The Tuscany region focuses on reading aloud in the educational system: the project “Reading aloud increases intelligence”, unique at national level, aims at gradually introducing in schools of all types and levels, starting form nursery school to  secondary school, an easy accessible and useful tool to develop children’s and youngsters’ basic cognitive skills, to enhance intellectual capacity, relational abilities, and critical thinking.

After its launch in October at Fair Didacta Italy “reading aloud” continues its path. The staff training phase in nurseries and infant schools of all Tuscany, and the training of teachers of primary and secondary schools of the areas where the project is introduced on an experimental bases in the province of Florence and Pisa has just concluded.

More than 4,500 teachers – thanks to the three-month training of 25 hours for each person – have started systematic reading aloud with children and youths: more than 1,000 nurseries and schools are involved. Their task is to read aloud every day to their children in a regular intensive and continuative way. A vast bibliography has been made available to them together with books bought by the Region and given to schools.

“Reading aloud!” is a project of the Tuscany region carried out with the university of Perugia, the Tuscany regional school office, Indire and Cepell (centre for books and reading of the Ministry of cultural heritage and cultural activities and tourism).

Data at hand, children who listen – since the first years of their life – to a “significant adult” reading books and stories have more chances to succeed at school and in life. Introducing reading aloud in class as a daily practice in all the educational system means to impact on the cultural, formative, relational, identitarian and occupational future of new generations, putting in place a didactical practice of real cognitive democracy.

The research group of Perugia university is administrating a survey, according to the research protocol of the Tuscany region, that will allow the collection of data relating to children from 0-3 years of age in Tuscany and from 0-16 in two areas of Tuscany. The aspects analysed are: understanding of emotions, sequential understanding, general development of the child, development of first language abilities and vocabulary. The development of text understanding and language competences will be also assessed. Moreover, the development of basic cognitive, verbal and motor abilities and verbal intelligence will be investigated.

The first data of the survey will be released in Florence on 7 April 2020 during the conference at the Maggio Fiorentino theatre at 2 pm. Enrolment is already open.

Enrolment is open! >>

The project reading aloud on the Tuscany region website >>