Reading

The SASS CANON

At school we have identified the body of books which we expect every student to read whilst a student in years 7, 8 & 9. This is called the SASS canon. These books are:

Year 7

• Frankie’s World by Aoife Dooley
• When Secrets Set Sail by Sita Brahmachari
• You Are Awesome by Matthew Syed
• When Life Gives you Mangos by Kereen Getten
• Rhythm and Poetry by Karl Nova
• Horrible Histories: The Groovy Greeks by Terry Deary and Martin Brown
• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
• His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
• Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
• The Stuff of Nightmares by Malorie Blackman

Download a guide to the Year 7 canon here – YEAR 7 CANON.

Year 8

• Arsenic for Tea by Robin Stevens
• Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello
• Clap when you Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
• She Wore Red Trainers by Na’ima B Robert
• Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle
• One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
• Children of Blood and Bone by TomiAdeyem
• Sawbones by Catherine Johnson
• That Asian Kid by Savita Kalhan
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Download a guide to the Year 8 canon here – YEAR 8 CANON.

Year 9

• This Book Kills by Ravena Guro
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
• Let’s Play Murder by Kesia Lupo
• Thief by Malorie Blackman
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• You Must be Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied
• Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah
• I’m the King of the Castle by Susan Hill
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Download a guide to the Year 9 canon here – YEAR 9 CANON.

SASS READS

We also have the SASS READS. The English department has identified three books per year which are read during English curriculum time. This happens once a fortnight during an English lesson.

These books are shared in the documents below:

• City of Stolen Magic – Year 7
• A Monster Calls – Year 8
• Boys Don’t Cry – Year 9

The English teacher reads the text aloud to the class and each student has a copy of the book as well. This is a fabulous opportunity for students to ‘read for pleasure’ and the experience is very stimulating.

Once a student has read the book, they then take a quiz using Accelerated Reader.

The library is located in what used to be called the VLE. We have plans to link that space with the old library which we will rename the ‘reference library’. These two spaces will be linked via a staircase, making it the biggest school library in London.

Click HERE for a virtual tour of our library.

Students are actively encouraged to borrow books from the Library and once a student has read the book, they then take a quiz using Accelerated Reader.

When a student has read three books and completed the quiz they are awarded a Head Teacher’s Reading Award. This is worth 30 achievement points.

It is incredibly important that all students can read at least in line with what is expected of them nationally.

We call this ‘age relate expectation’.  We recognise that as a student gets older their reading age must increase in line. Therefore, students must read for 20 minutes per day as a minimum.

Students can follow the link below to get book recommendations and to complete quizzes on the books you have read.

The tutor group with the highest number of books read wins a prize at the end of the year!

Usernames can be found in your year group’s Google Classroom page.

https://ukhosted38.renlearn.co.uk/1893941

A Parents Guide to Accelerated Reader can be viewed here.

We ensure there are additional interventions to enable all students to work at this age related expectations or above.

Reading is an important skill that all parents need to encourage their children to master. A person who can read well is more likely to:

• Succeed in education;
• get a higher paying job or have a wider range of jobs open to them;
• experience the joys of learning new things;
• enjoy the stress-reducing entertainment of a good book.

While it can be harder to turn a teenager on to reading than say a 3-year-old who loves the attention you give when you read them a book, it is not anywhere near impossible. Here are a few tried and tested tactics you can use to turn your child into an avid reader.

Read for enjoyment.

The more you model the behaviour you want your child to do, the more likely they are to pick up the behaviour. If you show your child that reading can be as fun as watching television, instead of just saying it, he/she will be apt to believe it and quite possibly try it.  This is especially important for boys: if they see male role models reading, they are much more likely to read themselves.

Have books that interest your child available.

If there are no books that your child is interested in reading in your home, then your child has no choices available to him/her. Visit the local book fair or second-hand bookshop and stock up.  Start off with books that are a similar genre to the kind of films, TV programmes and games that your child enjoys!

Purchase magazines about his/her interest.

Magazine articles are short and fun to read for children, and yet, this is still reading. Buying a magazine regularly will ensure that your child has something new to read and will encourage them to branch out for more reading fun.

Play audio books at home.

While this isn’t exactly reading – it is enjoying a book. Your child may not know what it’s like to enjoy a story, which is one of the most important reasons to read. Buy an audio book that is part of a series. Then your child can read the rest of the series. Many apps and websites provide access to free books.

Spend some quality time at a good book shop. 

Sometimes young people, even those who are as old as your child, just like having your attention. Visit the bookshop together, and encourage them to choose a book: it doesn’t have to be fiction – autobiographies and other non-fiction books are just as valid for reading as a novel.   Remember that the staff in good bookshops are avid readers themselves and will be able to recommend suitable books.  

Find out from your child’s English teacher what they are reading in class.    

Encourage your child to continue to read the same book independently at home.    

We are pleased to announce that students can now access the Tower Hamlets e-book library for all their reading needs.

The website is: https://towerhamlets-sls.wheelers.co/​

Details of how to log in can be found on Google Classroom. 

This is a fantastic resource that gives students access to many brand new books. It has an app for tablets also, so books can be downloaded onto tablets, kindles and computers. 

For students in Years 7, 8 and 9  they can also check the reading age of the books they are reading to help with their Accelerated Reader score. 

This is a list of 101 books compiled by TES, as voted for by teachers, to read before you leave secondary school. How many have you read?