Heading here Improving your writing skills Below is

Heading here Improving your writing skills Below is list of five things that you can do every day to improve your reading skills 1. Read the news and books 2. Turn on your subtitles when watching TV 3. When reading at work ask for clarification 4. Talk about what you have read 5. Read aloud literacytrust. org. uk 1

Heading here 1. Regular reading Find three articles a week that interest you and read them. You can download news apps or find articles online. Here a list of news sources where you can find what interests you. If you use social media, you can find news accounts to follow too. • • bbc. co. uk/news theguardian. com vox. com (US-based) buzzfeed. com refinery 29. com @simplepolitics (Instagram) @enews (Instagram) @thehappynewspaper (Instagram) literacytrust. org. uk 2

Heading here Reading both fiction and non-fiction regularly and finding books that interest you are brilliant ways to improve and practise your reading skills. We have put together a few books that we think you might enjoy. Still Me Author: Jojo Moyes Publisher: Penguin Genre: Romance Also available as an ebook and audiobook This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor Author: Adam Kay Publisher: Picador Genre: Non-fiction Also available as an ebook and audiobook The Butterfly Room Author: Lucinda Riley Publisher: Pan Macmillan Genre: Romance Also available as an ebook and audiobook Half a World Away Author: Mike Gayle Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Genre: Thriller Also available as an ebook and audiobook Big Little Lies Author: Liane Moriarty Publisher: Penguin Genre: Thriller Also available as an ebook and audiobook The Silent Patient Author: Alex Michaelides Publisher: Orion Genre: Thriller Also available as an ebook and audiobook 3

Heading here You can find books that have been the inspiration for films or TV series that you have enjoyed. You can also listen to the audio versions. Never Greener Author: Ruth Jones Publisher: Black Swan Genre: Romance Also available as an ebook and audiobook The Road to Little Dribbling Author: Bill Bryson Publisher: Black Swan Genre: Humour Also available as an ebook and audiobook literacytrust. org. uk The Sun and Her Flowers Author: Rupi Kaur Publisher: Simon & Schuster Genre: Poetry Also available as an ebook Blue Planet II Authors: James Honeyborne, Mark Brownlow Publisher: BBC Books Genre: Non-fiction Also available as an ebook According to Yes Author: Dawn French Publisher: Penguin Genre: Humour Also available as an ebook and audiobook The President is Missing Authors: Bill Clinton, James Patterson Publisher: Arrow Genre: Political thriller Also available as an ebook and audiobook 4

Heading here If you prefer reading on a screen then you can try e. Books too. I Am Malala Authors: Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Genre: Biography Also available as an ebook and audiobook literacytrust. org. uk A Man Called Ove Author: Fredrik Backman Publisher: Sceptre Genre: Humour, feel good Also available as an ebook and audiobook 5

Heading here 2. Turn on the subtitles Turning on the subtitles when you are watching TV or films can help to improve your reading. It can help improve your reading speed, your vocabulary and your reading comprehension. You can also record the new words that you hear or read to help you to remember them. literacytrust. org. uk 6

Heading here 3. Asking for clarification Sometimes we might not understand everything that we read at work, for example in a newsletter. • You can read text aloud to help your understanding. • You can use a dictionary to explore the meaning of a word. • You can ask a colleague to explain a section of text. Sometimes, it is really hard to ask someone for help but it will help further your learning and reading skills. You could say something like… “This word is new to me, can you explain it? ” literacytrust. org. uk 7

Heading here 4. Talk about what you have read Talking about what you have read is a good way to ensure you have understood. It can help if you summarise what you have learnt and practise using any new vocabulary that you may have come across. When reading texts you can ask yourself what three things you would share with someone else. This is really useful to do at work too. literacytrust. org. uk 8

Heading here 5. Read aloud So much about literacy is having the confidence to use your skills. Challenge yourself to read aloud. This can be to an empty room, in front of a mirror or to a friend or family member. This sounds awkward but it doesn’t have to be. Why not mention to a friend that you read a really interesting article and want to share it with them? You can read a couple of lines aloud to build your confidence. Try this at work too – you might have read something that you want to share with your manager or colleague. literacytrust. org. uk 9