Article

In the history of humanity, written communication and the guarantee of world knowledge has enabled people to develop new technologies for science. For this reason, cultural techniques such as reading and writing are fundamental to the progression of humanity`s evolutionary process.

Reading is a relatively recent cultural invention that has existed for about 4000 years. The discovery that spoken language could be turned into graphic elements was the most significant cultural revolution in human history to this day.

Reading serves as a means of storing information and knowledge for centuries and is of great importance for the development of our society. Reading forms a vital function: it is the fundamental tool for orienting oneself in modern society based on information. Consequently, reading is a necessary competence for active participation in social life and provides the basis for lifelong learning, for school success and for achieving one`s goals.

Also, reading supports the acquisition of active language, expanding vocabulary and stimulating student concentration. The higher the linguistic competence of a child, the better he or she can develop their social skills and solve problems verbally in everyday life.

This process has a positive effect on the brain and memory performance. It enhances students` analytical and abstract thinking as well as their ability to concentrate. Reading requires a mental simulation in which the synapses, that is, neural connections, are formed and new connections are made with what has previously been learned.

Reading also stimulates the imagination and helps to develop empathy. When reading, the reader takes the place of different characters. Thus, the reader knows the emotional world, which lives without danger at the time of reading. He or she knows solutions to emotional crises, which they can apply later.

Successful reading acclimatization begins as early as the preschool age in the family. Also at the beginning of school, in this context, a principal place for the success of school education emerges, especially when one learns to read. This is the basis for a future, positive reading ability. For this reason, the Swiss-Brazilian School of Curitiba attaches great importance to an explicit promotion of reading, consciously and systematically developing and demanding interest in it, the pleasure of reading, reading strategies and the decoding abilities of the students. With the participation of the whole school through actions and activities planned during the school year, such as reading competitions, reading days, fixed reading times, visits to the library, reading of authors, reading projects and literature, the school seeks to establish a reading culture appropriate for all ages.

In addition to information and facts, students are given additional access to many ideas and values. Reading competence thus represents a universal cultural tool whose importance does not diminish even in an altered media society. It provides the necessary preconditions for the competent and self-determined use of the media to further develop their knowledge and potential.

Check out how the amazing first Reading Day of the Swiss School of Curitiba was:

Sources:

Artelt, Cordula, Schlagmüller, Mathias: Was versteht PISA unter Lesekompetenz, 2012

Garbe, Christine: Lesekompetenz als Schlüsselqualifikation in der Mediengesellschaft, 2006

Eva / Franke-Zöllmer, Gitta (Hrsg.): Lesekompetenz fördern von Anfang an: Didaktische und methodische Anregungen zur Leseförderung, Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, 2016

Andrea Bertschi-Kaufmann, Lesekompetenz – Leseleistung – Leseförderung: Grundlagen, Modelle und Materialien (Lehren lernen – Basiswissen für die Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung), 2016