Ignite Talk

The ‘I have the right to read’ program offered by the Radislav Nikčević Public Library in Jagodina, Serbia, provides children ages 6 to 12 with rich learning through play experiences to improve their reading comprehension. By building reading comprehension skills, the program supports the cognitive development of children. It also helps them to improve their imagination and creativity, leading to the development of empathy and friendships and helping them gain a deeper understanding of the world around them.

More than 700 children participated in weekly reading activities in the library including:

• TV Commercials – Children recommend their favorite books as 60-second commercials, learning how to summarize and retell stories.
• Our Theatre – Children adapt a book into a play and perform the story or use puppets to tell it. They also integrate real-life experiences into their plays.
• You Are Me and I Am You – Children learn to understand the personalities of characters in books and make connections to their own feelings and lives.
• Draw to Flow – Children learn to order the sequence of events in stories, organize their thoughts and communicate the story through drawings.
• Battle of the Brains – Children pretend to be participants in a TV quiz show. In teams, they read and answer questions, learning to think analytically and make predictions.
• I Spy with My Little Eye – Children practice paying attention to detail to better understand the intention of authors. They are detectives, looking for clues.

Host

Jelena Rajić

Jelena Rajić has been a librarian at the Jagodina Public Library in Serbia for thirteen years, working in a variety of different departments including foreign books, the internet center, and periodicals. Currently she is a senior librarian in the Department for Cultural and Educational Programs and Promotion of Reading. She adores working with children.