NEW DELHI: Taking another step towards inculcating the habit of reading among children as also making reading pleasurable, Scholastic India has launched its YouTube channel, Read Aloud by Scholastic India. The channel was launched yesterday (February 5) to mark the World Read Aloud Day. Working as a platform for giving kids an immersive experience into the world of books, the channel would have a treasury of Scholastic books, read by some of the best storytellers across the country. As of now the channel has seven storytelling videos.
The publishing house plans to update the channel with new videos every 15 days to keep the young readers engaged and entertained. That’s not all, all the videos on the channel come with an activity sheet, which you can download and solve with your child to encourage discussion and improve his/her comprehension skills. “We hope our endeavour will help make read-aloud sessions a cherished ritual for families and will encourage the children to explore the joys of reading,” says Neeraj Jain, Managing Director, Scholastic India.
As a precursor to the channel launch, Scholastic India had conducted a survey – Kids and Family Reading Report. As per the survey, more than 77 per cent of children believe reading books (storybooks not the academic ones) for fun is extremely/ very important. 85 per cent children across all ages say they love it when a book is read aloud to them. Among parents, 91 per cent say that reading aloud is extremely/ very important in developing a child’s language skills. Parents of children aged 0–5 say that they started reading aloud to their kids not just because they want them to start learning about letters and words, but also because they want their child to enjoy books. Upasana Kaura, English teacher at Mount Abu Public School, Rohini cannot agree more. “Reading instils confidence, builds literacy skills and aids in academics,” she says