain their information.
Teacher Mrs Groves said:
To help our stu-
dents engage with the theme of ‘heroes’
I thought it would be great for them to
be able to interview some people who
our society consider heroic. Andy and
Brian interacted incredibly well with the
students and everyone got a lot out of
their time with us
.
Andy said:
Brian and I were really im-
pressed with the students. They really
engaged which always makes our job a
lot easier!
He said they would be happy
to visit the school again at any time.
Amy Andrew, one of the students from
the group, said:
It was really interesting
having the firefighters to talk to us as it
made the subject of heroes much more
realistic. Everyone has remembered the
visit and the things that the firefighters
said, which would have been more diffi-
cult if we had just read about them
.
Three year 7 girls: Jasmine Gale,
Ebony Viney and Holly Fletcher, took
part in a PGCE research project this
term about overcoming their fear of
reading aloud. The proposal? That
reading out loud to a dog might inject
some canine fun into what is an in-
timidating part of English lessons
for many students. With the help of
Ozzie, a nine-year-old black Labrador,
they took part in after-school reading
sessions, curling up in the corner of
the library with Ozzie and reading
him a book they chose.
The Read2Dogs scheme is based
on research by the PetsAs Therapy
movement, which has proved that the
presence of a dog can dramatically
lower blood pressure and improve
stress levels. The thought that a dog
will listen without judgment or dis-
traction is a comforting one for many
children, and the impact of reading
dogs in schools has been consistently
positive. Whilst fairly new to the UK,
the Read2Dogs scheme is widely in
place in schools across America and
has proved overwhelmingly success-
ful, both in improving reading ability
and developing confidence and
behaviour.
Although our time was limited, the
girls developed a lovely bond with
Ozzie,, and both they, and he, quickly
relaxed into the reading. After just
three sessions, the girls’ confidence
had noticeably improved and they
were reading aloud to each other,
something they had been very re-
luctant to do at the beginning of the
week. With such positive feedback
from the girls, I hope that the effect
of their time with Ozzie will be lasting!
I would also like to say a big thank
you to all three of them for their open
mindedness, time and co-operation.
If anyone (staff or students) feel that
the Read2Dogs scheme is something
that they would like to get involved in,
please get in touch with Carrie Groves.
Vicki Barsby
The Read2Dogs Scheme on trial in year 7
