Teacher helping a student using a laptop

Teacher resources

We’ve put together some useful resources for teachers around reading – including research, blogs, success stories, videos and podcasts.

Research on reading

‘What Kids Are Reading’ is an annual report from Prof. Keith Topping, published by Renaissance, on the book-reading habits of primary and secondary-aged children across the UK and Ireland.

The report reveals both the most read and most popular titles of the last school year, and features contributions from schools, authors and other literacy experts.

View the report

Children reading in a library

Reading for fun starts with choice, time and trust

As a long‑standing partner of the World Book Day charity, Renaissance works closely with schools and organisations that champion reading for pleasure.

Kate Sayer, Education Specialist at World Book Day, explores how schools can build authentic reading cultures, strengthen relationships around books and help every child find their own way into reading for fun.

View the blog

Girl reading

Transforming literacy across Learning Without Limits Academy Trust with Accelerated Reader

Learning Without Limits Academy Trust, based in Leicestershire, consists of three secondary schools and two primary schools, and also has a partnership with two primary schools in Coventry.

Tracey Frohawk, Trust Librarian, explains how the trust has successfully implemented Accelerated Reader across these schools and the impact this has had on their literacy strategy.

Read more

Student taking a library book off a shelf

Explore our birthday-themed book list to celebrate 40 years of Accelerated Reader

This World Book Day is a special one for us at Renaissance, as this year is the 40th birthday of Accelerated Reader! To celebrate, the quiz writers have put together this birthday themed list of book suggestions.

They have paired a favourite book from the year they were born with a more current book suggestion – one that might be the same genre, a similar type of story, or that evokes the same feelings that their favourite childhood story did.

Read the blog

Further resources

Listen to our latest podcast

In this episode, we are joined by Kate Sayer, Education Specialist at the World Book Day charity and former primary teacher, whose career has centred on supporting children’s literacy through schools, arts organisations and family engagement. Packed with thoughtful reflections and real‑world ideas, this episode offers valuable guidance for anyone committed to helping children read for fun.

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify

Accelerated Reader: Improving reading outcomes for 40 years

The ‘mini’ quizzes on Take the Quiz are based on those available to schools in Renaissance Accelerated Reader (AR). These form part of the ever-growing bank of over 47,000 AR quizzes that cover a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books.

For over 40 years, teachers have used AR to help students read regularly, enjoy what they’re reading and understand what they’ve taken from each book. Take the Quiz gives you a simple way to try it out for yourself.

AR also sits alongside a wider range of reading tools. myON gives students access to a digital library, with embedded teaching and learning tools that support guided reading and independent practice. Star Reading and NGRT provide accurate assessment to help you understand each student’s starting point and progress.

Learn more

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