Community Reading Project: Adding a new flavour to life through reading

Community Reading Project: Adding a new flavour to life through reading

This municipality reading project is the result of a challenge launched by the municipality council in 2014. The aim was that schools should study local traditions. Schools libraries belonging to Palmela Schools Libraries Working Group accepted the challenge. The task has been developed by ten schools libraries, Palmela Public Library, two gastronomic brotherhoods (Confraria da Fogaça and Confraria da Sopa Caramela), Palmela city council and Parents’ Associations. The National School Library Network has also been collaborating with the project, having its Local Coordinator as advisor. In the first year they developed activities about the traditional cookie «Fogaça»; and now with «sopa caramela» (caramel soup) and «maçã riscadinha» (striped apple). Next school year they will study other local traditions. Each school library has been developing the project according to its school Educational Project and its educational priorities. Cross-curriculum approaches occur within the formal and informal curriculum. The project aims at: • strengthening the collaborative work between the various members of the community; • involving all the community in the education of youngsters; • emphasizing the role of libraries as cultural, pedagogical and social knowledge promoters; • developing Environmental Education and the concept of sustainable economy; • protecting and upholding local traditions; • educating people to fully exercise their citizenship. The public librarian and teacher librarians were key elements to teach literacy competences. Teachers apply methodologies ensuring sustainable and meaningful learning. These methodologies reflect their belief that the deepest and most significant lessons are learned from experience and interaction. Pupils studied through a highly interactive learning process, crucial for development of pupils’ research capacities; results of their works/projects were presented in several contests or public exhibitions: • Gastronomic (best recipe), • Art (poster, photo, mascot), • Literary (slogan, poetry – rhymes) • Intergenerational chats/meetings • Farming/agricultural traditions (planting an apple tree) For more information check our blog : http://bagosdeletras.blogspot.pt/