School Library
Our library is a much used and valuable resource. It is at the heart of our school. A place where students can come before school, at lunchtime and after school, to read, use laptops for homework and research or access our student apps. It is a warm and welcoming environment where pupils say they feel safe and valued. Students can also get their DG Logins and any other platform detail log-ins from Ms Walker.
ACCESSIT LIBRARY DATABASE: We have a library database called ACCESSIT and students can sign in to this and view the titles in the library and reserve books, keep track of any overdue books, create book wish lists and post book reviews.
ACCELERATED READER: Students from both year 7 & 8 have dedicated library lessons where the soul focus is reading and they are encouraged to develop the ability to read a variety of books and genres and then test themselves on their understanding of the text though online quizzes. We do this through a sophisticated and intuitive programme called Accelerated Reader. At the start of every term, all students in these year groups take a general comprehension assessment which analyses their responses and produces data on their reading age and recommends a range of books for them to select from in order to progress to the next reading age level. The fiction books in the library are colour-coded to help them with their selections. Targets are then set and pupils are encouraged to challenge themselves to continuously improve their reading ability. This includes the ability to stick with texts and choose texts and genres that they would not naturally gravitate to. Accelerated Reader states that on average most pupils, where fully engaged with the programme, will improve by up to 2 Reading Age years in 1 academic year, but we often find that many pupils make more progress than this.
DEPTFORD GREEN LIBRARY LEADERS: In the library Ms Walker is privileged to have an amazing team of Library Leaders from all cohorts working with her and their contribution to the library is invaluable. Leaders vary all the time for various reasons, but they are always appreciated and valued as excellent members of the Deptford Green School Student Leadership team.
We have just produced a series of Recommended Reading lists for each year group in the form of a display on the wall in the corridors and we have also included them here for you to access with links to Goodreads telling you more about each title. We hope you will find them useful. They include a range of titles and genres for all abilities within each year group. If a student doesn’t know if the title is the right one for them, they should ask their teachers for help or suggestions or Ms Walker and they will try to guide you in finding YOUR NEXT GREAT READ!
There is also a ‘floating’ library in Room 401 where students who don’t engage with the library or enjoy visiting in their time outside of lessons, can still borrow quality texts especially selected by Ms Player and Ms Walker that cover a wide range of genres and reading interest. Click HERE for the 401 library. These titles can be requested through your English teacher.
In addition, The Book Trust is a fantastic website for pupils and parents alike and an excellent partner for schools and you will find a link to their website here. Their website offers up to date information and reviews on a huge range of books and authors for young people and gives our students the opportunity to access the very latest titles and search by genre. Again we are grateful to the Book Trust for allowing us to use their link.
An addition to the library is also a RESOURCE LINK LIBRARY designed to host links to support our students learning and to help parents who want to support their children in turn. Click HERE for the link.
Finally, at Deptford Green we offer a wide range of Reading initiatives.
- FREE BookBuzz books given to all year 7's in their first term at Deptford Green (through BookTrust)
- Year 7 & 8 have regular library lessons as part of the English Curriculum
- Accelerated Reader Programme followed in lessons to continuously monitor reading ages, ability, quantity and quality
- Reading Interventions in place within the English Timetable - thanks to our amazing English Team
- Reading Intervention for yr 7 & 8 with Year 10 Reading Mentors once a week - building reading skills, confidence & relationships
- Carnegie Shadowing Scheme for all years from March to June
- Regular quizzes, competitions and challenges
- Visiting Authors enlisted where possible (this year so far - virtually; Candice Carty Williams & Taran Matharu)
Please follow Ms Walker's Library Twitter Page for new books and news @MsWDGLibrary