There is a lot of magic that happens when a sense of camaraderie sets in.

Talking Circles came into existence with the objective of bringing children together to share their love for reading and writing with other like minded peers. In the process, we have seen many instances of collaborative learning and peer support.
Exploring words together by relying on reading experiences
Nine year old Ashish was playing the famous game Wordle with his friend. (Wordle is about guessing the five letter word of the day in six tries.) The duo were on their last try and knew four out five letters. The problem was that there was more than one possibility making it hard to zero in on the right word for the day. The desire to be right was immense. One of them said ‘sever’ and the other said ‘never’. Ashish insisted on using ‘sever’ much to the dismay of the friend. “But what does ‘sever’ even mean?” retorted the friend. Ashish hurriedly replied, “I know this word exists. I came across this word in a book written by David Walliams!” ‘Sever’ turned out to be the word of the day. After celebrating the win, the duo checked an online dictionary for the meaning. Story books across genres introduce readers to different words in a contextual manner. Even if they do not grasp the meaning right away in a hurry to proceed with the story, new words tend to get registered for later use.
Talking about reading experiences
Random conversations pave their way. These conversations about school, about books that someone has enjoyed and so on come up from time to time. Popular books get talked about when there is more than one reader who has read the book. Debates have emerged at the Young Readers' Club about which fantasy series is better for example- Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Then came along Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. Discussions between a couple of readers about this series led another reader to pick it up and try it for himself. He later excitedly shared with this friends that he couldn't keep the first book down and had to finish reading it in one setting.
Getting ready for reading higher levels
That little exchange about Percy Jackson, opened up another unexpected subject for discussion. Some of the younger readers complained that they are not yet allowed to read Percy Jackson. They have been told to wait until they are a little older. The readers who discussed Percy Jackson, explained that being older they are able to appreciate it better now. They went on to share how they tried when they were almost 9, but found it boring. But a year or two later, they were able to appreciate it much better.
Coming from peers, this angle might have been less irritating to take rather than being told more or less the same by an adult. The young readers did not look 100% convinced but definitely put them in a thought mode. After all, Percy Jackson isn't going anywhere. It is here to stay! :)
Having a chance to help another reader while reading together
We were talking about Ross Welford's Thousand Year Old Boy and the subject of Vikings came about. While everyone in the group said that they were familiar with the Vikings, one hand went up shyly. "I don't know who the Vikings are," he said. What followed was another reader swooping in to explain who they are. Pictures were shown and descriptions based on reading experiences were immediately shared. No one gets left behind.
It is ok, not to know something. We can find out together if we all don't know or if someone knows, they can help out.

It is such a beautiful feeling to be a part of a reading community where in the children support one another. There are times of course why they tease each other or even fight a little. But all that only to make up in a matter of minutes. They stand as a team together. Reading bonds them.
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Both weekday and weekend batches are available at the Young Readers' Club for the 8-12 age group.
Writing programs for the 9-12 age group- Young Writers' Club Jr.
The Young Writers' Club program for the 13-16 age group offers a weekly platform to read and discuss curated articles from the news, observe writing approaches and practise one's writing skills.
NEW! Tween Tribune is an online magazine for the Young Writers' Club (Jr.) program for tweens. Weekly updates of our discussions are published. Once in 6 months, the best of writing by the tween members is made available to read.
NEW! Musings from the Young Writers' Club is an online magazine showcasing the work we do at the Young Writers' Club.
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