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New Notre Dame program aims to foster a love of reading in kids

Jessica NicoFremantle Gazette

ENSURING young children fall in love with reading is the goal behind a new program at the University of Notre Dame.

Run alongside the Department for Children Protection and Family Support, the Whale of a Tale recreational reading program gives Notre Dame education students the chance to read to and improve the literacy of children in care.

Notre Dame school of education senior lecturer Glenda Cain said the program gave pre-service teachers the opportunity to spend an hour a week with a child in care, enjoying books and stories.

“The Program gives pre-service teachers from their first year of study an opportunity to connect with children and classrooms very early in their university studies,” she said.

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“Reading aloud to children is well-recognised as an important way of building many early literacy and language concepts that will set a child up for future success.

“Pre-service teachers take on the role of a ‘real teacher’ very early in their studies and experience the joy of building a relationship with a child as they read together and the child is able to learn early literacy and language concepts in a meaningful and engaging context.”