Video transcript for Reading time

[Music]

Dianne Robertson: You’re probably wondering why I’m putting my gloves on. You’ll work it out in a minute. Hands down and listening. The book’s  very, very old. Who thinks this book is very, very old? And very, very precious? It is, both of those. We only have one of these. It’s called ‘The Second Reading Book’ and this is what you would have in first class you would read the first half of the book. You would have this book all year. Now is it true you have reading groups in your modern classes.

Students:Yes.

Dianne: Oh, you’re so lucky. Do you get to change your books like you have reading groups and you can change your books a couple of times a week?

Students: Yes.

Dianne: Oh, very lucky. Not like the olden days the children had one book. There were not many illustrations but they had to study their words. They had a list of words each week. They studied their words and then they read the passage, then the teacher tested them on Friday. We might have a spelling test on Friday. Well, unlike the tables, tables you write them out twenty times, if you get a spelling word wrong on Friday you write it out fifty times. Now, you know why I wore the gloves. Can you tell me? I’m going to ask this young man.

Students: It’s very dirty.

Dianne: Does the book look dirty? Well, it’s actually not the dirtiness of the book, it’s the dirtiness of my hands getting on the old book. The old book is very precious and I know you girls were going to say that, and you were too. The book is so precious that I have to look after it. I am not allowed to get any of the dirt or the oil from my skin on that precious book. Did I tell you we’ve got only one of those. It’s very rare that book but it doesn’t matter because we were able to copy that book. We copied that book and I could give you your own little book. When you get this could you please open up inside and see if you can find the words for me – Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, you’ll find them somewhere inside your olden day book. You’ll have one each. Alright, okay, one of these each. Open it up, put your finger on the word Sunday, put your finger on the word Monday. Or better still you can help me read them.

Dianne/Students: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, English, remember.

Dianne: That was a trick word that last one, remember, that’s a very hard word but you did that very well.