Bilingual Children’s Basic Literacy improvement in Iranshahr by Learning Alphabet Package
Following the implementation of basic literacy improvement by using “Learning Alphabet package” for bilingual children in Iranshahr, Read with Me experts traveled to Sistan and Balouchestan province on 29 January – 4 February to visit the project progress in first grade of elementary school classes in Iranshahr, Rask, Sarbaz and Lashar. RWM experts visited more than 140 classes in these regions and evaluated the method of working with “Learning Alphabet package”. They found the influence of working with “Learning Alphabet Package” during this short period incredible. They believe that the project has resulted to the growth of children’s reading and writing skills, expanding of their vocabulary knowledge and improvement of their self-confidence and it has brought joy and pleasure to their classes.
On these visits, the RWM experts played, read aloud, sang and worked with children in addition of evaluating teachers’ upon RWM criterias. So they turned evaluation process into practical workshops for teachers.
Project’s implementation in most of the classes covered by this project has led to enthusiasm and creativity in teachers, excitement and delight in children and it has made a great evolution in children’s reading and writing in Persian. The children who used to study in strict environments, now share the joy of reading with the stories and songs of BroCrow (KakaKalaghe, main character of “Learning Alphabet book”). In some schools the teachers have drawn spider characters from book on the walls. Some teachers have made puppets of BroCrow and take them to class and children are waiting every session to hear short tales from these puppets. Alphabet cards and posters are hung on walls in some classes. In some multi-grade classes, teachers read the books for whole class and students from upper grades show interest in short tales and their related activities.
Most of the teachers are satisfied with the results of the project’s implementation. “Learning Alphabet Book helps children to remember the alphabet”, “Learning Alphabet has made my work easy”, “Children are more glad and cheery and they listen carefully”, “This book has helped children to speak, some children who never spoke, now speak”, “Some children who couldn’t write a sentence, now do their homework neatly and carefully”, “Children memorize the Learning Alphabet songs and enjoy them”, “They did not understand the tales when I read them on the first days, but now they realize and reply enthusiastically”, “Parents ask us what we do in the school that their children have become so curious”, “Now I realize that the problem is the training method, not children’s learning ability”, the teachers report.
On the last day (4 February) a meeting was held with 120 teachers of first grade of elementary schools in Iranshahr, Sarbaz, Rask and Lashar at the Iranshahr Education Office Conference Hall and once more RWM goals and ways to improve its implementation were described to participants and the teachers asked their questions.
Read with Me project which runs in Iranshahr in this year by the financial support of Omran Azarestan Construction Company and cooperation of Sistan and Balouchestan Education Office and Yavari Cultural Community, hopes to take a step toward empowerment of teachers and students in this region and improve the basic literacy by reading and book promotion with creative methods.
This post is also available in: Persian
