Road 2 Reading - Tshepong

Road 2 reading

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Children are not school-ready and “reading-ready” .
Children struggle to read in their home language, Setswana, and therefore struggle to read in English when they go to Gr. 4.

CAUSE

Primarily stems from the parent or caregiver of the child that:

Is illiterate and cannot assist with the practice of sounds and reading. No practice & no repetition.
Do not converse with their children from a young age. No vocabulary development.

The above mentioned causes are some of the main reasons for the development of the Sprouts Program & hosting of Family Days at the ECD centre.

IMPACT & ACHIEVEMENT

Achievement of age appropriate vocabulary & literacy development.
Greater reading ability in their home language (Setswana).
Better overall school performance due to greater language and literacy development.

Activities

To address problem/issue

Small-group reading sessions at Naletsana Combined School every Monday & Tuesday from 9:00-11:00 that focus on:
- Practice and repetition of Phonetic sounds with a action connected to the sound (“if it’s in the muscle, it’s in the mind”)
Children receive individual attention and are regularly evaluated, then grouped according to the number of sounds they know.
Children attend the sessions in those groups to be developed and challenged accordingly.
Capacity development of the facilitators to ensure for optimal implementation.

Monitoring

Constantly check activities

Attendance registers
Baseline Evaluation sheets
Group file with the lists of children in specific reading groups.
Evaluation forms for individual reading sessions held that evaluate the following:
- Sounds known
- Word building ability
- Sentence forming ability
- Ability to read a book
The facilitators weekly observe the development/regression of a child abilities, and adapt according to the child's needs. The child can also be placed in a different reading group.

Evaluation

How to check monitoring

Weekly team meetings before the weeks sessions.
Quarterly written feedback on the progress of children in their respective grades.
Teachers regularly see, and report on, the impact of the project in the classroom.
Yearly workshop to continue capacity building of facilitators & to ensure activities and sessions remain applicable.
Site visit, interaction and observations while the program takes place.

Outputs

Look at direct results found

Number of children that take part in the baseline assessment.
Regularity of attendance.
How a child moves from one group to the next as they grow and develop they're reading abilities.
The adjustments made by teachers in the classroom in order to accommodate a child with greater needs.
The impact of the program on a child’s school performance.
The ability of a child to:
- Identify all the phonetic sounds in Setswana,
- Build words,
- Build and read sentences &
- Read a book.

Outcomes

Identify behavioural changes

Children develop an interest in books and a love for reading.
Children receive individual attention which make them feel seen and acknowledged.
Reading gives a child vision and drive to work harder in school and perform better.
The teacher, the learner and the community partner for the benefit of a child’s future.

Impact

What long term change

Children are able to perform better when going to Gr. 4.
More children complete school and matriculate well, with greater opportunities for a brighter & better future.