The New Zealand picture
New Zealand children are among the best readers in the world. The latest national literacy results show that reading achievement is improving. However, there continues to be a large gap between our highest and lowest achieving readers, and there is discussion about the best teaching methods to help students improve. The challenge not only for teachers but also for parents and the community alike is to help children develop the skills that they need to succeed at school and beyond.
How we can help
The library helps develop children’s literacy in many ways. We provide:
- picture books for parents and caregivers to share with children
- storytime programmes at every site (look for information under your nearest community library webpage)
- the children's easy-to-read collection (JE on the spine label) which contains many of the graded reading books early readers will encounter at school
- books with tapes for children to read along with and listen to
- extensive collections of children's fiction and non fiction suitable for every reading age and stage
We also support adult literacy. The Penguin collection of graded adult readers can be found, often with accompanying tapes, in many libraries. See also our section on language learning for more information.
Useful books for adults can be found at shelf numbers 302.224 – 302.2244, 372.4, 372.6 and 379.24
Key reference books include:
Becoming literate, becoming english: a research into the beginnings of English literacy within Maori society by Kuni Jenkins
How children learn to read by John William Alexander Smith
Learning to read in Aotearoa New Zealand edited by Paul Adams and Heather Ryan
Reading begins at home by Dorothy Butler
The reading race: how every child can learn to read by Donna Awatere |
