“At the beginning of the year Tim gained a stanine of one on the STAR test administered to all year 9 students. Running records revealed that Tim had a reading age of 7 – 8 years. In term three the Availll programme was used with the students in Tim’s class. On completion of the component using the DVD Holes a number of the students asked if they could take home a copy of the book. This was the first real success as this is a supported learning class of reluctant readers. Tim asked if he too could take home the book. At first I was reluctant to let him do so in view of the disparity in his reading ability. After some nagging from him I gave in and let him take it.

Towards the end of the term, with a large number of students absent, I was working with a group of six, including Tim, using the activity from chapter 5, Holes. Tim asked if he could read out loud. Again I was reluctant to let him do so fearing embarrassment for him. Again I succumbed to his pleas and to my absolute surprise Tim read with expression and fluency and needed help with only two words. The students have loved the programme and behaviour issues have become a thing of the past. For me it was new, very well prepared and a pleasure to operate.”Ashley, Teacher

“I think the money we spent on the programme was more than worth it because of the gains the children have made, but also adding a fresh element to teaching reading skills. It was fun to teach in a different way and the children were excited about what they were doing.”Rebekah, Teacher

“As a teacher of a class containing a range of reading levels I was most impressed with the AVAILLL reading programme. I felt this programme catered for a range of abilities and my students felt important by completing the wide variety of tasks relating to the scenes watched. The children in my class enjoyed the watching/reading DVD’s- it helped that the movies were so “kid-friendly”. My reluctant readers gained confidence as they could easily achieve set tasks and hearing the narrator alongside reading the subtitles helped with their fluency. The group activities meant that children were never isolated- they had the security of the group to help them. I thought the mixture of watching and reading missed-out chapters required the students to use their imaginations. The dictionary skills activity is one I still implement in class today. Thanks for creating a unique and creative programme enjoyed by both students and teachers.”Dana Turnbull, Deputy Principal, East Gore School (Year 6 class of 25 students)

“I thought I would give you an update on how we are going. I am well under way and about to start the second DVD. The kids are working hard and seem to be enjoying it. I am really delighted with the change in the kids. Even if the research results show little upward movement, the differences in the kids are worth their weight in gold!! The main differences are as follows:

Kids are all on time for class – amazing!!
Kids are all ready to work – amazing!!
Kids are always asking what we are going to do today – amazing!!
Every kid is working hard – amazing!!

One of the most disruptive and difficult kids in all of Year 10 said “This is awesome Miss.” He was also heard in the playground, telling another disruptive kid; ” We’re doing really awesome stuff in English man!” This is unbelievable!!!

Regardless of improvements in Reading levels, I will definitely use this next year. The positive attitudes to Reading it has engendered and the growing confidence in the kids, has already made it very worthwhile for me and my classes. The kids now see Reading as a real treat, after all where else do they get to watch cool movies?!! They are also more than happy to complete the activities, which they also see as fun!

It may take a little longer than we thought as we only have year 9 for 4 periods per week. Should be finished by end week 8 I hope. Thanks for this great opportunity.”Papanui High School

“The students completed Series of Unfortunate Events and loved the concept. They were engaged and quiet. The first time stopping the movie of course they wanted to just keep playing it, but they soon came to class each day eager to do the next activity. They commented how much they were reading while it was playing. It worked well with the range of ability I have in the room as well. We did some of the other activities too, using the Africa video for imagery, and read and see it. I could not believe how much information they had retained, especially my lower level readers. We are on break right now, but am planning to begin another one after. Thank you.”Hayley Snowden, Griffiths Scott Middle School