’Let’s Build a Station’, a brand new literacy resource for school pupils, has today been launched by Cross London Rail Links Ltd (CLRL), the company leading the Crossrail project to build a new rail line across London, from Maidenhead in the West to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the East.
The innovative initiative has been undertaken in partnership with the CITB-Construction Skills (Construction Industry Training Board).
The large format book will provide teachers with a tool to help them to develop specific literacy skills with their pupils, and to promote reading amongst four to seven year olds.
It is accompanied by six smaller versions, for use by small groups and to progress childrens’ individual reading skills.
The non-fiction book follows two young children as they discover how a Crossrail station could be built at Canary Wharf in London’s Docklands.
It has been carefully written, and includes photographs, diagrams and a glossary, to make the content accessible, interesting and engaging for children, and reinforce and enhance their developing skills.
Schools close to the proposed Crossrail route will be offered the Big Book free of charge.
CITB-Construction Skills will also distribute copies to their national education network, providing the opportunity for teachers across the country to develop pupils’ literacy, while introducing them to the construction industry and the Crossrail project
Ian Rathbone, manager of Crossrail’s education programme, comments: ‘This initiative is part of Crossrail’s ongoing education programme, which involves working with children, young people and communities living along the proposed route of the Crossrail line.
'It also fits into the Government’s drive to promote literacy and encourage interest in reading amongst children from the earliest age.’
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For further information please contact: the 24 hour seven day a week helpdesk on 0845 602 3813 or e-mail helpdesk@crossrail.co.uk
Issued 23 June 2006
CITB-ConstructionSkills
ConstructionSkills became the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry in September 2003, and has a five-year licence to operate.
It is a partnership between CITB-ConstructionSkills, the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and CITB Northern Ireland (NI) and as such covers the whole industry from craft to the professions, the whole of the UK, and all of the issues that the industry faces.
Visit the website for more information: www.citb-constructionskills.co.uk
Let’s Build a Station’
The literacy resource is designed to meet the following literacy objectives:
• Use of glossaries to give definition and explanation
• To pose questions prior to reading a text to find answers
• To evaluate the usefulness of a text for its purpose
• Use of technical words
• To identify features of a non-fiction text in print
• To compare the way information is presented to support readers to gain information efficiently
• Note taking from a text
