‍What is Power of Reading

The Power of Reading is a literacy program in which learning evolves organically across the curriculum from themes and questions that arise as students read and discuss a different storybook each term. The Center for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) is a non-profit organization that has developed this curriculum over the last fifty years, seeking the most effective ways to teach children to read and write.

Each Power of Reading unit begins with a high-quality storybook that has been handpicked for our school. The teacher shares only a small portion of the book each day, giving students the time to ponder the significance of a picture, imagine how they would feel in a situation, and make inferences about what will happen next. 

As the interest and excitement around the story builds in the classroom, the teacher uses these themes and questions as a springboard to discover connections between the story and the larger world around us. In this way, the larger curriculum is made up of numerous building blocks that grow from a common foundation. While reading a story about the water cycle, a science activity might involve recreating the rain in the story through a demonstration of condensation. A story that takes place in Kenya will lead to a discussion on the geography of the region, and students may find a creative outlet by recreating its landscape in their art projects, as well as the incorporation of Swahili songs into the student’s daily routine.

Through this program, students at every level are encouraged to engage with their learning in ways that will help them become better readers, while making important connections across the curriculum and to real life. The Power of Reading program at Kingsworth begins with the youngest students in nursery and continues through grade five.

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Why does this matter

The Power of Reading by CLPE has reported that this method increases children’s desire and interest in reading, both inside and outside of school. Participating schools report higher reading and writing scores and better subject area knowledge outside of reading time.

Teachers at Kingsworth who have undergone specialized CLPE training report feeling more confident in the classroom. They appreciate the support provided by the program, and feel encouraged to find dynamic ways to incorporate the unit book into their lessons.

“ It is moving as a teacher to see children discussing books between themselves and at home with their parents. They cannot wait to hear the end of the story.” Mariale, Deputy Head of School

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Why are we writing about this now

A three-year study analyzing the impact of the CLPE curriculum in 30 schools in and around London was completed at the end of 2023 (Closing the Vocabulary Gap | Institute for Employment Studies (IES), n.d.).¹ The Power of Pictures in Early Years showed improvement among students compared to the control group.

Among the findings, teachers reported feeling more confident in discussing books and poetry with their pupils, and they reported that classes demonstrated more excitement about and engagement with reading. In addition, Initial findings suggest improvement in a child’s reading ability compared to the control group, despite setbacks to the implementation of the program, such as COVID 19 disruptions.

In 2019, the Education Endowment Foundation and the Institute for Education led a one year study to determine the efficacy of the Power of Reading and CLPE curriculum in 100 schools.² The following are a few of their findings, which were published in 2021

• Students had on average higher writing and creative thinking skills than those from within the control group.

• Visual elements engaged students who would traditionally have the most difficulty.

• Teachers reported higher levels of engagement among students, their fellow teachers, and the senior leadership team.

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How this impacts non native speakers

Since its implementation at Kingsworth, teachers have noticed increased engagement across the curriculum for both native and non-native speakers of English. This engagement fosters a higher level in their academic learning outcomes, and also helps to build self esteem and a sense of well being since every student can contribute to the lesson. Because we use a story to anchor learning in a variety of subjects, non-native speakers have the ability to follow the lesson closely as they link one lesson to the next. The beautiful illustrations in the picturebooks help non-native speakers better understand the content of the story and also provide a context for the rest of their lessons for that unit.

Implementation at Kingsworth

‘I heard from a student today that they had been thinking about the book all weekend, and they were imagining various scenarios and endings the book might take. When you hear that, you can’t help but feel inspired.’ Morgan Kuhr, Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten English teacher.

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The seamless implementation of the Power of Reading at Kingsworth has been possible thanks to our previous interdisciplinary curriculum that already encouraged children to engage with a topic across a variety of subjects. We are thrilled with the progress of our students, and the engagement seen in the classroom is unparalleled. There is no doubt that there will be a long partnership ahead for the Power of Learning and the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education at Kingsworth International School, and we are happy to represent them in the heart of the 16th arrondissement of Paris.

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Footnotes

1 Closing the Vocabulary Gap | Institute for Employment Studies (IES). (n.d.). Closing the Vocabulary Gap | Institute for Employment Studies (IES). https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/resource/closing-vocabulary-gap

2 Anders, J. et al. (2021) Power of Pictures. rep. Institute for Education. Available at: https://d2tic4wvo1iusb.cloudfront.net/production/documents/pages/projects/Power_of_Pictures_Evaluation_Report_Final.pdf?v=1710509005 (Accessed: March 2024). 

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Additional Resources

Cordingley, P., Higgins, S., Greany, T., Buckler, N., Coles-Jordan, D., Crisp, B., Saunders, L., and Coe, R. (2015) Developing Great Teaching: Lessons from the international reviews into effective professional development. Teacher Development Trust. 

Education Endowment Foundation (2023) Teaching and learning toolkit, Parental engagement. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/educationevidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/parental-engagement National Early Literacy Panel (2008) 

Developing Early Literacy: A Scientific Synthesis of Early Literacy Development and Implications for Intervention Siraj-Blatchford, I., Sylva, K., Muttock, S., Gilden, R., and Bell, D. (2002) The Effective Pedagogy in Early Years study, Department for Education, Research Report RR356.

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