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Get your World Cup (tool)kit on in time for the big kick-off
21 Apr 2010
With the first game of the Football World Cup in South Africa kicking off on 11 June, the countdown is on and World Cup obsession is set to hit fever pitch. To make the most of the excitement, the National Literacy Trust and children’s author Tom Palmer with support from the Football Association, have developed a free World Cup resource to inspire young people’s reading.
The resource, Love Football: Love Reading, funded by the Football Foundation and the Professional Footballers’ Association, is a toolkit for literacy professionals and features ideas and activities that schools, libraries and learning centres at football clubs can use to promote reading through sport. Following on from recent National Literacy Trust research* of 17,089 pupils, which found that one-third of boys (32.3%) can’t find books to read that interest them, the toolkit aims to tap into young people’s, and especially boys’, love of the ‘beautiful game’. Many of the ideas have been inspired by the National Literacy Trust’s football reader development initiative Reading The Game, along with activities that link with Tom’s Foul Play football detective series.
The toolkit is endorsed by English goalkeeper David James, a huge supporter of the National Literacy Trust’s football and literacy work.
David James, English goalkeeper, says:
“I can’t wait for the World Cup! We can win it, but while we’re on that journey, we are going to be part of a planet which can talk, read or hear about little else. I have been involved with the National Literacy Trust since 2003 and I have seen first hand how football and footballers can show families that there is a purpose – a place – for reading in their lives. Use this toolkit to form a team of world-class readers from a team of underdogs; win your World Cup using these ideas.”
Jim Sells, Reading The Game manager at the National Literacy Trust says:
“The 2010 World Cup is the ideal opportunity to promote reading through the motivating power of sport. With the tension mounting, and the media already full of World Cup stories, there is going to be a huge amount of exciting reading material published around the tournament. We want to take advantage of the heightened interest and get this reading material into children’s hands through schools, libraries and football clubs.”
Ideas featured in the toolkit include: a library football treasure hunt to make families aware of the different football reading material available; advice about launching an activity called ‘Male Order’ where parents, especially mums, are encouraged to borrow or buy World Cup books for men and boys in their household; and a guide to putting together an interactive World Cup display.
Tom Palmer, children’s author, says:
“I hope this toolkit will reach thousands of schools and hundreds of public libraries, which means it has the potential to influence millions of children and their attitudes to reading. Importantly, it will also help to raise the confidence of many boys who, were it not for football, might not be inspired to pick up a book.”
Tom is going to write a free episodic story called Foul Play: The World Cup Mystery as part of the initiative. The instalments will be published online from 8 June and will feature Danny Harte, his football detective character. Based around the tournament and responding to daily events and results the instalments will be uploaded ready for teachers to read aloud to their class from 6am each school morning from 8 June to 13 July. The very first instalment can be found at the back of the World Cup toolkit.
You can download the toolkit for free here.
Ends
*The full research report will be published in summer 2010.
Notes to Editors
For further information about the World Cup toolkit or to arrange an interview with Tom Palmer or Jim Sells, please contact Anna Lindsay, National Literacy Trust Public Relations Officer on 0207 820 6256 or Anna.Lindsay@literacytrust.org.uk
To arrange for Tom to visit your school to talk about football and reading, please contact Tom via his website at: www.tompalmer.co.uk, via email at info@tompalmer.co.uk or by calling 07957 375312.
The toolkit is delivered by the National Literacy Trust, and funded by the Professional Footballers’ Association and the Football Foundation. Images are courtesy of the Football Association. The toolkit has been written by children’s football author Tom Palmer, who also works as a reader development consultant.
1. About the National Literacy Trust
The National Literacy Trust initiative, Reading The Game (RTG), works with professional football to promote literacy and uses the motivational power of football to encourage reading for all ages. RTG is largely funded by the Football Foundation and works in partnership with the Premier League, the PFA, the FA, the Football League, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and Playing for Success. www.readingthegame.org.uk
The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that transforms lives through literacy. We believe that society will only be fair when everyone has the literacy skills they need to communicate, to fulfil their potential and to contribute more to society. We campaign to improve public understanding of the vital importance of literacy, as well as delivering projects and working in partnership to reach those most in need of support.
To help us transform lives through literacy, you can make a donation. To find out how visit http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/About/donate.html
National Literacy Trust is a registered charity no. 1116260, and a company limited by guarantee, no. 5836486. Registered in England and Wales. Registered address: 68 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1RL. Tel: 020 7587 1842.
2. About Tom Palmer
Tom is a football fan and an author. But he wasn't always good at writing. He did badly at school and hated reading, in particular, until he was 17.
It was reading about football that changed his life. Because it was then he decided he wanted to become a football writer, so he could be paid for watching football and writing about it. It took a few years, but now he goes all over the world to watch football and sometimes he writes about it. Sometimes he just watches it.
He likes writing stories like Foul Play as much as he likes writing about what happens in real games.
What’s in the toolkit
- Ideas for interactive World Cup displays in libraries and schools, featuring downloadable images of newly published World Cup books, plus a selection of those books
- Get Caught Reading photos around the school—children and teachers photographed in football settings reading recent football publications
- A listing of up to 20 football fiction authors, including Helena Pielichaty, Mal Peet and Tom Palmer, with information about the sessions they do in schools, their books and how to contact them about a school or library visit
- Reading groups called World Cup Clubs where children read multiple sets of new football fiction and non-fiction, bought through their school library supplier ahead of the tournament
- Advice on how to work with partners including independent and chain booksellers
- Links to publisher and author websites that have football material available
- Advice on the benefits of taking a class to visit a bookshop or a library to get them used to book environments if they’ve not yet had the opportunity
- Activities such as a library football treasure hunt, making families aware of all the different football reading material available in libraries
- Recommendations from staff and other children who have read recently published World Cup books
- Male Order: how to set up a scheme in which parents—especially mums—are encouraged to borrow or buy World Cup books for men and boys in their household
- Access to activity sheets that highlight new World Cup and football books
- Dozens more ideas for activities, games and displays designed to encourage an interest in books through the World Cup.
