The Irish News Launches Media Literacy Programme
The Irish News has launched a major eight-week media literacy drive to help thousands of schoolchildren improve their literacy and critical thinking.
Last week, The Irish News produced its first school edition for the project which will be delivered weekly to students for them to improve their reading, writing, talking and listening skills.
At the launch, schools were invited to Interpress in Belfast, for a tour on how The Irish News is produced.
The initiative will bring up to eight weeks of activities that offer a different way to challenge the knowledge and understanding of young readers.
The Young Newsreaders project was created by St Mary’s University College in collaboration with The Irish News and supported by CBI as well as Reach Stationary.
The programme has already helped thousands of children improve their literacy through exploring newspapers in an interactive way.
John Brolly, marketing manager said: “The Irish News is delighted to be publishing our first school edition for use in our award winning Young News Readers project.
“It is a significant investment in the literacy of our young people but with over 4,000 children already signed up it offers schools a great opportunity to engage with a unique learning through the news in the classroom initiative.
“Our special school edition offers students a range of content from food, travel, business as well as local and international news.”
It will allow children the opportunity to read a wider range of materials, helping them to develop their inferential knowledge and deduction skills.
Students will learn what makes a story, what a headline is and what makes the news.
Professor Peter Finn, principal of St Mary’s University College said: “Critical literacy encourages young readers in both primary and post-primary schools to actively study texts. It assists young readers in better understanding the local, regional, national and international news they receive from a variety of media sources.
“In an era of change and uncertainty, for example the issue of Brexit, The Irish News has established a collaborative partnership that provides teachers and their pupils with a rich learning resource to further develop critical literacy skills.”
Angela McGeown, director of CBI NI, said critical reading is an important part of a child’s development.
She added: “CBI NI is delighted to support The Irish News literacy project for young children. This experience works to support a child’s analytical and evaluation skills – both of which are highly valued in the world of work.
“Our support for this project chimes well with the CBI’s support for breakfast clubs in disadvantaged areas. The business community is well aware that investing in our young people today pays huge dividends when it comes to the future economy.”
The content of this paper will be child-friendly to ensure everyone can fully engage with the project. Successful candidates will receive a personalised certificate of achievement.