CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

(An Autonomous Organisation Under the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India)

CBSE/DIR(ACAD)/2021 Date: 31st December, 2021

Circular No. Acad-134/2021
To
The Heads/Principals of the Schools affiliated to CBSE

Subject: Launch of 100 Days Reading Campaign

Ministry of Education, Govt of India vide D.O. No. 18-91/2021- IS 15 dated 28.12.2021
has intimated the launch of 100 Days Reading Campaign by the Hon’ble Shiksha
Mantri on 1st January 2022 for children studying in Balvatika to class VIII.
In continuation to the CBSE Reading Mission (Circular No. Acad-82/2021), the Board
requests Heads of Schools to initiate the 100 Days Reading Campaign for the learners
of Balvatika to class VIII on 01.01.2022. A weekly class-wise calendar of activities to be
done by children with the help of parents, peers, siblings or other family members is
annexed as guidelines for schools.
The activities done during the campaign are to be documented through images, short
videos and testimonials. These have to uploaded on the tracker
https://forms.gle/qPJ8kFuJaTtgeY8D9 .

For any further query, you may send an email to: [email protected]
You are requested to disseminate the information about this campaign to teachers,
parents and students and ensure maximum participation from your school.

Dr. Biswajit Saha

Director (SE and Training)

‘शिक्षा सदन’ ,7 1 राऊज़ एवेन्यू ,इं स्टीटू िनम एररया, नई ददल्मी–110002

‘Shiksha Sadan’, 17, Rouse Avenue, Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110002
फ़ोन/Telephone: 011-23212603 वेबसाइट/Website :http://www.cbseacademic.nic.in ई-लेम/e-mail: mailto:[email protected].
 CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
(An Autonomous Organisation Under the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India)

Copy to the respective Heads of Directorates, Organizations and Institutions as indicated below with a request to
disseminate the information to all the schools under their jurisdiction:

1 The Secretary, Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India,
Shastri Bhawan, A - Wing, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road,New Delhi,110001
2 The Joint Secretary (BR/CER/Sainik Schools), Sainik Schools Society, Room No. 108 (I), South Block, New
Delhi-110001.
3 The Chairman, Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya Sangathan (OAVS), N-1/9, Near Doordarshan Kendra, PO Sainik
School Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar, Odhisha-751005.
4 The Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, 18 Institutional Area, Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg, New
Delhi-16
5 The Commissioner, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, B-15, Sector-62, Institutional Area,Noida-201309
6 The Director of Education, Directorate of Education, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, Old Secretariat, Delhi-110 054
7 The Director of Public Instructions (Schools), Union Territory Secretariat, Sector 9,Chandigarh-160017
8 The Director (Exam. & Scholarship), HRDD Department, Gangtok, Govt. of Sikkim, Sikkim –737101
9 The Director of Secondary Education, Department of Education, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh
Itanagar – 791111. Mob: 08794812121
10 The Director (Education), Directorate of Education VIP Road, Port Blair, A&N Island – 744103
11 The Director, Central Tibetan School Administration, ESSESS Plaza, Community Centre, Sector -3, Rohini,
Delhi
12 The Additional Director General of Army Education, A –Wing, Sena Bhawan, DHQ,PO, New Delhi-110001
13 The Director AWES, Integrated Headquarters of MoD (Army), FDRC Building No. 202,Shankar Vihar (Near
APS), Delhi Cantt-110010
14 All Regional Directors/Regional Officers of CBSE with the request to send this circular to all the Heads of the
affiliated schools of the Board in their respective Regions
15 All Joint Secretary/ Deputy Secretary/ Assistant Secretary/SPS / Analyst, CBSE
16 All Head(s)/ In-Charge(s), Centre of Excellence, CBSE
17 In charge IT Unit with the request to put this Circular on the CBSE Academic Website
18 In-Charge, Library
19 The Head (Media & Public Relations), CBSE
20 DS to Chairman, CBSE
21 SPS to Secretary, CBSE
22 SPS to Director (Academics), CBSE
23 SPS to Director (Information Technology), CBSE
24 SPS to Controller of Examinations, CBSE
25 SPS to Director (Training and Skill Education), CBSE
26 SPS to Director (Professional Examinations), CBSE
27 SPS to Director (CTET), CBSE
28 SPS to Director (EDUSAT), CBSE
29 Record File
Director (SE and Training)

‘शिक्षा सदन’ ,7 1 राऊज़ एवेन्यू ,इं स्टीटू िनम एररया, नई ददल्मी–110002

‘Shiksha Sadan’, 17, Rouse Avenue, Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110002
फ़ोन/Telephone: 011-23212603 वेबसाइट/Website :http://www.cbseacademic.nic.in ई-लेम/e-mail: mailto:[email protected].
 @2021
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

GUIDELINES ON

READING
CAMPAIGN
A nationwide initiative for creating a joyful
reading experience for children
I. CONTEXT:
Department of School Education and Literacy has launched a National Mission for

foundational literacy and Numeracy called NIPUN Bharat on 5th July 2021. The mission

aims to cover the learning needs of children from age group of 3 to 9 years. As

established by various international researches, foundational learning is the basis of

all future learning for a child. Not achieving basic foundational skills of being able to

read with comprehension, writing and doing basic mathematics operations, leaves

the child unprepared for the complexities of the curriculum beyond grade 3.

Recognizing the importance of early learning, the National Education Policy 2020

emphasises that the highest priority must be to achieve universal foundational literacy

and numeracy in primary schools. Further, it states that, the rest of this Policy will be

largely irrelevant for a large portion of our students if this most basic learning (i.e.,

reading, writing, and arithmetic at the foundational level) is not first achieved.

Various studies of learning profiles in India, including National Achievement Survey

(NAS), have pointed out that many children are not able to read a simple grade

appropriate passage. But, the curriculum and associated textbooks are designed with

the expectation that children have acquired grade-level skills and can progress

onwards. It is in this context, D/o School Education and Literacy is initiating a

NATIONWIDE READING CAMPAIGN so that each child learns to read and thereafter,
can read to learn.

II. WHY READING IS IMPORTANT

Reading is the foundation of learning, which motivates students to read books

independently, develops creativity, critical thinking, vocabulary and the ability to

express both verbally and in writing. It helps children to relate to their surroundings

and real life situation. Thus, there is a need to create an enabling environment in

which students read for pleasure and develop their skills through a process that is

enjoyable and sustainable and which remains with them for life.

The contribution of reading in improving learning outcomes has been demonstrated in

various research studies. It is a step towards developing command over language

and writing skills. Unlike speaking, reading is a skill which does not come naturally to

humans and needs to be learnt. Reading is an interaction between the text and the

reader, which involves not just understanding the meaning of the words but also

grasping the multi-layered meaning behind the text. It requires continuous practice,

development and refinement.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 1

Reading at early stage comprises of Alphabet Knowledge including naming and

identifying the names and sounds associated with them, Phonological Awareness

which includes being able to identify, comprehend, or analyze the spoken language,

writing letters, vocabulary, remembering and comprehend content of spoken

language for a short period of time, Reading Skills Concepts (e.g., reading left right,

front back), Print awareness which includes ability to match or discriminate visually

presentedpictures/symbols.

LANGUAGE LEARNING- AN EVERYDAY PROCESS

The children engage with language in their everyday life without
realizing it. In one form or another they make use of language and
their knowledge about the language too. They know how to address
their elders, teacher. They are listening to conversations, may be radio
too, watching television- these are the sources from which they draw
their language and use it for communication. There is a lot of written
and printed material available at our homes, the house number plate;
folk art (Mandha) on the walls of the house; calendar; company’s name
on the gas stove, name of the family head engraved on the utensils;
name tattoos on the arms; page of newspaper; shopping lists;
toothpaste box etc.

What is important is the amount of attention paid to that writing or

printed material. Children develop an understanding of reading and
writing even before coming to the school. This pre-knowledge of the
children can be considered as the foundation of developing their
literacy skills.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 2

 III. UNDERSTANDING READING AND WRITING
(i) Children begin to read the written material around them, like on wrappers of

purchases such as biscuits and toffees, posters/advertisements on the roadside, wall

slogans, newspapers at home, storybooks at home and in school, letters/postcards,

etc. As soon as children start holding pen, pencil, chalk, they start scribbling and try to

add some meaning or message to them - this is also a part of the beginning of

writing. In fact, the cognition of reading and writing also develops like development

of oral language in the day-to-day meaningful and workable contexts.

Children who read often become

better learners, which leads to
success in school and other areas
of life.

(ii) The goal in all reading situations should be ‘to understand’. It is imperative

that the message that is conveyed in the printed text be understood and enjoyed.

Reading motivates students to read books independently, develop

(iii)

creativity, critical thinking, vocabulary, and the ability to express both verbally
and in writing.

(iv) Writing is also a process of comprehending the thoughts and sharing it

with others. It not only includes the process of joining words together, rather it is a
systematic procedure of sharing the knowledge, information and ideas in a coherent

manner. Writing enables children to explore, shape and clarify their thoughts, and to

communicate them to others. By using effective writing strategies, children discover

and refine ideas and compose and revise with increasing confidence and skill.

(v) Children’s comprehension of their written language mostly depends on their

effective use and understanding of oral language. Even before starting their formal

instructional training for writing, children begin to interact with the literacy

environment around them and start building connections between symbols and their

meanings.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 3

 How to develop reading habit
among children?

Availability and access to a variety of simple and

interesting storybooks that are illustrated with attractive
pictures, and particularly comic books and joke books in
the children’s classrooms.

Children need to be provided dedicated time on a regular

basis and a comfortable space to read in the classroom.

Activities to be conducted like read-alouds, shared

reading, discussions on books read by them, role plays,
word games such as ‘I spy something here that looks like…’
and children come out with the relevant word/s after
observing the surroundings, etc., to increase their
involvement with books and to develop a habit of reading.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 4

 How to make reading
enjoyable through activity:
A Case Study of Rajasthan
In order to inculcate lifelong reading habit amongst the children, it is
important that we make reading enjoyable and interesting. Therefore,
activity based approach is most effective in making the experience of
reading exciting and joyful. One real life example of this is seen in
Rajasthan state, where a teacher (Madhu Chauhan) was posted in a
primary school located in Sikrai block of Dausa district. When she joined
the school, she found that enrolment in the school was 32 students but
hardly 7-8 students were coming to the school. She tried to find out the
reasons and was told that parents of the students go to work early in the
morning and children go for feeding the animals and play marbles
(Kanche in local language) whole day. She understood that she will not
get much support from the parents, so she decided to take initiative on her
own. Next day onwards she started playing with marbles in the playground
of the school. Since teacher did not know how to play them, she asked the
children to teach her. The word soon spread in the village that the teacher
is also playing with the marbles in the school, so the children who were not
coming to school also came to school and participated in the game and
taught the teacher also to play the game. This continued for few days till
all students started coming to school. Then, the teacher introduced the
number concept and wrote 0 to 9 numbers on the marbles and asked the
students to hit on the bigger number and taught them one digit addition
and subtraction through the game. After some time she wrote Hindi
alphabets on the marbles and asked students to hit them in a way which
results in forming words.

This effort not only ensured regular attendance of students in the school
but also introduced them to the concept of language and numeracy in a
joyful manner.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 5

 IV. TARGET GROUP:
Children studying in Balvatika to Grade VIII
will be part of this campaign. They will further
be categorised in three groups class wise:

GROUP I: BALVATIKA TO GRADE II

GROUP II: GRADE III TO GRADE V

GROUP III: GRADE VI TO GRADE VIII

V. DURATION OF THE CAMPAIGN:

The reading campaign will be organised for 100
days (14 weeks) starting from January 2022 to
April 2022.

VI. HOW TO REACH CHILDREN?

Schools, Homes and Mohallas, and by complete involvement of Local Self

Government.

IVR service, mobile library

CSO partners on board to reach in different states where they are working

SCERTs/DIETs/School Principals/Teachers to choose reading material, that may

include online/offline storybooks, joke books, comic books, poem/rhyme books,

silly songs and rap songs, wrappers of market purchases, flash cards and I spy

word/sentences cards,

Involvement of BRCs/CRCs/parents/family members/Volunteers

Secondary/Senior Secondary/ College students/NSS/NYKS to be involved

Involving students, teachers, parents, working professionals, celebrities and

government representatives

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 6

 VII. STRATEGY FOR THE CAMPAIGN:
The reading campaign aims to have participation of all stakeholders at national

and state level including children, teachers, parents, community, educational

administrators etc.

The 100 days campaign will be continued for fourteen weeks and one activity per

week per group has been designed with the focus on making reading enjoyable

and build lifelong association with the joy of reading.

The developmental goal/learning outcomes to be achieved by this campaign are

also given in the activity calendar. The weekly calendar of activities has been

prepared class wise which should be done by children with the help of teachers,

parents, peers, siblings or other family members.

In order to make the campaign effective, there will be only one activity per week

so that children can repeat the activity in the given week and ultimately be able

to understand and conduct it independently with peers and siblings. The activities

designed have been kept simple and enjoyable and can be easily conducted with

the materials/resources available at home.

Group wise activities are at Annexure I and II.

The list of activities given in Annexure I are flexible in

nature and can be contextualised as per the requirements
of States and UTs.
States and UTs can also add any additional age
appropriate activity during the campaign which can make
reading joyful and engaging.

AT NATIONAL LEVEL FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES WILL BE

UNDERTAKEN TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM OF THE CAMPAIGN:

Organise ‘READATHON’ on the lines of Toycathon

Awareness Drive: Press releases, Social media campaign, infographics, etc.
Story telling by Hon’ble Education Minister, State Ministers, Chief Ministers,

State Education Ministers, etc. in regional languages

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 7

 Webinars on the importance of reading
Video/Audio message from Children book writers (Ruskin Bond, Shudha

Murthy, Nilesh Misra for story telling)

Reading Aloud of stories by teachers as well as community members in

regional languages

Partnership with CSOs, FM channels, Newspapers (local and regional)

Story telling sessions to

be organised by involving
Parents and Grand
Parents

AT STATE AND UT LEVEL, FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES ARE

SUGGESTED:

Undertake intensive awareness drive for, parents, teachers, students,

community members, SCERTs, DIETs and local bodies to have active

participation in this campaign.

At state level also, story-telling sessions may be initiated by popular

people/celebrities. Story sessions by parents/ grandparents may be

encouraged. Local folklores, songs, rhymes etc. may be promoted by

involving local artists.

Provide grade appropriate additional reading materials, library books

to the students for promoting reading habits.

Organise reading melas at panchayat/cluster/block level and involve

School Management Committees (SMCs), volunteers to conduct reading

activities.

Ensure that activity calendar is followed in these 100 days and good

quality photos, videos, and testimonials are uploaded in Google tracker.

Partnership with CSOs, FM channels, local radio/TV channels,

Newspapers (local and regional).

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 8

 Celebration of 21st February as
International Mother Tongue Day
Kahani Padho Apni Bhasa Main (Reading story
in own language) to be conducted across the
country during this period

VIII. RESOURCES:
Various resources will be made available at FLN vertical of DIKSHA portal,

‘KAHANIYON KA PITARA’ etc.

States and UTs may also explore other resources such as National
Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), National Book
Trust (NBT) Story weaver (https://storyweaver.org.in), Pratham books
(https://prathambooks.org), Room to Read Cloud
(https://literacycloud.org), etc.

IX. DOCUMENTATION:
States and UTs will be encouraged to document the activities and make short

videos, testimonials and good images of the campaign.

The resources found useful will be uploaded on FLN vertical of DIKSHA and

repository of best practices at DoSE&L website.

A Google tracker will be developed for uploading the above resources. Link of

Google Tracker will be shared soon.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 9

 GRADE WISE

ACTIVITIES

10
GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN
 Annexure I

Activities for Balvatika and Classes I to II

To be achieved:
Developmental Goals and Learning Outcomes:

 Effective Communication
o critical and creative thinking
o ability to locate, understand and reflect on various kinds of information
 Involved Learners

S. No Activity Required
Resource
Exposure visit to the school library  Library Books
 All children to visit to the school library and
explore books that are available.
 Every child must get one age appropriate
book issued to read and tell about the same in
the fourth week.
 While reading the book at home an adult of
the family must be present to ensure
correctness.
Alphabet World (Balvatika)
 The children move their fingers across • Tray with
semolina/salt in a tray to trace the letters semolina/salt
Week 1 which helps them to understand the formation • Play dough
of the letters. • Object box
 The children may be encouraged to make the
letters with the help of play dough.
Family stories (Class 1, 2)
 Help the child weave stories about family  No resources
members. required
 Let them put these stories in a book and add
old family photographs.
 Let the child write and then read to the
classmates stories about what happened on
special days, such as holidays, birthdays, and
family vacations.
Fruits and Flowers  Reading
 Assign students the task to create list of the material or
flowers or fruits books on
Week 2
flowers and
 Ask students to pick on flower/fruit from the list
fruits
 Students then read about the assigned

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 11

 S. No Activity Required
Resource
flower/fruit and read it to the class next day
 The game ‘name, animal, thing, flower, fruit’
can be played, where the teams have to
come out with these words that start with the
given letter. Example – Mansi, Monkey,
Machine, Marigold, Mango.
Poetry in motion  Reading
 Students are asked to read poems by poets of material or
their own choice/ recommended by teacher. books with
Week 3
some poems
 As a follow up activity they can enact the
poem with the help of teachers
Shared Reading  Reading
 Shared reading is important for early literacy material or
and most effective for Grade 1 and Grade 2 books with
children. stories and
pictures
 Teacher has to read book to children while
simultaneously bringing their attention to the
text and pictures of a book, the children tend
to match the spoken words with the written
word and slowly try to read the book.
Week 4  Through this process children learn how
teachers read the books from left to right with
expressions.
Exposure visit to the school library  Library Books
 Every child to tell few lines about the book
read which they had got issued from library in
week 1.
 Get another age appropriate book issued to
be read by the week 14.
Retell the tale  Reading
 Summarizing the Story: Children are material or
encouraged to read and then summarize the books with
story in about 5 sentences. stories and
pictures
Week 5  Such an activity helps them to think about the
 Worksheet to
story from its beginning to its end.
summarize the
 It also helps them in understanding and stories
differentiating between the important and
not-so-important elements of the story.
Title Tree  Reading
 Children can be encouraged to think of material or
alternate titles of any particular story, after books with
Week 6 reading the plot and characters. stories
 Drawing
 This can be done through discussion while the
material
teacher draws the title tree on the board.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 12

 S. No Activity Required
Resource
Who am I?  Reading
 Character Mapping: Children can be material or
encouraged to identify the main characters of books with
the story and their attributes and read it to the stories
Week 7 whole class.  Worksheets
with columns
of main
characters
and attributes
Reading story in own language (Kahani Padho  Books
Apni Bhasa Main) available in
 Every year 21st February is celebrated as any language
International Mother Tongue Day.
 The teacher will select any book in any
language (including regional/mother tongue)
and then ask the students to write a book
review.
Week 8 Inspirations from our Leaders  Stories/essays
 Assign students to search for a book or an on Sardar
essay on Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhai Vallabhai Patel
Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, etc.
 As a follow up activity, ask students to do an
act of kindness and make a note of this
 Encourage the students to share this in the
following week
Monthly theme  Reading
 Theme based reading related activities can be material or
conducted round the year. books on
theme-based
 Some examples are books related to
stories
Mahatma Gandhi, Environment, Water
conservation, Swachh Bharat Mission, Ek
Week 9
Bharat Shrestha Bharat, Constitution and
fundamental duties, national holidays, sports
and famous players around the world,
Olympic and Common Wealth Games and
tournaments, books related to art, culture and
festivities, books related to Indian martyrs, etc.
Let’s cook up something  Reading
material or
 The teacher/parent can conduct some simple
books on
cooking without fire activities in class and ask
recipe of
Week 10 the learners to create a recipe book by their
different food
respective classes.
items
 Students can read their recipe book to the  Worksheet for
class on following day. food recipe
Magic Spells  Reading
Week 11 material or
 The teacher can set the scene by acting and

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 13

 S. No Activity Required
Resource
dressing up like a magician. books on
magic charms
 Ask the learners to construct some creative
charms and how they would like to use them
to do good deeds by writing it down and then
reading it to the classmates
Drop Everything And Read (DEAR)  Reading
materials like
 On any one decided day and time, everyone
book or
in the school (those students are coming to
newspaper
school) or at home will read for at least 20
minutes.
Week 12
 A time can be decided for this- ex. Tuesday
morning at 11:00 am in school
 All present in the school- students, teachers,
staff ensures that they are prepared for this
activity and bring some reading material
Words are my claim to fame  No resources
 Creating a newspaper of the week - Children required
Week 13 can write about the stories they have read in
the last week or month, in a way that it
becomes a class newspaper.
Read and Enact  Reading
 The students are assigned to work in groups material or a
book
 They are provided a short play to read
containing a
 Next, they are asked to collaborate with one play
another and enact the entire story. This
integration of Reading with performing arts
Week 14 gives the learner an additional boost and adds
more fun dimensions to reading.
Exposure visit to the school library  Library Books
 Every child to tell few lines about the book
read which they had got issued from library in
week 4.

Note: In case the schools are closed, activities like Exposure visit to the school
library, Read and Enact to be replaced with the following activities:

1. TOPIC- KNOW YOUR FOOD

 The teacher/parent/volunteer will ask the students to get a list of food
items from home which they ate on the previous day.
 The next day they will share them in the class/home.
 They will first of all try to read the name of the food item.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 14

  Each name of the food items like roti, water, milk, tea, lemon, dal,
vegetables, fruits etc. will be read using the beginning sound by the
students with assistance.
 These words will be written on the blackboard by the teacher. If the
activity is conducted at home/community centres the names can be
written on a piece of paper.
 The next day more words from the list will be taken and read in the class.
 These words become sight words and enable them to read and identify.

2. TOPIC- LISTENING AND SHARING

 The teacher/parent/volunteer will ask the students to listen and observe

any of the programmes on TV/Radio or a story told by
parents/grandparents.
 They will hear the characters/names of the story/programme.
 With their listening skills they will tell their teacher/parent/volunteer about
the name of the story/programme and the teacher/parent/volunteer will
write them on the black board or any piece of paper.
 Now that the students will have enough names written on the
blackboard/paper, students will be asked to read the names.
 The word wall will be created in the class and the students will be asked to
read every morning and few of them will share about the
story/programme which they heard/watched.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 15

 Activities for Classes III to V

To be achieved:
Developmental Goals and Learning Outcomes:

 Effective Communication
o critical and creative thinking
o ability to locate, understand and reflect on various kinds of information
 Involved Learners

Required
Sl. No. Activity
Resource
Exposure visit to the school library Library Books
 All children to visit to the school library and
explore books that are available.
 Every child must get one age appropriate
book issued to read and tell about the same
in the fourth week.
 While reading the book at home an adult of
the family must be present to ensure
Week 1
correctness.
Circle Time No resources
required
 The students sit in a circle and the teacher
initiates the story by giving them the opening
sentence and setting the scene.
 Each student takes the story further by
adding a sentence and speaks to whole
class.
Dress & Tell  Pictures of
various writer
 The students dress up as their favourite writer/
/poet
poet and read a story/poem of that
Week 2 character to the class.  Book of
stories/poems
 This will encourage others to read about the
by those
same.
writers/poets
Bend The End Story books
 The teacher reads a story selected
according to the theme of the month (it
needs to have a moral or ethical
Week 3
significance) and asks the learners to change
the ending.
 As the leading protagonist, how would they
have acted in the given situation.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 16

 Required
Sl. No. Activity
Resource
Set The Scene Story books
 The teacher divides the class into groups of 4
or 5.
 He/ she presents them with a setting
(describes any setting, for example: old fort/
desert/ playground) and describes
characters from the setting such as king/
queen/ dragon/ farmer/ camel/ magician/
children.
Week 4
 Then teacher asks them to construct a short
story which can be read aloud by one of the
group members.
Exposure visit to the school library Library books
 Every child to tell few lines about the book
read which they had got issued from library in
week 1.
 Get another age appropriate book issued to
be read by the week 14.
Folklore Fun Folk tale books
of states
 The teacher can select an interesting folk
Week 5 tale from the rich heritage of the partner
state under the Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat
program and read it in class and ask some
students to enact it out.
Literary Calendar  Calendar
 The students can prepare a literary calendar  Story/ Poem
by marking the birth dates of various writers/ books
Week 6
poets and enlisting their works.
 From this list they can choose a book/ poem
to read.
Speak Up Reading
material or
 This activity needs to be conducted in pairs.
books on various
One student is the author/ writer and the
fictional
other is the fictional character created by
characters
the author.
 Both of students in one pair needs to read a
Week 7
book of character-author pair.
 They ask each other 5 questions. For e.g.
about Ruskin Bond, Swamy and RK Narayan
etc.
 Local stories written by writer and their
famous character

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 17

 Required
Sl. No. Activity
Resource
Reading story in own language (Kahani Padho Books available
Apni Bhasa Main) in any language
 Every year 21st February is celebrated as
International Mother Tongue Day.
Week 8
 The teacher will select any book in any
language (including regional/mother
tongue) and then ask the students to write a
book review.
Reading Poetry A poetry books
or a reading
 Students are asked to read poems by poets
material with
of their own choice/ recommended by
Week 9 poems
teacher.
 As a follow up activity they compose their
own poem using the poetic devices learned.
Meri Kahani, Meri Zubani Reading
material or
 Each student takes up the role/ identity of a
books with
thing such as river, tree, wheat plant, etc. journey life of
and creates its journey of life. different natural
 The journey of life created by different objects
students are heard in class as a follow up.
Nani Dadi ki Kahaniyaan
Week 10
 Nothing feels better than a tale told by our
grandparents. The teacher asks the learners
to narrate/ write a tale told to them by their No resources
grandparents and what they learnt from it. required
 Each student then read it to the class
 They can then read any such collection
(Sudha Murthys Grandma’s bag of stories is a
Judge a Book by its Cover  Reading
material or
 As a part of the Book Week or Literary Day
books with
celebration, the teacher can ask the learners
stories
Week 11 to design a book cover for their favourite  Design
book. materials
 Students have to read the book first to design
the cover relevant to the content
Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) Reading
materials like
 On any one decided day and time,
books or
Week 12 everyone in the school (those students are newspaper
coming to school) or at home will read for at
least 20 minutes.
 A time can be decided for this- ex. Tuesday

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 18

 Required
Sl. No. Activity
Resource
morning at 11:00 am in school
 All present in the school- students, teachers,
staff ensures that they are prepared for this
activity and bring some reading material
Prop Up  Reading
material or
 The teacher prepares a bag full of props (like
books about
crown, sword, pot, gloves, ring, wand, etc.)
usages of
or a list of props for students at home.
props
Week 13  The children pick out (or in case of students
 Collection of
from home, teachers randomly assign) a
props
prop and students write how they would use
the prop to do a good deed.
 Then each student reads their creation to
whole class.
If I Were Reading
material or
 The teacher asks the students to select a
books on
profession from the given array (sailor/
different
soldier/ scientist, etc). profession
 They are then asked to read a story about a
prominent personality from that profession
Week 14
and talk about it in class as to how they
made the world a better place.
Exposure visit to the school library Library Books
 Every child to tell few lines about the book
read which they had got issued from library in
week 4.

Note: In case the schools are closed, activities like Exposure visit to the school
library, Circle Time, Set the Scene to be replaced with the following activities:

1. TOPIC- KNOW YOUR FOOD

 The teacher/parent/volunteer will ask the students to get a list of food
items from home which they ate on the previous day.
 The next day they will share them in the class/home.
 They will first of all try to read the name of the food item.
 Each name of the food items like roti, water, milk, tea, lemon, dal,
vegetables, fruits etc. will be read using the beginning sound by the
students with assistance.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 19

  These words will be written on the blackboard by the teacher. If the
activity is conducted at home/community centres the names can be
written on a piece of paper.
 The next day more words from the list will be taken and read in the class.
 These words become sight words and enable them to read and identify.

2. TOPIC- LISTENING AND SHARING

 The teacher/parent/volunteer will ask the students to listen and observe
any of the programmes on TV/Radio or a story told by
parents/grandparents.
 They will hear the characters/names of the story/programme.
 With their listening skills they will tell their teacher/parent/volunteer about
the name of the story/programme and the teacher/parent/volunteer will
write them on the black board or any piece of paper.
 Now that the students will have enough names written on the
blackboard/paper, students will be asked to read the names.
 The word wall will be created in the class and the students will be asked to
read every morning and few of them will share about the
story/programme which they heard/watched.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 20

 Activities for Classes VI to VIII

To be achieved:
Developmental Goals and Learning Outcomes:

 Effective Communication
o critical and creative thinking
o ability to locate, understand and reflect on various kinds of information
 Involved Learners

S. No Activity Required
Resource
Exposure visit to the school library Library books
 All children to visit to the school library and
explore books that are available.
 Every child must get one age appropriate
Week 1 book issued to read and tell about the same in
the fourth week.
 While reading the book at home an adult of
the family must be present to ensure
correctness.
Read and write Story books
 Through this activity, students learn to read
and also create stories on a given topic.
 The teacher may assign all students a story
that is to be read.
 The teacher picks up any 5-8 objects from the
Week 2 story (for example- the story has reference of
items like bicycle, rose, tress, leaves, animals
etc. these may be picked)
 Students are asked to create a new story using
the objects that the teacher has assigned
 The stories of students are heard in class as a
follow up
Reading Poetry A poetry book or
 Students are asked to read poems by a reading
Week 3 poets of their own choice/ recommended material with
by teacher/recommended by family. poems

Read with friends, read for fun No resources

 Each student is asked to pick any short story required
that he has already read earlier and likes a lot.
Week 4
 He/ she is asked to read this story to another
student from a junior class/ younger sibling. This
can be done under supervision of teachers or

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 21

 S. No Activity Required
Resource
parents.
 The senior student who is the reader is asked to
modulate his voice and read with expression
to make the story interesting.
Exposure visit to the school library Library books
 Every child to tell few lines about the book
read which they had got issued from library in
week 1.
 Get another age appropriate book issued to
be read by the week 14.
Characters check Reading
material or
 The class is assigned the same short story to
books with
read
stories
 This is followed by a mock press interview
where students take the role of the key
Week 5
characters and the others are assigned the
role of the press
 The press can ask questions to the characters.
This interaction needs to be moderated by the
teacher
Analyzing lyrics/ recipes Recipe/Lyric
workbook
 The teacher can pick up 5-6 lyrics (check for
lyrics appropriateness) of folk songs/film songs
or recipes of local dishes
 Ask each student to pick one song/ recipe
ahead of time
 Each student can undertake a literary analysis
Week 6 of the chosen song. It may include the
context, message, emotions etc.
 In case it is the recipe, the student can be
asked to analyze the recipe and re-create it
using only limited ingredients. Alternatively,
the student can be asked to re-create the
recipe to make it suit the tastes of his/ her
grandparent.
Book recommendations  Reading list
 Each student is asked to think of a book that containing
they would recommend to a friend (they can book names
refer to reading lists provided by the teacher).  Books which
Week 7
can be read
 From the chosen book, each student should
by students
then write a character summary of the most
villainous character.
Reading story in own language (Kahani Padho Books available
Week 8
Apni Bhasa Main) in any language

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 22

 S. No Activity Required
Resource
 Every year 21st February is celebrated as
International Mother Tongue Day.
 The teacher will select any book in any
language (including regional/mother tongue)
and then ask the students to write a book
review.
Hunting the papers  Newspaper
 Worksheets to
 Assign students the task to locate/ hunt a list of
write brief
items in the newspaper
summary
 This can be a common word that is a part of
the headline or a comic strip or even the
name of the city/ town
 The students can save this newspaper article
and write a brief summary of this
Reading for Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat  Reading
materials on
 Students research on the partnering
state
State/UT under 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ in
 Worksheets for
pairs and look for some textual material on the
Week 9 making
state
collage
 After reading each pair of students makes a
collage based on their reading and presents it
in the class with description.
On the quest of Local Flora  Books on fruits
and
 The year 2021 has been declared as the Year
vegetables
of Fruits and Vegetables by the United Nations.
 Worksheets on
 The students are assigned the task to locate local fruits and
information on local fruits and vegetables, vegetables
their varieties and special features over the
Week 10 week (during library and computer periods)
 The science teacher screens the material
collected. She may add some more relevant
readings on the theme.
 The students work in groups and read the
pieces in one period in the following week.
Twist Story book
 The teacher picks up an interesting story
(thriller or suspense) as a preparatory step.
Students may be divided in to small groups.
Week 11
 One of the groups reads this to the class
 Next, the teacher asks the other
groups/students to give a twist to the story by
altering the way the story ends.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 23

 S. No Activity Required
Resource
Reading Poetry  Poetry book or
a reading
 Students are asked to read poems by poets of
material with
their own choice/ recommended by teacher.
some poems
 As a follow up activity, they compose their  Some ready
own poem using the poetic devices learned reference on
poetic devices
with examples
Drop Everything And Read (DEAR)  Reading
Week 12 materials like
 On any one decided day and time, everyone
book or
in the school (those students are coming to
newspaper
school) or at home will read for at least 20
minutes.
 A time can be decided for this. Example:
Tuesday morning at 11:00 am in school
 All present in the school- students, teachers,
staff ensures that they are prepared for this
activity and bring some reading material.
Read and Enact  Reading
 The students are assigned to work in groups material or a
book
 They are provided a short play to read
containing a
Week 13  Next, they are asked to collaborate with one play
another and enact the entire story. This
integration of Reading with performing arts
gives the learner an additional boost and
adds more fun dimensions to reading.
Inspirations from our Leaders Stories/ essays
on Mahatma
 Assign students to search for a book or an
Gandhi
essay on Mahatma Gandhi.
 As a follow up activity, ask students to do an
act of kindness and make a note of this
Week 14  Encourage the students to share this in the
following week
Exposure visit to the school library Library Books
 Every child to tell few lines about the book
read which they had got issued from library in
week

Note: In case the schools are closed, activities like Exposure visit to the school
library, Characters check to be replaced with the following activities:

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 24

 1. REVERSE READING:
 Reverse reading is reading the words from the end of the page or
paragraph
 To the start of the paragraph/page, children tend to read from right to left
and continue in the same manner for each line.
 This develops critical thinking and as well as develop confidence among
children in reading. This activity may be conducted with upper primary
children.

2. ZIG ZAG READING:

 Zig Zig Reading is reading the words/text from left to right and then from
right to left.
 Children will repeat the process of reading in the same pattern in a Zig Zag
manner for the whole content/text/paragraph.
 By Reading in the zig zag manner children will be able to develop fast
reading and helps to boost their left – right brain coordination.

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 25

 Annexure II

Additional Activities

1. NUMBER READING
 Teacher will ask the students to write and get any two vehicle numbers
(the four numbers) they see on the road.
 The next day, each child will try to read the numbers written and the
facilitator will make a note of it on the board.
 Now the other child will be asked to read these numbers and so on.
 The peers will be involved with each other to read the vehicle numbers
brought by them.

2. NUMBER READING TASK – KNOW YOUR SCHOOL

 The teacher will take the students for a school tour.
 They will be asked to observe around for numbers written around.
 The rooms have room numbers written on them.
 After coming back to the class, they will recall any two to three numbers
they saw around.
 These numbers will be written on the board by the facilitator.
 The teacher will ask the other students of the numbers written on the
board.

3. READING TASK – KNOW YOUR SCHOOL

 The teacher will take the students on a round to the school and will be
asked to observe their surroundings.
 They will be asked to try to read what is written around e.g. Principal room,
Office, washroom-boy/girl or men/women, words like lab, bin, first floor,
second floor etc.
 The students will come back and share what they observed by telling the
same to the facilitator. The students might not remember the exact
spelling but can still try to tell the spelling.
 These words will then become sight words and will be asked to memorize
as they will be read daily.
 These words will be pasted on the word wall.

*****

GUIDELINES ON READING CAMPAIGN 26

Nodal Team @DoSE&L, Ministry of Education

Maneesh Garg
Joint Secretary, Samagra Shiksha
E mail: [email protected]
Phone: 011-23386232

Rashi Sharma
Director, Samagra Shiksha
E mail: [email protected]
Phone: 011-23388098

Purabi Pattanayak
Chief Consultant, Samagra Shiksha
E mail: [email protected]
Phone: 9899056300
Let’s join hands
to create a joyful
reading culture

DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
@2021