All Year 4 students in Guernsey have been presented with their own copy of Britannica’s Children’s Encyclopedia as part of an initiative across all primary schools to encourage children to ‘love reading’.
The 424-page compendium is different from traditional encyclopedias that are structured from A–Z, in that it has a narrative arc that tells the story of the world from the beginning of time to the present day and looking to the future. The Britannica Children’s Encyclopedia is divided into eight chapters by subject: Universe, Earth, Matter, Life, Humans, Ancient & Medieval Times, Modern Times, and Today & Tomorrow.
Head of Learning and Development at the Guille-Alles Library, Catherine Stuart, has run interactive workshops at primary schools to present the encyclopedia to students, who will use them in school before taking them home at the end of this academic year.
The initiative is part of Education’s cultural enrichment programme, which uses funding generated through changes to family allowance to deliver meaningful experiences for children outside of normal curriculum-based activities. The funding ensures cultural enrichment activities are provided to all learners, including some of the most disadvantaged students, during the school day as part of their educational development.
Kim Hutchison, Head of Primary Leadership and Development, said: “This initiative is a great example of helping children to ‘love reading,’ which is an initiative that all primary schools are working on right now. Working in partnership with the Schools’ Library Service enables us to strengthen partnerships with our enabling services and encourage children to use the library more often.
“One of the commitments of Our Education Strategy is to ensuring that our education system equips learners with the knowledge and skills so they are able to succeed wherever they are, either within or beyond the Bailiwick, now and in the future; initiatives like this support those aims.”
Catherine Stuart, Head of Learning and Development at the Guille-Alles Library, said: “‘During our interactive workshops the children found unusual words in the glossary and how to find connected knowledge highlighted within the pages. Ranging from learning the Ancient Egyptian word for cat to why scorpions glow in the moonlight, the children had fun understanding how to use the encylopedia to build on their information seeking skills; an incredibly important skill for the enjoyment of lifelong learning.
“The cultural enrichment programme’s provision of a Britannica Children’s Encyclopaedia for all Year 4 students is a fantastic way to engage these young readers with the wider world, while introducing them to key information-seeking skills that can further develop their curiosity and expand their knowledge.”
Pictured: Catherine Stuart delivering Britannica workshop to La Mare Primary students
