READING PROGRAMME

"Drop Everything And Read"

JABATAN: JABATAN PENGAJIAN AM

Name of the Programme	Drop Everything & Read (D.E.A.R)
Date	January - March 2017 (Weekly)
Time	9.00am – 4.00pm
Venue	Library, Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan
Prepared by	Siti Noraini binti Hamzah

Drop Everything & Read (D.E.A.R) program commenced in January 18 and ended on March 8, successfully serving over 140 students throughout the four main departments. The English Unit collaborated with the library as the goal of this program is to instill in students an interest in reading with the hopes that this will develop into a lifelong love and passion for reading.

The D.E.A.R program carried out seven different types of reading activities/sessions which are Jigsaw Reading, Reading Card, Tell Me What You Read, Letters of Appreciation, Simplify Me Please, Read and Recite and Word Bingo. Each reading session comprised of 20 students with one facilitator. This program provides students with much more than a just-sit-there-and-read experience. It gives students time to read what they want to read, share what they have read and receive the support they need for further reading explorations and reflections. Weekly reading sessions last for one and a half hours and are followed by thirty minutes of activity. One of the reading activities is book talk session (Tell Me What You Read). When a student completes the reading session, the student then conferences with the facilitator and other students to discuss the book and share his or her thoughts, feelings and followed up with a brief note of encouragement. By hosting these reading sessions and providing access to books, students who participated in our program will become more eager to read on their own thus foster appreciation for books and empower their critical thinking skills.

On the whole, this reading program not only promoted reading habits among students but also increased students’ interaction skills, as well as their confidence level. The English Department believes that everyone to come forward and support this program in producing knowledgeable graduates in the future because reading will ultimately enable them to achieve greater future success.