Children go to dogs for lesson in literacy

They could be a reader’s best friend. Researchers have found children can improve their reading speed and confidence by reading books out loud to dogs.

The latest educational trend has seen thousands of reading programmes with dogs established in schools in America, Canada, Poland and Japan and the first such scheme will soon start in Britain.



Supporters say that it benefits children who have difficulty reading and feel awkward when asked to read in front of a teacher or their classmates. Psychologists say it may also mirror previous work which shows that pets improve a child’s self-esteem and help to build their confidence.

“The animals are not judgmental. If a child mispronounces a word, they are not going to laugh at them or make fun of them like other children might,” said Kathy Klotz, executive director of Intermountain Therapy Animals, a charity based in Utah.

Klotz said its “reading education assistance dogs” (Read) scheme has 1,300 teams working with 5,000 children in schools in America and Canada and a few other countries Each team is made up of a volunteer and their dog. They visit a different school for one day a week, allowing each pupil to read to a dog for 20 to 30 minutes in a quiet room.

Klotz said that a volunteer had recently moved to Penzance, Cornwall, to start up the first Read programme in Britain in the new year.