National Literacy and Numeracy Week (NLNW) celebrates the work of schools, individuals and communities in improving literacy and numeracy skills and outcomes. It is an Australian Government initiative, run collaboratively with state and territory education authorities. In 2008 NLNW will be celebrated from 1 to 7 September.

Key national events associated with NLNW include the Excellence Awards for Schools; the NLNW Minister’s Awards; National Reading Day; national numeracy events Reach for the Stars and Let’s Be Fair; and the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards.

Find out all about NLNW 2008 at www.literacyandnumeracy.gov.au

National Reading Day

National Reading Day will be held on Wednesday 3 September 2008. Developed and managed by the Australian Literacy Educators’ Association (ALEA) and the Australian Association for Teaching English (AATE), the day presents an opportunity for students from across Australia to read from five books.

The books selected for 2008 include Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley, Truck Dogs by Graeme Base, Someone Like Me by Elaine Forrestal, The Red Shoe by Ursula Dubosarsky, and The Running Man by Michael Gerard-Bauer.

Podcasts of authors reading from the selected books will be available from the National Reading Day website on 3 September 2008