News release

Schools Get Resources for Active Young Readers Program

Education (July 1999 - March 2013)

?EDUCATION -Schools Get Resources for Active Young Readers Program


Elementary schools participating in the Active Young Readers literacy initiative are being provided with additional reading resources this month.

Some 320 schools across the province will each be receiving the Atlantic Canada Reading Assessment Resource, comprising 80 books and a teacher's guide. This resource is designed to be used by teachers to identify individual children's needs, their strengths and what instruction they need to keep improving.

Education Minister Jane Purves launched the Active Young Readers initiative last September to give 42,000 Nova Scotia elementary school students a better start in reading. The program is intended for students from primary to Grade 3.

"Promoting literacy and lifelong learning are government's highest priorities," the minister said. "We know the early years are critical in building a strong foundation. This program helps provides young Nova Scotians with the skills they need to excel in the future."

The $1.5 million program provides textbooks and related materials, professional-development workshops for teachers centred on active reading, and additional resources for the Reading Recovery Program, which is geared toward students who are slow to start reading in Grade 1.

Active Young Readers is part of Nova Scotia's comprehensive approach to developing literacy at all levels -- in the early years through the public school system and later through adult programs such as workplace literacy, Adult Basic Education and community-based literacy programs.

Halifax Regional School Board teachers and administrators for primary to Grade 3 are attending a workshop today on reading instruction and assessment. Ms. Purves is planning to attend the morning session at Duc d'Anville Elementary School in Clayton Park.