Campfire: reading and storytelling in 2022

This week we begin our Campfire Program for Year 7 & 8 English classes. Campfire is an opportunity to engage with literature and is much loved at Mount Alvernia College. For new students and parents who may be wondering what Campfire involves, here are the answers to some questions we are frequently asked:

What is the Campfire program?

The Campfire program is a Reading Program for Year 7 – 8 embedded in English classes.

When does the Campfire program take place in the timetable?

1 lesson per fortnight (given the nature of a school calendar this equates to 3 or 4 lessons per term; 12 – 16 hours per year).

Why does the Campfire program exist?

A reading program supports literacy development in the following ways:

– Wide reading is important to building technical reading skill and positively impacts academic outcomes

– Wide reading is successful when students:

• Choose their own books
• Have access to a knowing adult (an adult who has read widely in contemporary Young Adult literature and knows the students on an individual level in order to make bespoke recommendations that will match the “right book with the right child”).
• Have time designated for reading
• Have adults (teachers and family) in their life who value reading

Are reading skills taught in this program?

Yes, as well as having time to enjoy reading, students will be introduced to strategies that make them powerful readers during Campfire sessions.