EU Read

Reading starter - three milestones for reading

The Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and the Stiftung introduced the programme ‘Reading starter - three milestones for reading’ in December 2010. “The ability to be able to read and write is the basis for good educational chances, emphasized the Federal Minister for Education, Annette Schavan. And the minister added, ‘Reading educates. Reading helps children to understand the world better’.

‘With ‘Reading starter - three milestones for reading’, we are specifically increasing educational chances on a long-term basis. The programme accompanies children and parents in the decisive early years until they enter school.’

On three different occasions, the children are given a book as a gift and the parents tips for reading aloud, how they can promote reading and what offers are available to them locally.

Reading Starter 1 is designed for the one-year-old child and his or her parents. At this point in time the parents are made aware of how important books and reading aloud are for the child’s development. In the course of the compulsory sixth preventive medical examination for children (‘U6’) the children’s doctor carrying out the examination issues them with a free reading starter set. This encompasses a book, reading tips for parents in several languages and tips regarding assistance and initiatives to be found locally.

Reading starter 2 is designed for children of the age of three years and their parents. As in the previous case, parents and children receive a reading starter set, this time, at their local library which works in close conjunction with the day care centres. In this way, children and their parents get to know a central location for reading and reading aloud.

Reading starter 3 is designed for children and their parents at the time they enter school. The third reading starter set is handed out by the school and contributes towards motivating the children to read themselves and to make the parents aware that the children are especially dependent upon their support in this key phase of their education.

The programme is set to run for eight years. The initial distribution of reading starter sets for families with one-year-old children begins in the autumn of 2011. It is being financed with a total of 26 million Euros by the BMBF and managed by the Stiftung Lesen as national platform for reading promotion in Germany. The concept has already proven its worth in several countries. Pilot projects in Germany have also proved successful.  It is designed initially to reach parents and children in socially deprived circumstances, and, at school entering age, all children.

This project is run by Stiftung Lesen (Germany)

http://www.lesestart.de