Well Worth Reading Rationale

There is, in almost every school, a small number of pupils who are trailing significantly in their reading ability. By the time they reach late P4 or P5, their lack of reading can inhibit their access to curriculum materials. It has been shown that the approach of the Carron Electronic library can help boost the reading level of such pupils.

See separate sheets about Carron Electronic Library

It's advantages are;

• It is a large library of 300 "books". The content is very motivating
• The texts are in manageable chunks - "pages"
• Many texts have accompanying pictures - another motivator
• The texts have voice support

It has been criticised because;

• Pupils can cheat the system, not asking for help with words they need help with
• The materials are not very well graded
• Pupils may have to type in words that are very difficult, after they have asked for help

With talking word processors such as Talking Textease and Clicker 4 it is possible to create similar materials with local and current interest. The value of being able to Click on a word to hear it spoken is great for pupils who are slow to develop literacy. This has been shown in the success of Bordertalk - the scheme aimed at boosting a pupil's fluency in reading, phonic awareness and spelling.

However, the Carron Elecronic Library, now with 300 books is a very significant resouce indeed.