ADEC to encourage Abu Dhabi schools on promoting reading

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: ADEC to encourage Abu Dhabi schools on promoting reading Schools are being encouraged to come up with fun reading activities as part of attempts to increase the interest in books among children. Over 369,000 public and private school students return to school today after a three week mid-break holiday. As part of the UAE embracing 2016 as the ‘Year of Reading’ to create a generation of book lovers, ADEC said they will be encouraging schools across the emirate to make reading fun. Children in the Arab world read for just six minutes per year compared with 12,000 minutes in Western countries, according to a report by the Arab Thought Foundation’s Arab Report for Cultural Development in 2012. Dr. Karima Al Mazroui, P-12 Curriculum Division Manager at ADEC said: “Students have been given exciting workbooks that allow them to practice new vocabulary and language structure while building their confidence in English as they enjoy reading for fun.” ADEC added in its campaign launch statement: “As a result of a successful year of innovation in 2015, ADEC is eager to carry on its mission to graduate a competent generation of scientists, researchers and innovators who will help fructify the future for the Emirate – which can only happen through strengthening a passion for reading, learning and knowledge seeking.” With the intention of turning reading into a daily habit as part of a young pupil’s everyday routine, ADEC said it is continuing to add diverse books and genres to its existing Learning Resource Centres across public schools. In 2013, ADEC distributed new English and Science Reading schemes to over 55,000 Kindergarten to Grade 5 children across public schools as part of efforts to develop their English competency and proficiency and practice new vocabulary, language structure as well as develop their interactive and practical skills. The new English Reading Scheme Reading Time consists of a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts with a breadth of reading genres designed to create a culture of reading amongst students and engage them in well-developed informative and meaningful but “fun loving and interesting stories and texts”. ismail@7days.ae   Read the original story at: ADEC to encourage Abu Dhabi schools on promoting reading