Schools visited by recent teams have very few books, and reading is taught as a class lesson.  Books available for the children to look at are usually pupil books, containing grammar, punctuation and comprehension exercises. 

We are hoping to put together ideas for teaching English language and literacy.  These may include:

1. Ideas for class and group activities to develop spoken   language – drama, role play, circle activities etc.

2.  Reading – phonics, sight vocabulary, understanding text etc.

3.  Writing for different purposes

4.  Note taking

5.  Creative writing

6.  Spelling, handwriting, punctuation

Any materials need to be easily obtained e.g. paper, card, felt pens.  Please send your contributions to svnetprojects@googlemail.com as a Word document.  We will collate these to produce a folder similar to the SVN Maths folder, which has proved very useful for volunteers on overseas projects.

We are already planning our next conference, to be held on the 13th to 16th November 2012.  These events have been much appreciated by members in the past, especially as a chance to meet each other but also to learn more about going overseas on short projects.  Several members have decided to go on their first project after attending the conference, and it is a great opportunity to be informed and encouraged. 

The venue will once again be Kings Park in Northampton.  More details will be available in the New Year.