Getting the Blokes on Board
a National Literacy Trust project with Cheshire schools

A cluster group of nine Cheshire schools (8 primary, 1 secondary) invited me to work with their children and the children's male carers (fathers, step-fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and a 'gruncle' - a great-uncle) in a series of workshop events in September and October 2008.

Evidence of work

Picture galleries of work produced during this series of workshops can be seen on these pages:

Gallery 1  |  Gallery 2  |  Gallery 3  |  Gallery 4

Pre-visit preparation
1. A book was selected - You Wouldn't Want to be a Victorian Schoolchild. This is a short illustrated non-fiction KS2 history text of about 3,000 words on 32 pages. It was chosen as it was felt likely to appeal to both children and adults.

2. A few days before my visit copies of the book were given to the children involved. They were asked by their schools to take the book home, and for their fathers / male carers to read the book to them (the whole book can be read in about 30 minutes).

The visit: children's workshop - 2 to 2.5 hours
1. Children took part in a role-playing workshop to create their own non-fiction books with a Victorian school theme.

2. They worked collaboratively in teams of four in the roles of Illustrator, Designer, Editor, Author (the big IDEA - a very handy acronym).

3. They worked from a topic list of Victorian school themes and the book, You Wouldn't Want to be a Victorian Schoolchild.

4. The outcome for each group was a 16-page A4 non-fiction book.

The visit: children's and father's / male carer's workshop - 2 hours
1. Children returned to school with their fathers / male carers for an evening event.

2. Each pair was asked to choose two pages from You Wouldn't Want to be a Victorian Schoolchild, and for the father / male carer to read it to their child.

3. After the reading, children interviewed their fathers / male carers. They were asked to give answers to 20 questions provided on a printed questionnaire. The questions were designed to find out if the father / male carer read at home to their child, what they read to them, what they read for their own pleasure, if they could recall books being read to them as a child, and so on. A summary of the answers is given below.

4. After the question and answer session, each pair worked together to produce a piece of written and illustrated work, based on the pages from You Wouldn't Want to be a Victorian Schoolchild that the father / male carer had earlier read to their child.

5. The outcome for each pair was a completed questionnaire giving a broad insight to reading habits at home, and an A4 sheet retelling the set text in their own words and pictures.

Summary of questionnaire answers

Child: "Why did you enjoy reading the book to me?"

Father / male carer:
"Because it is fun spending time with you." (child = 10)
"Because I like you to learn and understand." (child = 10)
"Because it has been many years since I have read out loud." (child = 10)
"Because it was very interesting and you were very enthusiastic and it was a wonderful way to spend half an hour." (child = 8)
"It was a good chance to spend time with you, sharing the experience of reading that we had not done recently." (child = 11)
"I learned some things as well as enjoying quality time with you." (child = 10)

Child: "What did you like the most about reading the pages to me tonight?"

Father / male carer:
"I liked finding out about the games they played."
"I liked reading this page because it has a lot of funny pictures."
"I liked talking about numbers to one million."
"It takes me back to my school days."
"Remembering the old money."
"I liked the outdoor toilets."
"It was amusing!"
"That you listened, and that it was something just you and me were doing."
"It was instructive."
"Seeing what feedback I got from you; answering the resulting questions."
"It was very straightforward."

Child: "Why do you think it's good to read books to me?"

Father / male carer:
"It allows us to spend time together and it finishes the day off nicely."
"It is a shared experience which we can both enjoy."
"It is fun for both of us."
"It's a good time to relax and calm down before bed."
"Because I have enjoyed books so much over the years and would like you to enjoy them too."
"It promotes discussion of the subject of the book which can be expanded on with personal anecdotes."
"You enjoy it, I enjoy it, helps you to learn - encourages you to calm down."
"Because it's great fun to share the joy of adventure and discovery and you have such an enquiring mind."
"To share my love and knowledge of books."
"It may broaden your interests in topics you may not choose to read yourself."
"It gives you a better imagination."
"I can get you off to bed quicker!"
"I can teach you new words and expressions."
"We spend more time together NOT watching The Simpsons!"

Child: "What book are you reading for yourself right now?"

Father / male carer:

Genre: non-fiction / science

Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory by Peter Woit
The Feynman Lectures by Richard Feynman
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Lost in the Amazon by Stephen Kirkpatrick
Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux
Mediterranean Voyage by Francesco Da Mosto

On The Edge: My Story by Richard Hammond
What Will Be: The Autobiography by William Fox-Pitt
To the High Castle, Philip K. Dick: A Life by Gregg Rickman
From Corncrake to Combine: Memoirs of a Cheshire Farmer by Walter Wright
The Beautiful Machine: A Life in Cycling by Graeme Fife
Writing Home by Alan Bennett
Not Quite World's End: A Traveller's Tales by John Simpson

Bomber Boys by Patrick Bishop
Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front by Richard Holmes
A History of Britain by Simon Schama
The Pub Landlord's Book of British Common Sense by Al Murray
The Grocers: The Rise and Rise of the Supermarket Chains by Andrew Seth and Geoffrey Randall
The Gospel-driven Church by Ian Stackhouse
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Dilapidations (RICS Guidance Notes)

Exit Music by Ian Rankin (crime fiction)
Dalziel & Pascoe novel by Reginald Hill (crime fiction)
The Bone People by Keri Hulme (general fiction)
Timeline by Michael Crichton (general fiction)
Warrior of Rome: Fire in the East by Harry Sidebottom (historical fiction)
Marabou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh (contemporary fiction)
Precious Bane by Mary Webb (classic fiction)
The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho (modern fable)
Winter in Madrid by C.J. Sansom (thriller)
The Death Collectors by Jack Kerley (thriller)

Lirael by Garth Nix
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

Evidence of work

Picture galleries of work produced during this series of workshops can be seen on these pages:

Gallery 1  |  Gallery 2  |  Gallery 3  |  Gallery 4