Read more books!

By Rachel, Founder, Concept Discovery Learning Centre

My teachers used to tell me, and this statement has been told to many students too.

How exactly can story reading benefit students in terms of writing?
What is the link between story writing and reading?

Reading helps students to expand story ideas in a different way. These voracious readers are often able to do plot twist or use foreshadowing technique naturally as they have been exposed to different story plots and conflicts. They have subconsciously internalised a fantastic plot which they come across and they loved it so much that they could apply some parts of the writing technique, the only thing that they aren’t aware of would be the name of specific skill which they had used.

Next, readers who have been exposed to different plots are able to generate relevant ideas a lot quicker than the rest and these students are able to use parts of what they read to apply in their composition. Take for instance, we were writing about the theme ‘Bullying’. My student told me that he could use Draco Malfoy, one of the antagonists in Harry Potter, in his composition. He managed to capture the persona of Draco in his story and wrote about a snobbish main character who has the courage of a church mouse. We just need to select the right bit of detail and fit into our story.

For our lessons, one of our favourite activities is getting students to pick a book from our bookshelf and use relevant parts of a book to apply it on the writing theme of the day. This activity could be done individually or in groups. It is very engaging and purposeful. The outcome is brilliant as students were able to apply what they had read immediately. This connection is priceless as you will witness how they start to do active reading the next time they pick up a book!

Following the Ministry of Education’s syllabus closely, Concept Discovery instills curiosity and interest in learning. They provide English, Math, Science and Phonics tutoring through an interactive, multi-sensory learning environment for students aged 4-12 years old in a small class size of 6 students. They strive to prepare students for their PSLE journey under optimal state of learning.

For more information, you can visit Concept Discovery Learning Centre’s website at www.conceptdiscovery.net and connect with them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ConceptDiscoveryLearningCentre