How does LECXIT work? The LECXIT starter kit

The goal of LECXIT – the Successful Reading Programme – is to increase the academic achievement of children by improving their reading comprehension. Those of us responsible for LECXIT are setting ourselves the challenge of assuring that all pupils complete primary school with a level of reading ability that guarantees their educational and social growth. So, why not get involved in the project and promote a LECXIT forum in your municipality to meet this challenge?

Let us introduce you to the LECXIT starter kit, which includes the necessary guidelines and tools to promote the project in your institutions and ensure that LECXIT serves as a stimulating experience both for the children and the volunteers. Are you ready? Then, let’s do it!

What aspects need to be considered when starting the LECXIT project?

1. Forming part of the LECXIT community

LECXIT comprises a network of more than 265 forums fostering the project in more than 125 municipalities in Catalonia. Accordingly, each week more than 1,900 reading pairs meet up. They are formed by a volunteer and a child, who share a space focussing on books.

2. Pursuing reading alliances in your local area

Embarking on LECXIT could provide you with the opportunity to build a reading network in your local area. We would encourage you to get in touch with other agents from your area to pursue alliances, common interests and synergies centring on reading and to share strategies and learning outcomes.

3. Determining the party responsible for coordinating the project

To ensure the project unfolds successfully, you must decide which individual will act as the coordinator to be present at LECXIT meetings and who will remain in contact with the agents involved.

4. Making an appeal for volunteers

The volunteers are the cornerstone of the project. Their involvement and dedication enable children to benefit from shared moments of reading every week. We encourage you to make an appeal to find volunteers in your municipality by sharing the information and disseminating the project at libraries, secondary schools, nursing homes, youth centres, adult education institutions, universities, and many other settings.

5. Supporting the volunteer group

One of the foremost functions of the coordinator is to support the group of volunteers by delivering the assistance and support they need. This is essential to assure that the mentors can perform the task of providing coaching with reading.

6. Determining the group of children

Children are at the heart of our initiative. Homeroom teachers are responsible for choosing the children that they believe could benefit from the LECXIT programme. Given that mentoring is 1-on-1, the number of children you can assist will depend on the number of volunteers you have. As a result, prior to determining the group of children who are taking part, it is necessary to first establish the group of volunteers.

7. Starting the LECXIT sessions

We use the first day of the LECXIT initiative to allow the pairs to get to know one another; to find out the preferences and interests of the children; and to show them the reading space they will be sharing. Once the pairs are acquainted, the LECXIT sessions may begin. They consist of 3 stages: 1) the reception of the child by the volunteer; 2) the reading time as the main element of the activity; and 3) the conclusion of the session to assess how it went and preview what will be covered next time.

8. Marking the end of the LECXIT sessions

The activities end in late May and, in order to conclude the sessions, we encourage you to organise a party to celebrate the experience with the entire community. The aim is to form a meeting point to acknowledge the work of those involved and the endeavours and efforts made by the children and the volunteers.

9. Assessing the project

The assessment enables us to determine the impact the project has had. Those of us responsible for the LECXIT initiative will prepare assessment tools to allow us to determine the potential the project has to offer and to establish the room for improvement. Our website incorporates a section reserved for the promoters of the LECXIT programme which includes all this material.

To find out more, log on to lecxit.cat and download the starter kit! And if you feel like promoting a LECXIT forum, contact us at lecxit@fbofill.cat.